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The exhibition “Lojanik: Prehistoric Jasper and Opal Quarry” represents the culmination of a long‑term research process, which included thorough fieldwork, analytical approach, and great professional dedication. It is also the result of successful cooperation between various institutions, experts, and individuals, who through joint efforts contributed to bringing the complex and important topic of prehistoric quarries closer to the contemporary visitor. Thanks to this exhibition and the recently published monograph on Lojanik, the distant past becomes visible, understandable, and actively present in the contemporary cultural discourse, as an important part of our collective heritage and identity.

The National Museum Kraljevo and the Historical Archive Kraljevo, which publish the collection of papers “Our Past”, are inviting you to contribute to the printing of issue number 24 with your work. The deadline for submission of papers is May 1st, 2026.

Darko Gučanin, director of the National Museum Kraljevo, in his review of the year behind us, presents the most important successes of the institution: exhibitions, publishing activities, scientific conferences, research in the country and the region, the development of the Official Internet Presentation, as well as numerous other programs, summarizing the year behind us.

The Gallery of the National Museum Kraljevo hosted the ceremonial opening of the exhibition of photographs and video works by Stefana Savić, titled “This Is Not the Place.” The exhibition was authored by Ljubiša Simović, museum advisor at the National Museum Kraljevo. The central theme of the exhibition is the conflict between mental image and objective reality. Created at the moment of the artist’s return to her hometown, the project treats photography as a space where memory collides with lived experience. Using the language of staged photography, Savić reconstructs moments of everyday and private life, presenting them as independent events. Instead of offering clear answers, the exhibition introduces unease and questioning, confronting the viewer with the realization that “What once was, now is not”.

The Kraljevo and Kragujevac tragedies of October 1941, among the largest crimes committed by German troops in World War II, continue to cast a long shadow over Serbia’s culture of remembrance – not only because of the scale of suffering, but also due to incomplete justice and the absence of official apologies from Germany and Austria. The fate and responsibility of Wehrmacht officers behind the massacres – above all General Franz Böhme, Major Otto Desch, and Major Paul Koenig – were the focus of Nenad Karamijalković’s lecture at the National Museum Kraljevo, where he presented the results of his research into their biographies, ideological convictions, postwar destinies, and the broader system of impunity that shaped postwar Europe’s attitude toward crimes committed in Serbia.

The third icon painting workshop within the project “Icon Is Painted With Light” was held at the Gallery of the National Museum Kraljevo. It brought together participants of all ages who wished to explore the fundamentals of icon painting, the symbolism of color, and the spiritual meaning of Orthodox icons. Under the expert guidance of iconographer, academic painter, and restorer Marija Topalović, attendees engaged in hands-on work, discovering the deeper significance of iconography through the creative process.

The program “On Slava at Olivera’s House” was held at the Legacy of Olivera Radojković Čolović, on Mitrovdan, Saturday, November 8th, 2025, the donor’s family Slava day. The event contributes to preserving the memory of bourgeois Slava as a meaningful part of cultural life, set in the ambiance of an old town house that still retains the spirit of its era, the warmth of home, and the tradition of family celebration.

As a researcher of gastronomic heritage, Marina Lukić Cvetić spoke about the history, origin, and cultural significance of the beverage boza, as well as the boza-maker’s craft, one of the most distinctive traditional trades in the urban centers of the Balkans. She emphasized that gastroheritology – the study of food heritage – is still in its early stages in Serbia and that more systematic research is needed. Marina Lukić Cvetić highlighted that food and drink are essential elements of intangible cultural heritage, offering valuable insight into a society’s history, social structure, and everyday culture.

The Conference of Museum Educators of Serbia with International Participation, titled “Museum Education and the Family: Intergenerational Learning, Shared Experience, and Identity Formation”, was held at the Gallery of the National Museum Kraljevo on November 6th-7th, 2025. 6. и 7. новембра 2025.
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У закључцима скупа истакнута је улога музеја као простора међугeнерацијског учења, подстицања емоција, заједничких искустава и развоја идентитета, али и потреба за јачим умрежавањем музејских стручњака.

The scientific conference “Development of Towns in Western Pomoravlje in the 19th and 20th Century” was held at the Gallery of the National Museum Kraljevo, organized by the museum to mark the publication of the two-volume edition “Population Census 1863”, edited by Bojana Miljković Katić, PhD, and Nemanja Trifunović. This work is a valuable source for studying the history of Karanovac and its surroundings in the 19th century and serves as an important foundation for further scholarly research. The conference featured 12 researchers presenting nine papers, covering topics such as demographic development of towns in the 19th century, the impact of family and marital ties on economic and cultural progress, urban planning, industrialization, and infrastructure transformation.