Prirodoslovni muzej Dubrovnik

About the museum

The roots of the museum go back to the Domorodni muzej (Native Museum), founded in 1872 at the initiative of the Trade and Crafts Chamber and of the pharmacist and naturalist Antun Drobac, and solemnly opened the following year in the great hall of the Općinska palača (Municipal Palace). The core of the holdings consisted of natural history collections, alongside which cultural-historical and ethnographic objects were also gathered. After Drobac’s death the custodian was the amateur naturalist Baldo Kosić, in whose time the study of Dubrovnik’s fauna flourished.

In 1932 the museum moved to the Tvrđava sv. Ivana (Fort St John), and in 1952 its natural history department was moved to the Crijević-Pucić Palace and grew into the Prirodoslovni muzej. After merging with the Biološki institut JAZU (Biological Institute of the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts) it moved to Lokrum, where it opened in 1962 in the building of a former Benedictine monastery. The earthquake of 1979 severely damaged the monastery, so the museum was closed and its collections were stored in Fort St John.

At the beginning of 2009 the Prirodoslovni muzej Dubrovnik was re-established, and in March of that year it opened in the Androvićeva palača, at the corner of Androvićeva ulica and the baroque staircase leading to Poljana Ruđera Boškovića. The holdings consist of a geological collection, a collection of minerals and rocks, and collections of birds, bird eggs, fish, molluscs, reptiles and amphibians, mammals and algae.

Highlights

• Exhibition “Mozaik bioraznolikosti” with 467 objects from ten collections
• Cave bear bones and fossils from the Miocene and Pleistocene
• Specimens of endangered birds such as the booted eagle (orao krstaš)
• Adriatic corals and algae
• Joint ticket for the museums and galleries of Dubrovnik

Permanent exhibition

• Mozaik bioraznolikosti – Exhibition on the first floor with 467 objects from ten collections: mammals, birds, reptiles, fossils, minerals, corals, algae and molluscs.

Founded

1872

Admission & discounts

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

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: not available
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The museum is not accessible to persons with disabilities.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

The museum offers educational programmes and workshops by prior arrangement; the family ticket is valid for up to two adults with children up to 14 years.

Getting there & parking

The museum is in the Androvićeva palača in the old town of Dubrovnik; there is no car park.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Museum shop.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit