BOULEVARD MÈRE-TERESA

This "boulevard" (Bulevardi Nënë Tereza, Bulevar Majke Tereze) is the most important pedestrian street in the capital. It starts from Agim-Ramadani street and continues under the name of Xhorxh Bush ("George-Bush"). This is the korso, the typical "promenade" of Balkan cities. Called korza in Albanian, it is lined with cafes, trees, statues and official buildings. It used to be Maršala Tita and Vidovdanska streets, named after the Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito (1892-1980) and the Serbian national holiday of Vidovan (June 28). The axis was renamed in 2000 after the Albanian-Indian Catholic nun Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu (1910-1997), better known as Mother Teresa and canonized in 2016. Today the korza has been covered with Albanian identity symbols and is now in the heart of the ministry district.

Visit. The walk begins in the north, at the intersection of the expressway named after one of the co-founders of the KLA Agim Ramadani (1963-1999). It separates the city center from the old town, which can be seen by its minarets. Going down to the southwest, the "boulevard" first looks to the right at the buildings of the Presidency of Kosovo and the Prime Minister, with the Brotherhood and Unity monument just behind. Back on the "boulevard", opposite the Prime Minister's building, is the Independence Park (Parku i Pavarësisë). The latter houses the statue of the writer Ibrahim Rugova (1944-2006), president of Kosovo from 1992 to 2006, and the former Hotel Union, an elegant 1927 building designed by an Austrian architect that has housed a Benetton store since 2013. Then comes the recent Skanderbeg Square, with the equestrian statue of the 15th century lord and hero of Albania, a fountain, the austere National Theater (Teatri Kombëtar) dating from 1949, then the Swiss Diamond Hotel (2011) and the Ministry of Finance. The promenade then descends, lined with terraces, with the statue of Mother Teresa hidden on the right. Then, on the left, the Ministry of Culture is flanked by two streets known for their restaurants: Qamil Hoxha Street (clean establishments and trendy cafes) and 2 Korriku Street (taverns and grills). The walk ends at the Ministry of Economy and the square named after Zahir Pajaziti (1962-1997), another co-founder of the KLA. This is dominated by the sinister Grand Hotel. The axis continues with George Bush Street, which immediately on the left leads to the University Park and the amazing National Library.