On this day in 2020, The Guardian selected the Ethnological Museum of Prishtina among the 12 best city museums in Europe. This museum is part of the cultural heritage that dates back to the 18th century, exhibiting tools and daily items from the Ottoman period of Kosova. Once a housing complex, the museum buildings belonged to the family of Emin Gjinolli. Until 1990 the Gjiku Complex (the former name of this space) served as a nature museum.

The space consists of two large courtyards: the entrance courtyard with a stable and a stone building and the inner courtyard containing the family house and the guest house, currently serving as the main exhibition space. The stone building, restored in 1960, is the only building left from the Old Bazaar. It is a one-story building covered with a stone roof, once a blacksmith’s shop. The courtyards are surrounded by high walls, 55 cm thick, built of adobe and wooden battens. The houses and stables reflect architectural harmony of proportions and elements. After completing internationally funded conservation works in 2003, it was transformed into an ethnological museum. Based on the historical, artistic, and rarity values, the asset “Emin Gjiku” Residential Complex – Ethnological Museum was declared under permanent protection by the Kosova Council for Cultural Heritage in 2016.

This museum houses an extensive collection of traditional clothing and textiles, hand tools, musical instruments, and daily objects. The museum displays Albanian traditions: they include rituals related to birth, marriage, and death, as well as objects for the Oda (reception room reserved for men).  By showcasing details of family life, their clothing, weapons, and artifacts, this museum highlights the way of life of Kosovars over the past centuries. Every room tells a routine of normal family life.