Albania. Tirana. A groups of well-dressed boys and girls attending a birthday party stand on the stairs to the main entrance of Tirana International Hotel. The hotel is located on Skanderbeg Square and Zogu I Boulevard. Originally built in 1979 in a Soviet-era architectural style, the hotel was named Hotel Tirana. In 2001, it was fully renovated by an Italian company and is now a 4-star hotel. The Skanderbeg Square is the main plaza in the centre of Tirana and is named after the Albanian national hero Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu ( 6 May 1405 – 17 January 1468), known as Skanderbeg or Skënderbeu who led a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire in what is today Albania. 20.5.2018 © 2018 Didier Ruef