Narodni muzej

National Museum - basic information

The oldest museum institution in Serbia rises in the very center of Belgrade, right behind the monument to Prince Mihailo Obrenović. It is about the National Museum, founded in 1844, in which some of the most valuable works of the Serbian cultural heritage are kept. Of course, this museum is home to many other works of world art.

History of the National Museum
The museum was founded in 1844 under the name Muzeum serbski, as an institution whose first activity was scientific and research, and whose task was to collect antiquities. The location where the museum was located was often changed, from the Captain-Misha building, through a private house in Kneza Miloša Street and Novi Dvor, all the way to the building of the National Museum, which we still recognize today. The museum building was erected in 1903, on the site of the former Dardanelles tavern, which was a gathering place for actors, writers, painters and journalists. Until 1952, when the museum was located in it, it was the home of the state mortgage bank. Today, the museum building is under state protection as a cultural asset of great importance. The last reconstructions of the museum lasted for 15 years, since 2003. The museum reopened its doors to visitors in 2018 and thus began a new era of its existence.

Collections of the National Museum
The rich collections of the museum include over 400,000 different archeological and historical-artistic exhibits. During numerous archaeological excavations, great discoveries have been made that explain life during the Neolithic, Mesolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages, all the way to the Middle Ages. In addition to exhibits dealing with the development of civilization in today's Serbia, the museum also keeps a significant numismatic collection that counts coins from different periods. Finally, the museum is home to a large number of works of art and sculptures from both Yugoslav and world-renowned painters, including Picasso, Bosch, Dürer, Renoir, Van Gogh and many others. Thus, the museum is divided into 4 main departments, within which numerous collections are contained. Those are:

Department of Archeology
Department of the Middle Ages
Department of Recent Art
Department of Numismatics

What should you not miss when visiting the National Museum?
The museum exhibition is really rich and it is necessary to dedicate time and attention to it during the tour. Many exhibits from prehistoric times have been found in Serbia, and that should not be neglected. In addition, Belgrade preserves the works of world artists, but also Serbian painters who marked the art and history of our country. Take the time to tensely visit the entire museum and get a jury picture of what the space we know today as Serbia once looked like and what are the personalities who have left an indelible mark in our history and culture. Therefore, we recommend that you make sure to look at:

The collection of Lepenski Vir
Djerdap collection
A collection of the Roman imperial period
A collection of late antiquity and the early Byzantine period
Collections of the early and late Middle Ages
A collection of Serbian and Byzantine art
Works by Paja Jovanovic
Works by Uros Predic
Works by Nadezda Petrovic
Works of foreign art from the 14th to the 20th century

Museums within the National Museum
There are several smaller museums under the management of the National Museum, which we also recommend you to visit. These are the Gallery of Frescoes, the Museum of Vuk and Dositej, the Memorial Museum of Nadežda and Rastko Petrović, the Museum of Lepenski Vir and the Archaeological Museum of Đerdap in Kladovo.

Opening hours and ticket prices

The working hours of the museum are on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays from 10 am to 6 pm, on Thursdays and Saturdays from 12 noon to 8 pm, and on Mondays the museum is closed to visitors.
The price of a regular ticket for a permanent exhibition is 300 dinars, while for a temporary one the entrance is 500 dinars, while the price for both settings is 600 dinars. Pupils, students and pensioners have a 50% discount on the ticket price. You can get additional information about group visits and professional guides on the museum's website.

How to get to the National Museum?
The museum is located on the Republic Square itself, just behind the monument to Prince Mihailo Obrenović, at the Republic Square 1a.

By taxi: Pink taxi - 19803; 0800 11 9803; 065 488 99 77 Safe Tax BG - 060 8801010, Lux Taxi -011 3033 123
By public transport: there are bus stops 24, 26, 27, 27E, 31, 32E, 35, 37, 43, 44, 96, trolleybuses 19, 21, 22, 22L, 28, 29, 41 and mini-muse E2 nearby , E8.