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The promotion of the journal “Our Past” 22 was held in the Gallery of the National Museum Kraljevo, on Friday, February 21st, 2025. The new issue of the journal contains a total of eight papers in the fields of archaeology, history, art history and archival science, three book reviews and an In memoriam to Dragan Pešić, a prominent artist and long-time technical editor of the journal. The paper were presented by Gordana Gavrić, Ana Kostić Đekić and Miloš Timotijević. The editor, Tatjana Mihailović, spoke about the journal as a whole.

The exhibition “Between Trapeza and Sofra. Metal Vessels from the 13th to the 19th Century in the Collections of the National Museum of Serbia” presents selected vessels made of precious and non-ferrous metals from the collections of the Department of the Middle Ages of the National Museum of Serbia, which provides a wealth of information about dining customs, historical events and stylistic trends represented in the Serbian territories over a wide time span of seven centuries. Visitors are given the opportunity to expand their knowledge about the artistic and craft design of objects of practical use in the Serbian lands of the Middle Ages.

Monograph by Ksenija Đerković’ “Smak” deals with the history and influence of one of the most important rock bands in the former Yugoslavia. The band “Smak”, founded in 1971, left a deep mark on the rock scene, and its music, a blend of progressive and hard rock, has remained in the hearts of many generations. The monograph explores their career, albums, significant moments of the band members, but also the cultural context in which they operated. In addition to a historical overview, the monograph also includes personal stories, interviews, and an analysis of the musical legacy of the band “Smak”.

The 1863 Census of Population, Real Estate and Income is one of the first attempts at modern demographic data collection in the Principality of Serbia and is the only almost completely preserved census from the 19th century. As such, it represents an inexhaustible source of information of importance for the study of economic and social history. Created during the reign of Prince Mihailo Obrenović, a ruler dedicated to reforms and modernization of the state, this census was part of a broader effort to establish systematic state governance and provide accurate statistical data on the population, which was crucial for fiscal and military needs.

After the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, the Serbian Orthodox Church gave this event a New Testament significance through the canonization of Prince Lazar and its connection to the Saint Sava tradition. The Serbian people relied on this covenant in the most difficult moments of their history, whether it was under Ottoman rule, Austro-Hungarian pressure, or suffering in the wars of the 20th century. It also functions as a moral and cultural guide for the preservation of Serbian identity in our time.

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 the May 15th, 2025.

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 exhibition “Ksenija Divjak – Between Reality and Myth” opened in the Gallery of the National Museum Kraljevo, on Thursday, December 12th, 2024, at 7 p.m., on the occasion of the centenary of the artist's birth. The core of the exhibition, whose authors are Suzana...

The book by Kosta Nikolić was presented by Nebojša Jovanović, editor at the Publishing House “Laguna”, at its first promotion in Serbia, at the National Museum Kraljevo. Emperor Dušan, as a symbol of the great victor from the past, for centuries inspired the fight against the Turks and the restoration of the Serbian state, which saw his empire as its model.

Nikola Miloševski, curator of the Genocide Victims’ Museum in Belgrade, in his lecture “Kozara 1942” pointed out that during the great German-Croatian offensive from July 10th to 15th, 1942, over 40 thousand Serbs were estimated to have died on Kozar, of whom about 12 thousand were children under the age of fifteen. The film “Two Brankos Kozaras”, produced by the Genocide Victims’ Museum in Belgrade and directed by Ivica Vidanović, is also dedicated to this painful topic.