Museums, Skopje

Ohrid was enriched with another cultural and historical landmark as well as with a tourist attraction - Museum on Water - an exceptional archaeological complex, which is one of a kind in the region. On the southern coast of Gradiste Peninsula in the Bay of Bones, a pile-dwelling settlement has been erected, which in the past was spreading at a total surface of 8.500 m2. Bay of the Bones is an authentic reconstruction of a part of the pile-dwelling settlement, dating back between 1200 and 700 BC.A Roman military fortification (Gradiste) has been reconstructed on the hill above the Bay of Bones simultaneously with constructing the pile-dwelling settlement and the Water Museum. The walls of the fortification that once had protected the Roman Empire from its enemies, are once again lifted up on the hill near Gradiste. The Roman fortress is connected with the settlement in order tourists and visitors to be given an extraordinary opportunity to experience time travel, from prehistoric to ancient times and vice versa. http://www.exploringmacedonia.com/bay-of-bones.nspx

The Byzantine Art Museum (in Dexameni square), where artifacts from the Byzantine period are showcased; over 700 well preserved byzantine sculptures, murals, paintings and icons from temples from around the city. http://www.visitgreece.gr/en/main_cities/kastoria

Velyan’s House in Bansko is located near the Holy Trinity Church and the central square of the town. The house is an example of the architectural style – fortified house of the Bulgarian Revival Period. Velyan’s House was built in the 18th century and was opened to visitors in 1977. This was a modern two-story building made of stone and wood owned by a wealthy trade family with many children. After a sudden tragedy the family left the house. When the master-painter Velyan Ognev was invited come to Bansko to work on the decoration of the Holy Trinity Temple, the house was given to him by the local people as a symbol of gratitude. The master decorated its interior and exterior and transformed it into a genuine piece of art. With its hiding places, secret exits and fortified walls the Velanova kashta is a piece of legacy from the old times when Bulgaria was under Otoman rule and when people were supposed to hide and protect themselves by the numerous attacks by bandits at that time. http://bansko-guide.com/attraction/velyans-house-velyanova-kashta/

The National Art Gallery is the largest and the most representative museum of the Bulgarian fine arts in the country. It is housed in the building of the former royal palace (declared a cultural monument in 1978), together with the National Ethnographic Museum. The beginning of the collection was set in 1892 when the art department of the National Archaeological Museum was established. In 1948 by resolution of the Council of Ministers, the National Art Gallery was established as an independent institution. The exposition of orthodox arts is presented in the crypt of the monumental temple “St. Alexander Nevski” in Sofia. The collection of works of art covers a large period of time – from the adoption of Christianity as an official religion in the Roman Empire in the 4th century to the Age of Bulgarian Revival (18th – 19th century), and it mainly consists of icons. The collections of contemporary and modern Bulgarian art of the museum – from the Liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman Dominion (1878) to the 1990s, contain more than 30,000 works of art, and they are divided into three basic expositions – high quality paintings, graphics and sculptures. https://www.bulgariatravel.org/en/Article/Details/262/National%20Art%20Gallery#map=6/42.750/25.380

The Numismatic Department of Plovdiv Regional Archaeological Museum boasts a collection of 60,000 coins, dated VI c. B. C. - XX c. A. D. The department is constantly enriching its fund either through acquisition from various archaeological excavations or by buying out coins from private collectors. A substantial part of the numismatic treasure of the Archaeological Museum is comprised of coins minted in the period of I - V c. A. D. Philippopolis was the first town in the inner part of Thrace that began to mint the so-called "pseudo-autonomous" bronze coins. The Emperors Domicianus (81 - 96), Trajan (98 - 117) and Hadrian (117 - 138) gave permission to the town to issue coins without the mediation of the Roman legates, temporarily governing Thrace. Alongside with the coins, the Museum collection holds a considerable amount of medallions, issued as commemorative signs to eminent representatives of the Emperor in the province or to town notables. In some periods they were also used as legal tender. The Museum boasts one of the richest collections of 100.000 exhibits of artefacts related to the history of Plovdiv and its region. Plovdiv is the heir to one of the biggest and most famous ancient towns in the Balkan Penninsula - Philippopolis. http://www.visitplovdiv.com/en/node/840

The building was erected as an officers club in 1895. In the period 1905-1923 it was Peoples Home, which housed workers theatre, brass band and evening classes. In 1951 the building was turned into a Museum of the History of Capitalism, Working Class Movement and Socialist Construction. Nowadays it accommodates the Museum Centre of Modern History with a large, fully equipped hall, which allows the arrangement of art and photographic exhibitions, presentations, seminars and other public events. http://www.visitplovdiv.com/en/node/846

In the early 12th century the city of Kavala is small. The cultivation of tobacco in the 19th century results in many tobacco companies settling in Kavala. People from the outskirts of Kavala are starting to move to the city which has began to spread outside the walls of the peninsula. http://www.kavalagreece.gr/en/?page_id=221

Plovdiv Regional Ethnographic museum is the second largest specialized museum of this type in Bulgaria. It is an acknowledged scientific-educational institution and an attractive center for cultural tourism. The museum was established in 1917 and since 1938 it has been located in Kuyumdzhieva house, a cultural monument of national significance. Plovdiv Regional Ethnographic museum provides coordinative, qualification and expert-consulting activities for all museums and collections of artifacts with ethnographic character on the territory of Plovdiv and the region. In addition, the museum lends its methodical support to the municipal and private museums.The museum is a co-organizer and a host of popular traditional festivals such as Festival the Annual Festival of Chamber Music, The Festival of Classic Guitar, etc., as well as concerts, biennials, fashion shows, theatrical plays, book presenting and performances. The demonstration of traditional crafts is another type of tourist attraction. http://www.visitplovdiv.com/en/node/844

On the territory to the East and Northeast of the Forum (Agora) of Philippopolis in the years of Early Christianity were formed neighborhoods where several Christian churches were built. In the same area were found also the ruins of a synagogue - a unique building from that period. The ruins of the Small Early Christian basilica were found during the construction works of "Maria Louisa" Blvd. The Small basilica is situated in the eastern outskirts of the Ancient city, next to the fortification wall with a tower from 2nd - 4th century AD. The basilica has a central nave, flanked by two aisles. It is with one apse and with a narthex. A small chapel was built to the South and a baptistery is erected just next to the Northern aisle. The overall length of the basilica, including the apse, is 20 meters, and the width is 13 meters. The basilica was built in the second half of 5th century AD with rich architectural decorations – marble colonnades separating the aisles, marble altar wall, pulpit and synthronos. The floors were covered with rich multicolour mosaic with geometrical motifs. The mosaic includes a panel with donor inscription. Remnants of an altar table were found. http://www.visitplovdiv.com/en/node/675

The Museum of Modern Art Dubrovnik was founded in 1945. The building now occupied by the Museum of Modern Art Dubrovnik was originally conceived and built (1935 – ­1939) as the showcase residential mansion of Dubrovnik ship owner Božo Banac, and in 1948 it was converted into exhibition premises and museum. It was designed by the well­known Croatian architects Lavoslav Horvat and Harold Bilinić in the neo­Renaissance­cum­Gothic style, along the lines of masterpieces of Dubrovnik urban and villa Renaissance architecture (the Rector’s Palace, the Divona/Sponza, the Sorkočević Villa and so on). Through the conversion works, nine exhibition rooms were created, along with two storerooms and some smaller working areas. Together with the large terraces looking on to the sea and its garden, the Museum has 900 square metres of indoor and over 1100 square metres of outdoor exhibition space. https://www.godubrovnik.guide/dubrovnikthingstodo/museum-modern-art/

The Maritime Museum was founded in 1949 at the initiative of the Yugoslav (today the Croatian) Academy of Sciences and Arts; since 1987 it was been a part of the Dubrovnik Museums. The main part of the holdings arose from numerous donations of Dubrovnik citizens to the Patriotic Museum in the first half of the 20th century and objects from the exhibition Dubrovnik Seafaring through the Ages, which was put on in 1941. Since 1952, the museum has been located on the first and second floors of Fort St John (sv. Ivan). In the past the fort guarded the entrance into the city port, and was one of the most important points of the city's defences. The construction works started in 1346, today's appearance being completed at the end of the 16th century. In the 19th century it was rebuilt into two floors, and at the places where there had been artillery embrasures, windows were installed. The museum systematically collects, studies, exhibits and publishes the museum material from the maritime past of the Dubrovnik region, all the way since Antiquity. Today it has holdings of over five thousand objects classified into fifteen collections. http://www.tzdubrovnik.hr/lang/en/get/muzeji/5591/maritime_museum.html

In 1872, the Patriotic Museum was founded in Dubrovnik; in the middle of 1873, the first museum display was made in the commune building. Among the exhibits, which were mainly from the period of the Dubrovnik Republic, the archaeological objects nevertheless stood out, for example, an Egyptian mummy, Greek vases and ancient amphorae. The donors were collectors, leading members of patrician families, sailors and Dubrovnik people living elsewhere. Foremost among them were the great benefactors and donors the Amerling brothers, who had been passionate advocates of the museum’s founding; they gave most of the Egyptian, Oriental and Japanese objects, birds, minerals and rarities of all kinds. In 1882, Arthur Evans, world-renowned archaeologist and initiator of archaeological research in the Dubrovnik area, gifted to the museum three Roman funerary inscriptions from Cavtat, the first entries into the book of donated and purchased objects. At the time the science of archaeology was being founded in Croatia in the early 20th century, lovers of antiquities gathered around the Dubrovnik branch of the Croatian Antiquarian Society in Knin and the Braće Hrvatskog Zmaja started to investigate the ruined Church of St Stephen, and after that it served as a temporary lapidarium for pre-Romanesque sculpture. https://www.godubrovnik.guide/dubrovnikthingstodo/archaeological-museum/

The origins of the Museum go back to 1872, when the Patriotic Museum was founded, for in its holdings it had a smallish collection of artworks of a cultural history character. More systematic collection of material began after World War II, thanks to the urging of the curator and first manager of the cultural history department, Dr Božo Glavić, to whom goes the credit for moving the collection into the Rector’s Palace and setting up the first in situ display, opened to the public in 1950. During the course of time, the collection turned into first a distinct department of the Dubrovnik Museum, and then into the Cultural History Museum, a component of Dubrovnik Museums. The holdings of the museum consist of material of distinctly cultural, historical and artistic value, with about ten thousand objects created over a time span from the end of the 15th to the beginning of the 20th century. It has been systematised into fifteen collections featuring painting, printmaking, furniture, textiles, ceramics, metals, icons, glass, photographs and photographic materials, miscellanea, documents, postcards, the writer Ivo Vojnović, old weaponry and numismatics. https://www.godubrovnik.guide/dubrovnikthingstodo/cultural-history-museum/

The Rector’s Palace (Croatian: Knežev dvor) is a palace in the city of Dubrovnik that used to serve as the seat of the Rector of the Republic of Ragusa between the 14th century and 1808. It was also the seat of the Minor Council and the state administration. Furthermore, it housed an armoury, the powder magazine, the watch house and a prison. The rector’s palace was built in the Gothic style, but it also has Renaissance and Baroque elements, harmoniously combining these elements. Originally it was a site of a defence building in the early Middle Ages. It was destroyed by a fire in 1435 and the town decided to build a new palace. The job was offered to the master-builder Onofrio della Cava of Naples, who had previously built the aqueduct. It became a Gothic building with ornaments sculpted by Pietro di Martino of Milan. A gunpowder explosion badly damaged the building in 1463. The renewal was offered to the architect Michelozzo of Florence. But he was rejected in 1464 because his plans went too much in the style of the Renaissance. Other builders continued the work. The capitals of the porch were reshaped in Renaissance style probably by Salvi di Michele of Florence. He continued the reconstruction from 1467 on. The building suffered damages from the earthquake of 1520 and again in 1667. Reconstruction was in Baroque style. A flight of stairs and a bell were added in the atrium. In 1638 the Senate erected a monument to Miho Pracat (by Pietro Giacometti of Recanati), a rich shipowner from Lopud, who had bequeathed his wealth to Dubrovnik. https://www.godubrovnik.guide/dubrovnikthingstodo/rectors-palace/

The Old Synagogue in Dubrovnik, Croatia is the oldest Sefardic synagogue still in use today in the world and the second oldest synagogue in Europe. It is said to have been established in 1352 but gained legal status in the city in 1408. Owned by the local Jewish community, the main floor still functions as a place of worship for Holy days and special occasions, but is now mainly a city museum which hosts numerous Jewish ritual items and centuries­old artefacts. Located in one of the many tiny streets of the Old Town of Dubrovnik, it is connected to a neighbouring building which has long been owned by the Tolentino family, who have been caretakers of the synagogue for centuries.[2] The internal layout is different from other European synagogues and has gone numerous refurbishments throughout the centuries, and has a mixture of designs from different eras. The building has sustained damage several times, with the great earthquake in 1667, World War II, and the Croatian War of Independence in the 1990s. The damage has since been repaired as closely as possible to its original design, and the synagogue reopened in 1997. The small museum contains many artifacts from throughout the Jewish community’s history in the city. https://www.godubrovnik.guide/dubrovnikthingstodo/jewish-synagogue/

The Ethnographic Museum has its origins in the collection of traditional culture that began to be formed in the first decades of the twentieth century. Its holdings were very much enlarged with specimens of traditional attire and lace donated several times by that great benefactor of the museum, Jelka Miš (1875 -1956). In the course of time, the collection grew into the ethnological department of Dubrovnik Museum, and in 1950 opened its first display of original ethnographic folk handicrafts from the local area on the second floor of Fort St John. At the end of the eighties, the ethnographic department was relocated to the building of the Dubrovnik Republic’s granary, popularly known as Rupe/The Holes, which derives from the name for the underground grain storage areas carved out of bedrock or tufa. https://www.godubrovnik.guide/dubrovnikthingstodo/ethnographic-museum/

The Art Museum of Craiova is located in Jean Mihail palace – built in late XIX century https://romaniadacia.wordpress.com/2013/08/13/art-museum-in-craiova-jean-mihail-palace/

The National Museum of BiH was founded on February 1, 1888 and was first housed in a building next to the Sarajevo Cathedral. Construction of the facility in Marijin Dvor, the museum’s current home, got underway in 1909 and was completed in 1913 and designed by Karl Paržik. The museum allows visitors to take “a short walk” through BiH’s past, from earliest times all the way to the ethnology exhibit, whose interior captures the atmosphere of a traditional city house during the Ottoman period. The most valuable item in the museum’s collection is the famous Sarajevo Haggadah, which the Sephardic Jews brought to Sarajevo when they left Spain. There is also the rich collection in the natural history section which covers both living and non-living worlds, including a skeleton of a bearded vulture, a bird with a giant wingspan which used to fly in the skies above BiH not that long ago. https://sarajevo.travel/en/things-to-do/national-museum-of-bih/237

The Secessionist building at No. 42, built in the 1920s as a bank, was converted several years ago into the Zepter Museum, a vault of 20th-century and contemporary art. http://www.serbia.com/36-hours-belgrade/

Multimedia visitor centre “Tsarevgrad Tarnov” is located near Tsarevets hill. Notable sculptures and paintings present historical figures and events of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom. It recreates lives of different social layer in medieval bulgarian society – monarchs, clergy, boyars and warriors, craftsmen. Visitors will experience the rich history of Tsarevgrad as a symbol of royalty, glory and spiritual power. http://www.velikoturnovo.info/en/info/i113/Multimedia-visitor-centre-Tsarevgrad-Tarnov.html

The Archaeological museum which housed the exposition “Veliko Tarnovo – the capital of Bulgaria XII – XIV c.” is situated westward to the square of “Saedinenie”. The thousand year old history and culture of the region of Tarnovo is traced out there. The accent is on the period of the Second Bulgarian kingdom. The prehistory is presented in the first hall. You can see some archaeological findings from the tumulus of Samovodene (5700-5000 BC), the settlement in the area of “Kachitsa”, V.Tarnovo (5300-3800 BC), Djulyunitsa (4800-4000 BC), tumuli of the village of Hotnitsa, the waterfall near Hotnitsa (3600 BC), the Thracian village on the hill of Tsarevec. The point is on the golden treasure of Hotnitsa that dates back to about 4100 BC. It is worth to see the golden objects from the cave of the village of Emen and a piece with signs of proto-writing system. http://www.velikoturnovo.info/en/museums/i1/Archaeological-museum.html

Bishop’s Treasury Museum is located in Bishops Palace in an elegant two-storey palace on Sveti Marko Square in Korcula Old Town. The museum is also called Abbey Treasury of St Mark (Opatska Riznica Svetog Marka). The ground floor covers parish office, library, archives and Kitchen exhibition hall. On the first floor, there are exhibits of Treasury hall, while the top floor covers residence of the parish priest. The museum exhibits numerous works of art including some paintings by Blaz Jurjev and Tiepolo. There are also old manuscripts with illuminated codex from the 12th century, alabaster sculptures from the 15th century as well as a statue of Mary Stuart from the 17th century. This is an interesting museum collection worth to visit if you are in Korcula. https://www.korculainfo.com/bishops-treasury/

Korcula Town Museum (Gradski muzej Korcula) is located at St Mark’s Square facing Cathedral Sveti Marko. The Museum is housed in Gabrielis palace that was built in 15th and 16th century. It is 3 storey building with basement and attic. Museum has various collections covering Korcula’s history and culture from Ancient history to nowadays. https://www.korculainfo.com/museums/korcula-museum/

Bari's Museo Nicolaiano opened in 2010 and is located in the old town, immediately after the gated archway facing the waterfront, which leads to the Basilica of St. Nicholas. https://www.viaggiareinpuglia.it/at/7/luogocultura/351/en/Museo-Nicolaiano-Bari-(Bari)

The Museum was opened in 1972 and preserves numerous fishing equipment and accessories. Amongst many interesting exhibits, there is an appliance called svićalo which was used to light pinewood splinter and whose light attracted fish. There are also petroleum lanterns that were immersed under seawater, old rudders, fish-hooks, but also cooper's tools. The Museum preserves a collection of treated crabs, fish and shells of the Adriatic seabed and amphora from the Roman period. https://www.visit-hvar.com/tours/fishing-museum-vrboska/HV-TR-36

In the 19th century during the period of sailboats Stari Grad marked the development of the shipping industry and naval construction. There is a rich naval collection preserved in Palace Biankini in Stari Grad. The collection was founded by the Centre for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage of the island of Hvar in 1966 and besides documentation on naval construction; it also displays various nautical instruments, paintings of Hvar captains, old nautical charts and literature on navigation. https://www.visit-hvar.com/tours/palace-biankini-and-naval-collection/HV-TR-38

Prehistoric town walls, numerous archaeological finds, several sarcophagi, reliefs and medieval graves are an evidence of the long history of the place and the lives of its people. Where there once stood Illyrian town walls from 1400 BC, later was a Roman mausoleum, then a Radojković Tower built for defensive purposes and today it is a museum of the island of Brač. The museum displays interesting exhibits from Kopačina cave, Roman tomb-stones, sea charts and diverse folk handicrafts from the entire island. This jewel of historical and cultural heritage has always been a very popular tourist destination. The long history and culture of the island of Brač is best seen in Škrip – the oldest settlement on the island. https://www.visitbrac.com/tours/the-museum-of-the-island-of-brac/BR-TR-146

The museum of oil presents the traditional process of olive oil production on the island Brac. The museum of oil exhibit olive mill, olive press, spindle for tightening press screw, bags, fireplace for heating the water and all traditional tools for transport, production and storage of olive oil. The museum of olive oil also shows paintings by academic painter Hana-Marta Jurčević Bulić and sculptures made by mag. sculptor Đani Martinić, presenting workers in the oilery in an interesting way. In 1864 Josip Krstulovć family founded the oilery in a small town of Skrip on the island Brac. By the early 20th century Kruno and Mandica Krstulović have upgraded the oilery by buying the new ''Thomas Holt'' olive press from Trieste. The family continued to process the olive oil until 1963 when the oilery stopped working due to the introduction of new technologies (hydraulic press). In 2013 Kruno Cukrov (grandson of Kruno Krstulović) and his family took the challenge of restoring the old oilery and by July 2013 the oilery become Museum of olive oil in Skrip and it is open for public as a historical and cultural monument of the history of making olive oil on the island Brac. https://www.visitbrac.com/tours/olive-oil-museum-in-skrip/BR-TR-147

An easy stroll from Hvar's square, along the sea and the waterfront soon brings you to the Franciscan monastery. Within the peace and quiet of the monastery walls, you can enjoy a rich display of museum exhibits (collections of Greek, Roman and Venetian coins, liturgical items, atlas of the ancient cartographer Ptolemaeus, rare exhibits of amphora, etc.), as well as paintings of Venetian artists like Francesco Santacroce and Palma Junior. The monastery is known for its magnificent painting of the Last Supper (2 x 8 m) which leaves everyone breathless. Some critics believe it is the work of a painter from Ravenna Matteo Ingoli, whilst others think that the painting belongs to the school of Palma Junior. One more rarity that makes the monastery famous is the 300-year old cypress that is located in the garden of the monastery. https://www.visit-hvar.com/tours/franciscan-monastery-hvar/HV-TR-28

Gallery featuring contemporary sculpture, paintings & other works of the namesake artist. Vasko Lipovac was a Croatian painter, sculptor, printmaker, designer, illustrator and scenographer and one of the most prominent artists of the region. He is best known for his minimalist figuration and use of intense, unmodulated and often dissonant palette. With the exception of his juvenile period of geometric abstraction, he remained loyal to figuration throughout his whole career. Exceptionally prolific, he worked in various techniques and was equally skilful in using high-polished metal, polychromous wood, enamel, terracotta or polyester to create his sculptures, reliefs and mobiles. http://www.vaskolipovac.com/

Split Get The Museum of Game Of Thrones "Excuse yourself in the impressive interior: 'This is a series of prints, it's ice-cold, you feel smudged and smells the same' In Bosanska Street, one of the town's vineyards. Just next to the street where some of the serial scene scenes were recorded. Not far from Diocletian's basements, where Khaleesi put the dragons in captivity. One of the dragons at the entrance is the visitors of this interesting Split's tourist acquisition. His head had pierced the wall, fluttered the enormous ears, and with his sharp canine, he slid his slit, spread his eyes. And he's in real-life, so scary that little children and those weaker nerves could even upset... https://game-of-thrones-exhibition-museum-split.business.site/website/game-of-thrones-exhibition-museum-split/

Enter the fascinating world of illusions that will trick your reliance on your senses, but also amaze you at the same time; the world that will confuse you completely, but also educate you… Visit us and you will be thrilled because nothing is what it seems, especially not in HERE! Are you ready for even a bigger, better, and more fascinating adventure? Visit the Museum of Illusions in Split; we offer you an intriguing visual, sensory and educational experience with a handful of new, unexplored illusions. The Museum of Illusions in Split provides you with a space suitable both for social and entertaining tours through the world of illusions, prone to delight all generations. It’s a perfect place to gain new experiences and have fun with friends and family. Not only is it a place for children who love paying it a visit, but it is also a place for parents, grandparents and couples. https://split.muzejiluzija.com/en/

As the oldest museum institution in Croatia, the Split Archaeological Museum was founded in 1820 by the decree of the Dalmatian government in Zadar. The incentive for the establishment of the Museum was provided by the visit of Emperor Francis I to Dalmatia in 1818, which also included visits to Split and Solin. The original museum building was erected in 1821 next to the eastern walls of Diocletian's Palace but soon became too small to house the growing number of monuments. A new era in the development of archaeology in Croatia is associated with the work and activity of Father Frano Bulic, director of the Split Museum since 1884. Father Frano Bulic (Vranjic, 1846 - Zagreb, 1934), a catholic priest, archaeologist, historian, and conservator, had for more than 50 years been working as a field researcher, conservator and writer. He is known as the founder of the Croatian archaeological society "Bihac" that was established in Split in 1894. https://www.mdc.hr/split-arheoloski/eng/index.html