Night of the Museums is an indispensable event that has been held regularly for the past 15 years and has been gaining more and more visitors every year.

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How It All Began

It all started in 2005 when a project was launched that included 6 of Zagreb's museums. Since then, the Croatian Museum Society has been organizing the now traditional The Night of the Museums every year, in which more and more cities and museums have joined over time. One year, over 300,000 visitors came to visit all the museums participating in the manifestation in one evening! The Night of the Museums is an evening when everyone from high school students to grandparents go to the museums to see what they have to offer and what stories they are hiding.

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What Can You See In The Museums?

The event has had almost 3.5 million visitors since its start in 2005! I remember when I first decided to visit as many museums as possible in one evening and I have to admit that it was a truly unique experience. Zagreb was flooded with a large number of people who decided to do the same. I remember I was pleasantly surprised by the appearance of the museums themselves, but also by everything that was exhibited. I saw everything from mummies, vintage cars, old mobile phones and beautiful paintings, to many interesting antiques that people used in their everyday lives. Everything is so nicely preserved and displayed so you can't help but take some pictures of the exhibits. No flash, of course.

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It is interesting how the event grew over the years. At the beginning of 2005, only Zagreb with 6 of its museums was part of it, and last year 110 cities with 210 museums and galleries participated in the event!

Digital Walk Through The Museums

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Every year, The Night of the Museums has a theme that runs through all the museums in every city, and this year's theme is "The role of museums in times of crisis." Given the situation we have all found ourselves in, the theme is certainly appropriate. Precisely because of the situation that I mentioned and the Covid-19 pandemic, the organizers agreed that it would be best to hold this year's, 16th exhibition, as a digital Night of Museums on January 29, 2021.

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The event will be held almost entirely online, except in some locations where part of the exhibitions will be held outdoors as in previous years, but of course, following all the guidelines in place due to the pandemic. I am certainly glad to see that the Night of the Museums will be held in this way, and that the tradition will not be interrupted, because the beginning of the year is always marked by a visit to the museums, and luckily we will not have to skip it this year. 

You can find out more information about the event on:

• Official website: https://nocmuzeja.hr/ 
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nocmuzeja.hr/ 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nocmuzeja.hr/ 

Header image credit: Lice grada

Author: Ivona Kezić