Museums 1
NATIONAL MUSEUM
It is the oldest museum institutions in Serbia - it was founded in 1844. Its funds consist of 290,000 catalogued items. Collections: prehistoric, mediaeval, recent Serbian art, foreign painting. It publishes the Anthology of the National Museum and "Numizmatičar" and "Kovčežić" magazines. It is the organizer of great representative exhibitions of local and international character, as well as smaller thematic exhibitions. The parts of the National Museum are:
- Fresco Gallery, Cara Uroša 20
- Museum of Vuk and Dositej, Gospodar Jevremova 21
- Memorial Museum of Nadežda and Rastko Petrović, Ljube Stojanovića 25
Since 1952, the museum has been situated in the building of the Treasury built in 1903 by the design of the architects Nikola Nestorović and Andra Stevanović. In time, the building has been enlarged and changed, and during World War II it has suffered considerable damages. The works on conservation and restoration in 1964 gave it back the original look.
At the atrium of the museum concerts of chamber music, lectures and different projections take place. It has its own shop selling the publications of National Museum, copies of icons, reproductions of paintings, postcards and slides.
It contains a number of prehistoric and classical archaeological collections, collections related to mediaeval culture and art, collections of the VIII and XX-century painters, a splendid collection of foreign artistic works, rich numismatic section (domestic and foreign), as well as graphic section. This museum is also famous for its technical library and activities of its highly developed conservation and restoration center, which is among the largest of its kind in the world.
The greatest treasure kept in the National Museum is the Miroslavljevo Jevanđelje (Miroslav's Gospel) - the oldest and most precious Cyrillic manuscript, made about 1190.
MUSEUM OF VUK AND DOSITEJ
Founded in 1949. It is located in the building of former Great School, which was established as a Lycee in 1808 by a great Serbian educator and the first Serbian Minister of education Dositej Obradović. The museum has a technical library, with a small reading-room and it consists of two parts - the part dedicated to Dositej Obradović is on the ground floor, while the part about the life and work of Vuk Stefanović Karadžić is on the first floor.
Vuk's heritage has been bought up by the Serbian state from his daughter Mina Vukomanović. Also, all Vuk's personal and family things kept in National Museum have been transferred here, as well as a part of the archive material of Vuk's heritage from Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts - diplomas, visiting cards, various notes, bills and recipes.
Dositej's personal things, library and handwritings were scattered away in 1813, so it has been more difficult to collect the authentic material for the museum exhibition. In Irig, the books from the time of Dositej's stay at Hopovo monastery were found in its library. On one of these books is an original Dositej's note that he has read the book.