Museum of Arts and Crafts in Zagreb
Museum of Arts and Crafts in Zagreb is one of the first such institutions in Europe, founded in 1880. The initiator is Izidor Kršnjavi who found the inspiration in the theoretical setting of the Arts & Crafts movement in England. The Crafts School was founded in 1882 along with the Museum which today functions as a School for Applied Art and Design. The building of the Museum was planned and designed for the purpose - it was finished in 1888 in a historicist style, and was designed by Herman Bolle, one of the renowned architects of that time. Today, the building is a representative palace that closes the scenery around the Croatian National Theater, and the Museum's exhibition still holds the initial exhibit, while the concept of the Museum has been defined for decades. The first permanent exhibition was opened in 1962, which is recorded as one of the largest museological achievements in Croatia. The Museum has long recognized and confirmed the importance of design and art in contemporary life. It has a collection of about 100,000 items from the 14th to the 21st century, organized in 15 different collections. If you have rented an accommodation in Zagreb, this could be a good reason to visit this extremely rich and always up-to-date Museum, and an additional motive could be a reading room with over 65,000 prints, which is the most sophisticated and largest specialized library for arts and crafts in this part of Europe. There are restoration workshops within the Museum, and the significant educational activity with occasional workshops on various topics is open to the public. All the details about working hours, programs and tickets can be found at muo.hr.
