Pomorski muzej

About the museum

The Pomorski muzej (Maritime Museum) was founded in 1949 on the initiative of the Jadranski institut (Adriatic Institute) of the Jugoslavenska akademija znanosti i umjetnosti (Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts; today HAZU, the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts). Since 1988 it has been part of the Dubrovački muzeji (Dubrovnik Museums). The first collection was assembled in 1941 from donations by citizens for the exhibition “Dubrovačko pomorstvo kroz vjekove” (“Dubrovnik Seafaring through the Ages”). After the museum was founded, the holdings were supplemented by purchases, gifts and objects from underwater archaeological research in the waters of Dubrovnik.

From 1952 the museum has occupied the first and second floors of Fort St John (tvrđava sv. Ivana), which once guarded the entrance to the city harbour and was one of the most important fortresses in the defence of the city. Construction began in 1346; its present appearance was defined at the end of the 16th century. In the 19th century the fortress was rebuilt into two storeys, and windows were cut through where the cannon openings had been.

The holdings comprise more than 11,000 objects in fifteen collections, and the permanent display from 1986 presents more than 700 objects in three sections: from late antiquity to the fall of the Republic of Ragusa, and seafaring in the Dubrovnik region in the 19th and 20th centuries. The museum has a library with more than 11,000 titles of specialist maritime literature and, since 1998, has been a member of the Association of Mediterranean Maritime Museums.

Highlights

• More than 700 objects in the permanent display
• Medieval Fort St John at the entrance to the city harbour
• Collections of ship models, instruments, charts and underwater finds
• Free loan of tablets with a multimedia guide
• Library with more than 11,000 titles

Permanent exhibition

• Stalni postav Pomorskog muzeja – More than 700 objects in chronological order: from late antiquity to the fall of the Republic of Ragusa, and seafaring in the Dubrovnik region in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Founded

1949

Operated by

Dubrovački muzeji

Admission & discounts

Free admission for children up to 7, residents of Dubrovnik-Neretva County, and members of ICOM and HMD. Students of the University of Dubrovnik, RIT Croatia and the Libertas International University in Dubrovnik enter free from the beginning of October to the end of June. Tickets at the cash desks of the Dubrovnik Museums can be paid by card only, via POS terminal. Admission to each museum is valid for a single visit.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

The museum is in Fort St John at the entrance to the old city harbour of Dubrovnik.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Museum shop of the Dubrovnik Museums.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent

The Dubrovnik Museums rent out their museum spaces.

Plan your visit