Museum of Herzegovina

About the institution:

The actual beginning of the work of the local museum dates back to April 24, 1950. About 40 citizens attended the founding conference, Assistant Minister of Education of Bosnia and Herzegovina Vlajko Ubavić, Director of the National Museum from Sarajevo Špiro Kulišić, Commissioner of the Regional People's Committee for Education Mihajlo Laličević.

The following were elected to this council: Radovan Papić, president, Dušan Grk, vice president of the Regional People's Committee, Husaga Ćišić, Sava Semiz, Fr. Pavo Dragičević, professors: Boso Miladin, Munevera Mahić, Dimitrije Kurilić, Sulejman Kulenović, Duško Čapin, Filip Bašić and Božo Pejković; then Commissioner for Education and Culture ONO Mihajlo Laličević, Safet Čišić, Nada Bitanga-Novak, Mile Ratković, Puba Losse, Mirko Bruk, Hasan Dedić, Karlo Afan de Rivera, Zorka Ostojić, Dobro Kuljić and Malaček.

The four departments of the Museum: Department of History, Archaeology, Ethnology and Literature became and remain the basis of work until today.

Already in 1955, the first permanent exhibition was opened, where the ethnographic materials and documentation collected up to that time were displayed. The preparations lasted several years. In the period of 1953, the exhibition was partially resolved, so that in 1954, a larger budget for the purchase of objects would be determined, which resulted in the opening of a permanent exhibition on February 14, 1955, with two museum departments, the NOB department and the ethnographic department. Of course, the display was supplemented in the following years by purchasing items and donations from citizens.

On July 27, 1961, the Museum opened a new, modern, permanent exhibit with 14,000 exhibits. The exhibit mostly consists of exhibits on the theme of the People's Revolution, and it was opened by Džemal Bijedić, at that time the secretary of the Secretariat for Legislation of the SIV.

On July 27, 1965, the exhibition "Mostar's Past" was opened, which was a combined historical-archaeological exhibition and showed the development of Mostar from the Neolithic to the arrival of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. The park in front of and behind the building of the Ćejvan Ćehaji foundation was arranged as an archaeological exhibition in the open space. In the interior space was placed a famous model of the city, made by a model maker from Sarajevo, Huso Karišik.

The entire exhibition was destroyed in the war, and the object is no longer in the possession of the Museum.

The birthplace of Svetozar Ćorović was adapted for the needs of the literature department. According to professor Ivan Kordić, a long-time curator in that department, numerous problems accompanied all earlier attempts to collect, process and present the huge Herzegovinian written treasure. Only with the acquisition of the house of the writer Svetozar Ćorović, the literature department was somewhat resolved, and it officially began its work in 1968.

The permanent exhibition "Life and work of Alekse Šantić" was opened on March 20, 1969. year.

The period of the 70s marks the work of the museum through its departments, where enviable results are achieved. That time is also characterized by the beginning of intensive work of the historical-archaeological department. We highlight the completion of conservation works at the archaeological excavations in Žitomislići.

In the period from May/June 1972, the museum excavated prehistoric tumuli in the area of Gubavica. The results of the excavation confirmed that the discovered archaeological objects from Gubavica belong to the older and younger phases of the Glasinac culture. In addition to the regular tasks of taking care of valuable objects, the ethnological department also works on the scientific project of migrations in Herzegovina, and collects data on the origins of families and villages in these areas.