Mimara Museum

The Mimara Museum is located in the center of Zagreb, near numerous other cultural and educational institutions. The full name of the museum is the Public Institution "Ante and Wiltrude Topić Mimara Art Collection" - Mimara Museum, headquartered at Roosveltov trg 5 in Zagreb.

"With the opening of the Museum, my heart will be filled with immeasurable joy for achieving my life goal and fulfilling my debt to the homeland and the Croatian people." - Ante Topić Mimara, Zagreb, December 31, 1985. This sentence by Ante Topić Mimara best summarizes the patriotic motives that led him to donate his private art collection to the Croatian people. Today's Mimara Museum is based on this gesture.

The founder of the museum is the Republic of Croatia, and its activities are financed by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia. It was established in 1980 and opened to the public on July 17, 1987.

Mimara offers a view of a rich and diverse art collection, including works from the ancient world as well as European art from the early Middle Ages to the 20th century. A special section consists of works of Eastern art, from the Near and Middle East to the Far East.

Through more than 300 exhibited artifacts, it traces the developmental path from ancient Egypt and the Roman Empire to famous Venetian and other European workshops. The Far Eastern Art Collection contains objects made of rare materials such as jade, lacquer, and rhinoceros horn. The museum possesses a rich professional library with 5,400 titles.

This museum is located in the architectural complex of the "Donji Grad Gymnasiums," built in the late 19th century in the spirit of historicism: it is a precious example of neo-Renaissance palace, the work of two German architects from Leipzig/Berlin, A. Ludwig and L. Th. Hülssner, specialized in designing school buildings. The project was commissioned in 1892, and the building was opened to the public in 1895 on the occasion of the visit of King and Emperor Franz Joseph I to Zagreb.

The historical merit for the construction goes to the painter and politician Izidor Kršnjavi (Našice, 1845 - Zagreb, 1927), who held the position of the Head of the Department for Worship and Education in Zagreb from 1891 to 1896. Kršnjavi initiated a series of educational and cultural programs and established and built numerous fundamental institutions of Croatian education, science, and culture.

With its location, layout diversity, articulated facades, and grand vistas, this building complex has exceptional architectural, urbanistic, and ambient values in defining the appearance of Zagreb's Lower Town. As a protected cultural heritage, it is registered with the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia in the register of immovable cultural properties.