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The Korça Bazaar
The Korça Bazaar has been placed under State protection as a monumental trade complex. The Bazaar was an integral part of a developed centre of craftsmanship and trade, which was the role of the city of Korça between the 18th and the 19th centuries. Today, the Korça Bazaar retains the shape it took in 1879, when it was completely reconstructed after a destructive fire. The Bazaar has a quadratic shape and the shops are arranged in a chain-form. From the typological point of view, the Korça Bazaar is the best preserved bazaar in the whole Balkan area among constructions that were built in the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. The restoration work on this monumental complex began in 1974, aiming in the first instance to avoid the risk stemming from the damaged structures of the roofs and other parts. The restoration work continued until 1990 and was done on a strong methodical basis.
After 1990 State funds allocated to the restoration of the monuments of culture were negligible. Consequently, for the past 10 years, this ensemble has been neglected in terms of restoration and preservation. This means that nowadays the condition of the complex has deteriorated and the damage suffered by it, due to lack of restoration work, may be irreversible. A further deterioration of the ensemble might be harmful not only to Albanian cultural heritage, but also to that of the Balkans
ICOMOS Albania
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