Bunkerization

The withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact in 1968 and the further isolation of the country increased the dictator's anxiety about an imaginary attack by enemies on the People's Socialist Republic of Albania. Enver Hoxha, gripped by paranoia, in 1971, at the 12th Plenum of the Central Committee of the Party of Labour of Albania , initiated the fortification of defense lines, a project that was implemented intensively from 1975 until the mid-1980s. By 1983, 173,371 bunkers of various types had been constructed out of the planned 221,143, with an average construction rate of about 22,000 units per year.

Enver Hoxha's program for bunkerization of the territory resulted in the construction of bunkers in every corner of Albania, from deep mountainous areas to the inner spaces of cities. Many of these concrete structures continue to be present everywhere, becoming an integral part of the landscape inherited from Albania's communist past.
The bunkers, designed to withstand military attacks of the twentieth century, are extraordinary structures in terms of engineering and construction features. They were never used for the purpose for which they were built. The cost of implementing the project for fortifying defence lines further exacerbated the state's financial situation, which was already facing economic difficulties.