KUKES, Albania — If you’d like to walk for miles in concrete burrows developed to protect an isolationist totalitarian program that noone desired to attack, Kukes in northeastern Albania is the location for you.
The little Balkan nation’s post World War II communist dictatorship reveled in huge protective works; the countryside is still cluttered with the collapsing stays of 175,000 concrete mini-bunkers — onceagain constructed to stop fictional intruders. But Kukes’ tunnels take the reward.
Dug from the 1970s to the early 1990s — simply in time for the communist routine’s collapse — the underground network was suggested to home the town’s whole population of 16,000 for up to 6 months in case of war. Equipped with facilities running from a districtattorney’s workplace to a maternity center, it was Albania’s mostsignificant stronghold job with tunnels extending for up to 7 kilometers (4 miles).
Now, regional authorities hope to turn it into a traveler touristattraction, with the aid of European Union financing. By the end of the year, they state, a multi-room command center and a long tunnel leading to it from the town hall oughtto be available.
Post-communist Albania stays one of Europe’s poorest nations. Tourism is a significant earner, getting 17% of GDP in 2021, while arrivals increased 33% in 2022 to reach some 7.5 million individuals.
Tourists would be especially welcome in Kukes, a town 150 kilometers (90 miles) northeast of the capital Tirana, close to the Kosovo border. It’s Albania’s poorest location, regardlessof its mineral riches and striking mountain landscapes, from which most of the young individuals emigrate — numerous heading abroad.
Kukes Mayor Safet Gjici stated capacity travelers would be used gastronomical experiences as well as the tunnel experience.
“Such a museum town will program the regional worths of the population and drawin visito