Beginning from Trg Republike, north of Kneza Mihaila:
Figure 3.5: The statue ``Danube'' from Lepensko Vir,
in the National Museum
Narodni muzej , the National Museum, Trg Republike 1a (open 10-17, Thu 12-20, Sun 10-14, Mon closed). This large museum contains several collections: prehistory, with the unique findings of Lepensko Vir (++); Greek and Roman antiquities (++); middle ages Serb art (+); Serb art of 17th and 18th century (-); Yugoslav paintings of the 20th century (+), to be compared with the similar collections of the Muzej savremene umetnosti ; Yugoslav sculpture, most noticeably some statues by Ivan Mestrovic (++); graphics; gallery of the foreign artists (+), where you can see Renoir's the Bather and learn the amazing history of its theft, damaging, and sophisticated restoration. Museum bookshop, with very little in foreign languages.
Figure 3.6:
The Ethnographic Museum contains collections of
everyday life in the rural past of Serbia.
Etnografski muzej , the Ethnographic Museum, Studentski Trg 13 (open 10-17, Sun 10-15, Mon closed)(++). The permanent exhibitions show the agricultural and food processing methods, the traditional dress, the handicraft, the houses of the populations of different parts of Serbia, including Kosovo and Vojvodina. English leaflet and plan.
Figure 3.7:
The Ethnographic Museum contains collections of
everyday life in the rural past of Serbia.
Pedagoski muzej , the Pedagogical Museum, Uzun Mirkova (open ?, ring) (+). Small museum of school books, teaching tools, school papers, and so on. No captions and no illustrative material in foreign languages.
Even without knowing the language, all things schoolish can be identified across cultures; or maybe another proof of the fact that Serbs have an European culture, and sometimes like to show it.
Further north:
Muzej Vukov i Dositejev , Museum dedicated to Vuk Karadzic and Dositei Obradovic , founders of the modern Serb culture and language; in Gospodar Jevremova (open 10-17, Thu 12-20, Sun 10-14, Mon closed)(+). This private Turkish house was used by Obradovic, during the first Serb uprising (1806-1831), as the first Serb high school ; Karadzic was among the first students. All captions but three are in Serb; no illustrative material in foreign languages on sale.
This museum is a good illustration of the Serb identity paradox. The stronger is the need to reaffirm their cultural and national identity, the more exclusive is the use of the Serb language and of the cyrillic alphabet. Thus this museum, the most important to understand the cultural renaissance which formed the basis for the Serb independence and modern nationalism, is impossible to understand unless you can read Serb (and in the cyrillic alphabet, thus knowledge of Croat is not enough).
Muzej pozorisne umetnosti , the Museum of the Art of Theater, Gospodar jevremova 19 (open 9-13, Sun 9-14).
Jevrejski istorijski muzej , the Jewish Historical Museum, 7 juli 71a (open 10-12, Mon closed).
Figure 3.8: The church of the Ravanica Monastery
Galerija fresaka , the Gallery of Frescoes, Cara Urosa 20 (open 10-17, Thu 12-20, Sun 101-4, Mon closed) (+). Copies of the most important frescoes from monasteries all over the country. You should see some originals, but may be you can use this exhibition to select which monasteries to visit, taking into account that the very survival of the Serb medieval art under a Turkish occupation lasted for centuries was a miracle, and sometimes the miracle was not complete, that is, many are in a very poor state. Also used as concert hall; some good books, also in English.
South of Kneza Mihaila:
Konak knjeginje Ljubice , Sima Markovica 8 (open 10-17)(+). The Residence of the princess Ljubica, wife of the prince Milos , the organizer of the second Serb uprising and first ruler of a semi-independent Serbia. A Turkish style wooden house, with an exhibition of 19th century furniture, collected from different Belgrade houses. English leaflet and plan.
Figure 3.9: The Residence of the princess Ljubica
Saborna crkva , the cathedral of Belgrade, Sima Markovic (+); with the tombs of the great Serbs, including king Lazar , Karadzic and Obadovic . Also Muzej srpske pravoslavne crkve , the Museum of the Serb orthodox Church, Sima Markovič 6.
Muzej primenjene umetnosti , Applied Arts Museum, Vuka Karadzica 18 (-). After visiting all the rooms open to the public, I still do not know what this museum is about.
Muzej Beograda , marked on many maps, does not any more indicate a museum open to the public but only the offices of the Belgrade museums organization.