State of Culture in Albania 2025 · Municipal profiles · Artivista Center (Qendra Artivista)
This profile is based on the medium term budget plan (PBA) 2023 - 2025 working files of the Municipality of Tepelenë, its analysis of the 2022 - 2024 draft budget consultation, and INSTAT's 2023 Population and Housing Census; the municipality did not reply to Artivista's request for information on culture, and a complaint was filed with the Commissioner for the Right to Information. Amounts are in Albanian lek.
At a glance
| Region (qark) | Gjirokastër |
| Administrative units | 4: Tepelenë, Qendër Tepelenë, Kurvelesh, Lopës |
| Area | 431.24 km² |
| Population, 2023 Census | 6,761 (about 16 residents per km²); 24.4% fewer than in 2011 |
| Residents aged 65 and over | 25.5% (national average 19.7%) |
| Reply to the request | None; a complaint was filed with the Commissioner for the Right to Information |
| Culture programme | 6.7 million lek spent in 2021; 7.0 million lek a year planned for 2023 - 2025 |
| Staff | 9 in the culture programme |
| Visitors to heritage sites | 600 in 2021, 1,200 in 2024, 1,500 planned for 2025 |
| Heritage | 19 sites under the municipality, 21 in total, 2 heritage institutions |
Summary
Tepelenë, on the Vjosa river, is home to the castle of Ali Pasha, where Lord Byron visited in 1809; the town's main square bears his name. Its population fell by 24% between the 2011 and 2023 censuses, and a quarter of residents are 65 or older.
The municipality did not reply to the request for information, and a complaint was filed with the Commissioner. This profile is based on its own budget planning files. They show a culture programme with 9 staff that spent 6.7 million lek in 2021 and is planned at 7.0 million lek a year for 2023 - 2025, below the 2022 budget of 7.4 million lek.
The same files record growing numbers of visitors to heritage sites, from 600 in 2021 to 1,200 in 2024. In the 2022 budget consultation, residents asked for more money for culture, and the council took this into account.
1. Governance and institutions
The culture programme (08220) is run by the Directorate of Education, Culture and Social Care, led by Arta Shaha, with 9 staff from 2022 to 2024. The municipality's data record 19 heritage sites under its administration, 21 in total, and 2 heritage institutions.
2. Funding
The culture programme spent 6,718,000 lek in 2020 and 6,685,000 lek in 2021. Its 2022 budget was 7,417,000 lek. The plan for 2023, 2024 and 2025 sets 7,010,000 lek a year, of which 4,660,000 lek is for wages, 1,100,000 lek for social insurance and 1,250,000 lek for goods and services; it is lower than in 2022 mainly because planned wages fall. No investment is planned in the programme.
3. Cultural programme
Visitors to the heritage sites rose from 600 in 2021 to 850 in 2022, 950 in 2023 and 1,200 in 2024, with 1,500 planned for 2025. In 2022 the municipality organised 6 fairs, sold 200 tickets for cultural events and supported 32 shows; the plan for the following years sets 10 to 15 fairs and 35 shows a year. No income from museums or events is recorded.
4. Heritage
The castle of Ali Pasha Tepelena is the town's main heritage site. Press reports since 2011 describe serious cracks in its walls; the municipal documents reviewed do not mention the castle or any restoration project. Tepelenë also lies within the Vjosa Wild River National Park, created in 2023.
5. Planning and public participation
In the consultation on the 2022 - 2024 draft budget, residents made 29 recommendations through an online survey by June 2021. The council took into account requests to raise the 2022 budget for 11 programmes, culture among them. No culture strategy appears in the documents reviewed.
Conclusions
- The municipality did not reply; a complaint was filed with the Commissioner.
- The culture programme spends about 7 million lek a year, mostly on wages, with no investment planned.
- Visitors to heritage sites doubled between 2021 and 2024.
- Residents' requests helped raise the 2022 culture budget.
- The documents reviewed say nothing about the castle of Ali Pasha.
Recommendations
Answer requests for information
Replying would let residents see the municipality's own account of culture.
A plan for the castle
A public plan for the condition and restoration of the castle would protect the town's main landmark.
Build on the visitors
With visitors growing, a small fund for heritage sites and signage could bring more people and some income.
Keep consulting
Repeating the budget consultation on culture each year would keep residents involved.
About the data
Population figures come from the INSTAT 2023 Census. The municipality did not reply to the request for information. Budget, staff, visitors, heritage data and targets come from the municipality's PBA 2023 - 2025 working files, and the consultation from its analysis of the 2022 - 2024 draft budget. The note on the castle refers to press reports since 2011.
Every effort has been made to base this analysis on the data provided by the municipality, complemented with data from its Medium Term Budget Programmes (PBA) published online. For comments or questions, please contact artivista@arti-vista.org.
This article was prepared within the CulturAL project, with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the National Centre for Community Services and Artivista Center and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
