Top 10 Museums in Croatia

by Welcome Center Croatia | Last updated Mar 2, 2022 | Published on Mar 2, 2022

Croatia is known globally for its outstanding tourist attractions with stunning sceneries. Apart from its paradisiacal destinations, this country at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe prides itself in several other things. They include delectable seafood, a spectacular coastline, Polaroid-perfect coastal towns and breathtaking islands. Croatia is geographically diverse, and some of its regions are culturally and historically rich such that you will be amazed by their magnificence.

If your dream is to experience a rich heritage in Croatia, paying a visit to its numerous museums will be a lifetime memory. The museums meet several niches and topics that range from science, history, and architecture to archaeology and the lives of the most high-ranking individuals in the country. Therefore, if you crave to learn and understand Croatian culture, the ten varied museums in this article should be your first stop places in Croatia.

Neanderthal Museum, Krapina

The Neanderthal Museum is among the most sought-after archaeological sites. The museum has the central and most plentiful collection of Neanderthal people fossils in one location. In 1899, about 900 human fossil bones were found in caves and sandstone deposits with a height of eight meters in Krapina. The discovery propelled the small world to the scientific world's reach.

The human bones were fossil remains belonging to many individuals aged between 2 to 40, both male and female. Besides discovering fossil remains, several other factors make Krapina stand out as one of Europe's profound Palaeolithic Neanderthal sites. These factors include prehistoric animal fossils that belonged to woolly rhinoceros, giant deer, elk, cave bears, wild buffalo, and wolves.

The availability of over a thousand stone tools provides an insight into the lifestyle of the Neanderthal people. If you have an interest in paleontological and archaeological science and history, consider visiting the Neanderthal Museum for a wholesome experience. This museum is one of the grandest museums in Europe, and it is the best archaic destination that we highly recommend. If you are interested in exploring the actual excavation site, it is a walking distance from the museum.

Website:www.mkn.mhz.hr/hr/
Email:rezervacije-mkn@mhz.hr
Telephone:+385 49 371 491

Glass Museum, Zadar

It is an archaeological museum that specialises in the ancient glass.The museum is located in the 19th century renovated historical palace of the Cosmacendi family. Despite the Museum of Ancient Glass in Zadar being a current accumulation of the stunning Dalmatian town, it is probably the first place you would like to visit.

This museum primarily focuses on glass, and it is famous for exhibiting massive collections of ancient Roman glasses besides Italy. The collection also comprises Christian glassware that includes flasks and cups. Other available displays are jewellery, goblets, amulets, vials, jars, store creams, oils, perfumes, and vessels that Roman women used. Also, you can witness the glass being blown on the site depending on the timing of your trip, or you can visit the museums Glass workshops.

Website:www.mas-zadar.hr
Email:info@mas-zadar.hr
Telephone:+385 (0)23 363 831

Apoxyomenos Museum, Mali Lošinj

This museum was launched in 2016 to host the Croatian apoxyomenos statue. The statue is an artwork that represents an over two thousand old Greek athlete who Rene Wouters accidentally found, a Belgian tourist, off the Coast of Lošinj Island in 1999.

Before the statue got to its permanent residence in the Apoxyomenos Museum, it was initially exhibited in Paris, London, Florence, Los Angeles, and Zagreb on the island where it was discovered. The museum imparts knowledge to visitors about the statue's features and history. It provides cultural context, and its contemporary exhibitions compartments trigger several senses such as sight, smell, touch and hearing.

Website:www.muzejapoksiomena.hr
Email:info@muzejapoksiomena.hr
Telephone:+385 51 734 260

Museum Of Croatian War of Independence, Dubrovnik

If you want to understand Croatian history, the Museum of Croatian War of Independence is a must-visit destination when in Croatia. The museum is strategically located in Dubrovnik and has a home in the Imperial Fort on top of Mount Srđ. The mountain is behind the old town and has the most stunning panorama accessible by an iconic cable car.

The museum has about 500 exhibits throughout four primary regions and covers some years, from 1991 to 1995. The exhibits include documentary photographs, video footage, documents, audio recordings, and logbooks to battle maps, mines, and weapons.

Website:www.mdrd.hr
Email:mdrd@mdrd.hr
Telephone:+385 20 324 856

Museum of Illusions, Zadar

The Museum of Illusions in Zadar provides a place for entertaining and social trips into the world of illusions that are fascinating to all ages. The museum offers various experiences ranging from confusing, fascinating, to educative and tricky.

If you are an adventurous soul, this museum is a fantastic place that will put all your senses to the test, and its major tourist attractions include holograms, the Mirror Room and the Vortex Tunnel.

The Museum of Illusions will ensure that you understand that assumptions are not always correct, and we perceive our surroundings and the world at large through our senses. The fantastic displays and tricks educate you on how individual perceptions are influenced, how the human brain operates and how to determine whether something is real or an illusion.

Website:www.zadar.muzejiluzija.com
Email:zadar@muzejiluzija.hr
Telephone:+385 23 316 803

Typhlological Museum, Zagreb

Typhlological Museum is one of Croatia's exceptional subjects rarely featured in museums. Its name comes from the Greek word "typhlos," which translates to blind and "logos, " meaning reason, thought or speech. Zagreb's Typhlological Museum is a specialised museum that focuses on the challenges disabled people face in their respective lives. It mainly deals with visually impaired individuals.

The Typhlological Museum, a government institution, provides individuals with disabilities an avenue to experience different social life. The institution provides social life experiences by organising several events and exhibiting artwork designed to be felt. The museum allows the local community to learn and have insights into living with a disability while giving disabled individuals a forum to participate in social activities and experience art.

Website:www.tifloloskimuzej.hr
Email:info@tifloloskimuzej.hr
Telephone:+385 1 4811 102

Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb

The Contemporary Art Museum in Zagreb is the largest and the most recent in Croatia.

The museum prides itself on having a collection of about 12,000 objects. However, 600 are in an exhibit in the museum of contemporary art itself.

The accumulation includes works of Croatian artists such as Tošo Dabac, Julije Knifer, Vjenceslav Richter, Ivan Kožarić, Ivan Picelj, Sanja Iveković, Miroslav Šutej.

Also, the works of foreign artists include Julio Le Parc, Getulio Alviani, Richard Mortensen, Otto Piene and Max Bill.

Website:www.msu.hr
Email:msu@msu.hr
Telephone:+385 1 60 52 700

Archaeological Museum, Split

The Archaeological Museum is the oldest in Croatia, established in 1820 and located at Split, a historical and ancient city that aims to conserve, preserve and restore.

The Archaeological Museum is among Croatia's best and most understandable history museums. This museum has a massive collection of about 30,000 archaeology and history books. It also contains 6,000 stone epitaphs from Salona, Roman glass and Greek Hellenistic ceramics, significant coins from Antiquity and the Middle Ages, and classical sculptures and mosaics.

The museum is all about the central Dalmatian area, mainly Split itself and nearby Salona, where most artefacts were found. Archaeological Museum comprises everything ranging from the Greek colonisation of the Adriatic and Roman times to the coverage of Christianity in the region and medieval times.

Website:www.armus.hr
Email:info@armus.hr
Telephone:+385 21 329 340

Museum of Broken Relationships, Zagreb

This museum has its share of unusualness and is remarkable in Croatia's capital. The Museum of Broken Relationships won an award in 2011 for being the most innovative museum in Europe. It is located in Zagreb's historic upper town in the Baroque Kulmer Palace.

The museum of broken relationships exhibits various personal objects and love letters from former partners. It tells heartbreak tales and displays assets that symbolise love. The museum is committed to broken relationships and unsuccessful love affairs.

Website:www.brokenships.com
Email:info@brokenships.com
Telephone:+385 1 4851 021

Croatian Museum of Naive Art, Zagreb

The Croatian Museum of Naive Art offers a view of 80 prints, paintings, and sculptures by self-taught Croatians and international artists. These works were mainly produced by peasants and workmen who had developed their styles and became famous between the 1930s and 1980s.

The Croatian Museum of naive art displays views such as in expressions of individualism, with the common themes of rural life and work, the creations of untamed imagination and social events and gatherings. Due to the arts' high poetic nature, its movement thrives on creativity and freedom and differentiates itself from amateur art. The exhibitions are in rotation, and the museum exhibits 1850 pieces.

If you enjoy visiting museums, the ones in Croatia will offer you a rich cultural and historical experience.

Website:www.hmnu.hr
Email:info@hmnu.hr
Telephone:+385 1 4851 911