Key exhibition starting points include the personality of King Milan Obrenović, his abdication and motives for traveling to the Holy Land, the spiritual transformation he experienced at the tomb of Christ, the perception of the discourse of the Orient in the Serbian environment, and its influence on the shaping of the court and court culture in the Kingdom of Serbia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Milorad Miki Mihailović was the first art historian, curator of the Art Collection of the National Museum Kraljevo, and director of the institution from 1979 to 1995, when he passed away unexpectedly. September 2025 marks 30 years since his passing, which is one of the reasons why, in the year celebrating 75 years of the Museum’s work and 30 years of the new Gallery located on the ground floor of the old school building, an exhibition is being organized in honor of one of the most significant curators of this museum institution, whom he successfully led for sixteen years.

Curator Nemanja Trifunović of the National Museum Kraljevo will lead a guided tour through the exhibition “Journey to the East of King Milan Obrenović: Pilgrimage and Oriental Culture at the Serbian Court.” The tour will highlight the significance of the king’s journey to the Holy Land and the influence of Oriental culture on the Serbian royal court. Through reconstructed artifacts, historical photographs, travel diaries, and modern multimedia content, the exhibition reveals not only the details of a royal voyage but also the cultural encounters that shaped courtly life and artistic expression in Serbia at the end of the 19th century.

Until now, Serbian historiography has lacked a comprehensive study dedicated to Prince Milan Obrenović, the first modern-era king of Serbia. The historical monograph by Suzana Rajić “Prince Milan Obrenović (1854–1881): From Baron to a Sovereign” offers a profound insight into the early life and reign of Prince Milan.
Alongside the author, the ruler’s political dilemmas and the challenges he faced will be discussed by Danko Leovac, PhD, associate professor at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Belgrade and Darko Gučanin, historian and Director of the National Museum Kraljevo.