Journal of Turkish World Studies

Abstract

Westernization movements in the Ottoman Empire began with Selim III, continued through the reform efforts of the 1830s, and were ultimately formalized with the proclamation of the Tanzimat Edict in 1839. As part of these modernization initiatives, the administrative structure was also reconfigured. With the evolving concept of administration, buildings such as government mansions, municipal offices, prisons, and telegraph stations—previously unseen in Ottoman cities—began to be constructed in city centers. Beyond serving as institutions for organizing state affairs and maintaining public order, these public buildings also took on a representational role. Within the scope of this research, the public buildings of Shkodra, Albania—namely prisons, detention centers, and telegraph offices—are analyzed and discussed Among these buildings, only a part of the prison building has survived to the present day. None of the remaining buildings have survived to the present day. Ottoman archive documents were used as the main source of the study. As far as it is reflected in the documents, the construction stages of these buildings have been tried to be determined. The estimation books for the buildings were identified, read and translated into modern Turkish. In this way, the study aims to shed light on the construction environment of the period, while also providing insights into the designers and officials who played a role in the organization of building activities in the province. The archive also contained architectural plans drawn for the proposed buildings. These plans were analyzed and compared with counterparts from the capital and Anatolia in terms of their layout and design features, with an emphasis placed on identifying similarities.