Photo: Leeturtle · CC BY-SA 4.0
The Artificial Lake of Tirana is the lake in the Grand Park of Tirana, a public park in the southern part of the city administered by the Agency of Parks and Recreation of the Municipality of Tirana. The park also holds the St Procopius Church, the Presidential Palace, memorials, and at its southern end the zoo and the botanical garden. It was built in 1955–1956 on a Bulgarian plan, and for many citizens an early-morning run or promenade here is a daily routine.
How it formed
The lake was created in the 1950s as a flood control project. It was filled in 1955 by volunteer labour, behind a dam about 400 m long that protects Tirana from flooding.
History
The park holds the tombs of the Frashëri brothers and Faik Konitza, memorials to British, Australian and German soldiers of the Second World War, a Holocaust memorial unveiled in 2020, and the Royal Palace, now the residence of the president. In communist times the lake was a popular place to fish and swim.
Gallery
Visit
Getting there
Nearest settlement: Tirana
Swimming
No reliable information
Tips
The lake is the heart of the Grand Park, a short walk from the centre behind the university. It is free and open round the clock, with mostly paved, flat paths, and a path of about 7 km suits jogging and cycling. There are cafés, benches and picnic areas, an amphitheatre with summer events, a botanical garden, a zoo and a swimming pool complex.
The lake has been badly polluted and visitors have been advised not to swim in it, so use the pool instead. Spring and autumn are the most pleasant seasons, and a visit takes one to four hours.
Nearby lakes
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Sources & data
- OpenStreetMap: Liqeni i Tiranës (way 249196321), OpenStreetMap contributors
- Wikidata: Tirana Artificial Lake (Q22011884), Wikimedia Foundation
- Albanian Wikipedia: Liqeni Artificial i Tiranës, Wikimedia Foundation
- Wikipedia: Grand Park of Tirana, Wikimedia Foundation
- Birding places: Grand Park of Tirana, Birdingplaces.eu
- The Artificial Lake of Tirana, National Tourism Agency of Albania