Description:
The Natural History Museum in Belgrade is one of the oldest museums and the only museum of this type in Serbia. It was founded as Jestastvenički muzej Srpske zemlje (the Natural Science Museum of the Serbian Land) in 1895.
The first collections dating back in the first half of the 19th century were being collected and stored at the Naturalist Cabinet of Great School (Lyceum), managed by Josif Pančić, the first Serbian botanist and Head of Lyceum. The first manager of the Natural Science Museum was Academy member Petar Pavlović, a paleontologist.
At the Natural History Museum today, 120 collections with over 1,800,000 specimens of rocks, minerals, fossils, plants, animals, mushrooms, hunt trophies and hunters’ weapons are stored. The Museum’s collections represent an enormous scientific basis, and some of them are so complete that they represent all that has been found in that field in Serbia. There are several hundreds of holotypes and unique specimens of minerals, rocks, botanical and zoological objects included in the Museum’s collections, for which the Museum is particularly significant.
In 1972, the Museum of Forestry and Hunting, together with its collections of hunting trophies and hunting weapons, was added to the Natural History Museum. Within the Museum, there is a specialized scientific library as well, one of the oldest in the Balkans, established 110 years ago, containing over 22,000 titles of books, manuscripts, scientific journals, geographical and geological maps.
Within their routine activities, the Museum’s experts also work on the protection of several significant sites (localities) and other natural goods in situ: the sites of paleontological importance Gluvi Potok (Deaf Stream), Gornja Prebreza (Upper Prebreza), “Buštranje”, Babušnica – Valniš, Kostolac as well as many other sites of biological significance. The Museum’s experts take a significant part in the scientific and research activities of the Museum by their participating in numerous national and international projects of nature protection.
The numerous exhibitions set up by the Museum are quite attractive in Belgrade, throughout Serbia and in the region: The Dinosaurs of Argentine – the Giants of Patagonia, the Animal Kingdom, From Nightfall to Morning Twilight, The Sharks and Rays of the Adriatic Sea, the Minerals of the Trepča, Allergenic Plants, The Green and the Black – A Tea Story, Chocolate, The Old and Vanished Fruits of Serbia, The Co-life with Beasts, Touch Nature, Serbian Lake, The Six Legs, Mente et malleo, Am I a Tree or a Life?, From the Treasury of the Library of the Natural History Museum, Journeys – Pančić, Through the World of the Insects of Serbia, The Sky Hunters, The Dino Park, Welcome to the Mesozoic, The Old and Vanished Fruits of Serbia, The Black and the White – A Chocolate Story, Archibald Reis – A Naturalist, among others.
There is no permanent exhibition setting at the Natural History Museum. The Museum includes the Kalemegdan Gallery, where exhibitions, presentations, meetings and promotions are held. For the children of Belgrade kindergartens and schools, as well as for those from schools throughout Serbia, the Museum organizes lectures and creative workshops, within the framework of which over 25,000 little children take part every year.
During the year, the Kalemegdan Gallery is visited by more than 35,000 visitors, and the numerous exhibitions at the museums throughout Serbia are visited by over 100,000 visitors. In the Gallery, there is a Nature Bazaar, within which unique and original souvenirs and jewelry made from natural materials are sold.
In 2013, the Natural History Museum was delivered the prestigious “Mihajlo Valtrović” professional award for the best museum in Serbia. This award is delivered by the Serbian Museum Society. In 2016, the Museum received the Feast of the Presentation Order of the Second Class from the President of the Republic of Serbia for the results achieved in the field of culture, science and education.
51 Njegoševa Str., Belgrade
Tel. +381 11 3442 147, +381 11 3442 149