Discover Wonderful Museums In Zagreb – Your Ultimate Zagreb Museum Guide

Zagreb Museum

Museum of Arts and Crafts - Museums in Zagreb
Museum of Arts and Crafts – Museums in Zagreb

The Museum of Arts and Crafts was first established in 1880 to house collections of artworks by craftsmen and artists. Hermann Bollé designed the building, built between 1887 and 1892. Over 3,000 objects of applied arts from the Gothic period to the present give an overview of Croatia’s cultural history and its close ties to Europe.

The collections offer an insight into the Croatian and European production of arts and crafts. It spans from the late Medieval times to Art Deco and up to the more contemporary era.

As the museum has international backing, impressive temporary exhibitions from abroad take place here. The nearby library has a total of 65,000 books on arts and crafts. This is one of the best museums in Zagreb.

Address: Trg Republike Hrvatske 10

Croatian Natural History Museum Zagreb

Croatian Natural History Museum - Museum in Zagreb
Croatian Natural History Museum Zagreb – Museums in Zagreb

The 18th-century Amadeo Palace, a theater from 1797 to 1834, has been the Natural History Museum since 1868. In that year collections from the Department of Natural Science of the National Museum moved here. At the end of the 19th century, there were 3 museums of natural history:

  • Mineralogy and Petrography
  • Geology and Palaeontology
  • Zoology

These 3 merged in 1986 to form the present museum. There are over 2,500,000 exhibits, including minerals from all over the world. The paleontology collections contain some of the material found in Krapina. The zoological collection documents every species of animal found in Croatia.

Address: Demetrova 1

Mimara Museum Zagreb

Mimara Museum Zagreb - Museums in Zagreb
Mimara Museum Zagreb – Museums in Zagreb

In 1973, Ante Topic Mimara, a businessman, collector, painter, and restorer, donated his collection to Croatia. The Mimara Museum was set up for their display. The museum is in an enormous Neo-Renaissance building from 1895. Works are in chronological order, displayed from the prehistoric era to the present day.

The archaeological section is very fascinating. It shows important finds from ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, and Pre-Columbian America. There are also items from the Middle and Far East. The icon collection not only has Russian pieces but also has icons from Palestine, Antioch, and Asia Minor from the 6th to the 13th centuries.

There are ancient Persian, Turkish, and Moroccan carpets. About 300 exhibits cover over 3,500 years of development of Chinese art, from the Chang to the Qing dynasties. More than 650 glassware exhibits come from Europe, Persia, and Egypt. About 1,000 objects and pieces of furniture give a good picture of European craftsmanship from the Middle Ages to the 19th century.

Sculpture and Paintings

Mimara Museum Zagreb Interior
Mimara Museum Zagreb Interior

There’s also a wide-ranging collection of 200 sculptures, which date from ancient Greece to the time of the Impressionists. They include works by the Italian sculptors Giambologna, the Della Robbias and Verrocchio, and the Frenchmen Jean-Antoine Houdon and Auguste Rodin.

Examples of Italian paintings are by Veronese, Paolo Veneziano, Pietro Lorenzetti, Raphael, Canaletto, Giorgino, and Caravaggio.

Rembrandt, Jacob van Ruisdael, and Jan van Goyen represent Dutch Baroque paintings. The museum also has paintings by the English artists John Constable and J.M.W. Turner and the French painters Edouard Manet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Camille Pissarro.

Address: Rooseveltov trg 5

Ethnographic Museum Zagreb

Ethnographic Museum Zagreb - Museums in Zagreb
Ethnographic Museum Zagreb – Museums in Zagreb

This is the most important museum of its kind in Croatia. It’s from 1919 and set up in a domed building, constructed in 1902 in Art Nouveau style, for exhibitions held by the Chamber of Commerce.

The statues decorating the central part of the facade are by the sculptor Rudolf Valdec. Oton Ivekovic painted the frescoes on the dome.

Only a small part (2,800 pieces) of the 80,000 exhibits which the museum possesses are on display. Croatian culture shows through exhibits of gold and silver jewellery, musical instruments, splendid embroidery, furnishings, kitchen utensils, tools, beautiful traditional women’s costumes embroidered in gold an men’s ceremonial dress.

A reconstructed farmhouse room shows the customs and way of life of Croat farmers and fishermen. There’s also a fascinating collection of dolls dressed in traditional costumes. It’s called the Ljeposav Perinic collection. The valuable collection of pieces of non-European civilizations. They include Latin America, Africa, the Far East, Melanesia and Australia.

Zagreb City Museum

Muzej grada Zagreba

Zagreb City Museum - Museums in Zagreb
Zagreb City Museum – Museums in Zagreb

Three linked historic buildings (the 17th-century nun’s convent of St. Clare, a 12th-century tower, and a 17th-century granary) form the Zagreb City Museum. Its collection of historic, cultural, military, and domestic artifacts, many donated by prominent townspeople, has a themed display arrangement. It shows every facet of the city’s development, from prehistory to the present day.

It is a must-see museum in Zagreb.

Across the city, the museum also maintains the former residences of some of Croatia‘s most celebrated recent figures. These are of the architect Viktor Kovacic, the writer Miroslav Krleza, and his wife Bela, plus the poet and painter Cata Dujsin-Ribar and her two husbands. The period furnishings, decor, and works of art make fascinating short tours.

Address: Opatička ul. 20

 

 

Technical Museum Zagreb

Technical Museum - Museums in Zagreb
Technical Museum Zagreb – Museums in Zagreb

Zagreb’s Technical museum and its 60-year tradition follows the footsteps of the great science and technology museums of the world. It’s one of the cities’ gems and one of the best museums in Zagreb. The Technical Museum in Zagreb is definitely one of the most famous museums in the country and a favorite of many.

The idea of establishing such a museum dates back to the late 19th century. There was even a Trades & Crafts Museum established in Zagreb for some time. But the real Technical Museum’s history began on December 21st 1954, when it was finally decided to establish.

Since 1959, when it moved to its today’s location, the museum invests a lot of effort into popularizing science and technology. They organize lectures, workshops, presentations, festivals both for grown ups and kids. Thanks to the warehouse it’s in, the Technical museum has a lot of space for a range of exhibits.

Address Savska cesta 18, Zagreb
Telephone +385 1 4844 050

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