8 Interesting Museums in Croatia
There is more to Croatia than photogenic coastal towns, holiday-perfect islands and tasty seafood. Croatia boasts a wealth of culture and history and a good way to know that is through their museums.
In this article, I round up 8 interesting museums to visit in Croatia. Why interesting, you ask? I termed them this way because they get you engulfed in their history (I know I was) and most of them have little ties with art and culture.
Ever heard of the museum of broken relationships? I bet you haven’t. We’ll look at that and more in this write-up to add to your bucket list.
1. Museum of Arts and Culture
Established in 1880, the museum was devised to create a collection of models for artists and master craftsmen for them to give life to the production of everyday-use items. The museums main strategy is focused on the preservation of traditional crafts, as well as new creations of new middle-class aesthetic culture.
It houses more than 160,000 objects and they span from the 4th to the 20th century. The museum has been developing diverse collections, reorganising existing collections and founding new ones.
Presently, the Collections Department curates about 100,000 objects that comprise the following collections: devotionals, clock and watches, product design, ceramics, architecture, ivory, furniture, paintings, glass, varia, Anka Gvozdanovic’s collection, musical instruments, graphic design.
The museum also has its Restoration Departments that specializes in sculpture and painting glass, textile, metal and furnishings, ceramics.
2. Museum of Broken Relationships
Located in Zagreb’s Upper Town, this museum is dedicated to failed relationships. It began as a collection of donated items, and in 2011 it received the Kenneth Hudson Award for Europe’s most innovative museum.
It became the 11th most visited museum in Croatia after it saw more than 100,000 visitors. It was founded by Olinka Vistica (a film-maker) and Prazin Grubisic (a sculptor) — 2 Zagreb artists. Both artists ended a 4-year relationship when they joked about setting up a museum that would house left-over personal items.
The museum was introduced to the public in 2006. Between 2006 and 2010, the museum was seen more than 200,000 visitors and more than 30 objects were donated by Berliners during a 2007 exhibition.
3. Museum of Contemporary Art
Tagged a living place of creation and exhibition, it interprets and preserves contemporary art in all its manifestations. It’s the biggest and most modern museum in the country.
It officially opened on the 11th of September 2009 after 6 years of construction. The cost of construction amounted to 450 million HRK ($84 million) whereas the original planned cost amounted to 200 million HRK.
The Museum of Contemporary Art houses a library, a restaurant, a café, a multimedia hall and a bookstore. It also houses 12,000 objects — about 600 are on permanent display — with numerous works by contemporary Croatian artists including Julije Knifer, Vlado Martek, Ivan Picelj, Edita Schubert, Max Bill, Otto Piene, Dorothy Cross, Katarzyna Kozyra, Richard Mortensen, Julio Le Parc, Vjenceslav Richter, Zlato Kopljar, Dalibor Martinis.
The museum also strives to be a public and autonomous space.
4. Nikola Tesla Technical Museum
The museum collects and showcases scientific and technical appliances which were used in the country’s history. Its exhibitions cut across historic aircraft, equipment, cars and machinery.
It was established in 1954 and opened to the public on the 14th of January 1963. It was named the 7th most visited visitor in 2018. It had 125,000 visitors in 2012 and over 118,000 visitors in 2013 which made it the most visited museum in the country.
Nikola Tesla Museum has and maintains the oldest preserved steam engine which dates back from the mid-19th century and it’s still operational. The museum also organizes informative, educational, occasional study exhibitions, lectures on popular science as well as playrooms and workshops.
The building of the museum is also an exhibit on its own as it is an example of European engineering concepts of an expo-halls timber structure with a large span.
5. Art Pavilion in Zagreb
This is the oldest exhibition space in the Slavic South and happens to be the only facility that was purposely built to hold large exhibitions.
The Art Pavilion has been an essential place in the collective memory and formation of the Croatian Cultural identity. No permanent display as the institution specializes in one-off solo and group exhibitions.
Works by Croatian and foreign artists from different periods and styles are represented. The Art Pavilion was constructed in 1897 and makes it the only purpose-built gallery in Southeast Europe and Zagreb; it is also designed specifically to accommodate large scale exhibitions.
Croatian painter Vlaho Bukovac came up with the idea of a gallery in the spring of 1895. Throughout the gallery’s history, about 700 exhibitions have been organised with artists ranging from Auguste Rodin, Mimmo Rotella, Alberto Giacometti and many others.
6. Museum of Ancient Glass
Located in Zadar, this institution was established on June 9, 2006, by a decree of the Government of the Republic of Croatia and was inaugurated on May 5, 2009.
Although the museum is archaeological, it specialises in ancient glass and its exhibitions offer a unique collection of over 5000 shades of glass objects from the 1st century BC, 5th century AD and also antiquity.
The museum also hosts glass workshops throughout the year.
7. Split Ethnographic Museum
Following the Law on Museums (in Croatia), this museum collects, preserves and researches cultural, natural and civilizational assets.
The museum is also obliged to permanently protect the institutions’ material, manage and preserve the museum’s documentation which helps in supervising and protecting valuable sites and localities.
8. Zagreb City Museum
It was founded by the Brethren of the Croatian Dragon Society in 1907.
The city’s museum’s permanent exhibit is built around the objects the museums possess. It also deals with topics from the artistic, political, economic and cultural aspects of the city which spans from the Prehistory Roman finds to the modern periods.
The institution has exhibited more than 4,500 items.
