National Museum

Founded in 1844, the National Museum in Belgrade is the oldest museum in Serbia. The museum also comprises the Gallery of Frescoes, the Museum of Vuk and Dositej and the Memorial Museum of Nadežda and RastkoPetrović. The National Museum’s most valuable possession is ‘Miroslav’s Gospel’, the oldest and most precious manuscript in the Cyrillic script, created c. 1190. The edificethathouses the museum was built in 1903, as the Funds Management building, into which the Mortgage Bankwould later move in, which was one of the oldest banking institutions in Belgrade. Since 1952, it has been the home of the National Museum of Belgrade. The building was created according to the design of architectsAndraStevanović and Nikola Nestorović. In 2003, the permanent exhibition was closed due to reconstruction. After 15 years, the National Museum was reopened to visitors on June 28, 2018, withstate officials and prominent figures from the spheres of art, culture and science attending the gala opening, in the presence of a large audience.The museum’s collections include more than 400,000 of the most representative and most valuable archeological, historical and art exhibits – precious clues for studying the archeology and art history of today’s Serbia and its surrounding regions. These provide insights into the development of civilizationson this territory and their critical moments, from prehistoric times to the late Middle Ages; the key directions and styles in art, as well as the outstanding artistic achievements of national and European art, from the medieval timesup to the contemporary moment.