About the Museum
The Museum of Lika in Gospić was established in 1958, and since 1965 it has been housed in its current building, a cultural monument constructed at the end of the 18th century as the office and residence of the General of the Lika Regiment during the Military Frontier period.
From its founding, it served as the Museum of the Municipality of Gospić, and in 1970 it became a regional museum. Since then, it has been responsible for all movable cultural heritage as well as immovable cultural monuments in the Lika region, today part of the continental section of Lika-Senj County.
A unique feature of this museum is the traditional art event Lika Art Annals, popularly known as Likanale, which has been held continuously since 1966. It gathers a large number of renowned artists—painters, sculptors, graphic artists, and ceramists—whose distinctive works have become an integral part of the museum’s rich gallery collection.
The museum has conducted or participated in numerous archaeological excavations. In addition to systematic research of the medieval period, further investigations are planned at many other sites. At the same time, continuous monitoring and reconnaissance of Lika’s archaeological heritage is carried out.
Collections and Departments
Archaeology Department
The latest exhibition of the Archaeology Department is displayed in just under 74 m², encompassing three interconnected spaces with a circular architectural design. The entrance-exit foyer, which also serves as a lapidarium, has an exhibition function.
The three spaces correspond to three historical periods—Prehistory, Antiquity, and the Middle Ages—allowing visitors to move through a historical “staircase” of events in the Lika region, reflected in the material heritage of 860 exhibited artifacts. These range from the oldest Paleolithic artifacts from D. Pazarište and the Cerovačke Caves, the wealth of Iron Age Japodian necropolises and hillforts from numerous Lika sites, material remains of the Roman Empire, highly significant early medieval Croatian finds, and finally, evidence of resettlement and revitalization of the Lika region during the Modern Era.
The exhibition Recent Archaeological Research in the Lika Region, opened in 2007, aimed to showcase the richness of material culture at two archaeological sites: Lipove Glavice and the Krbava Stolnica.
Over the past decade, the Archaeology Department has intensified numerous archaeological investigations, including systematic and programmatic research (the medieval site of Crikvine in Smiljan since 2004, the medieval and prehistoric Gradina in Udbina since 2008, and the Roman road station in Žuta Lokva from 2000 to 2003, along with protective excavations during the construction of Lika highway sections in 2002 and at the prehistoric site in Konjsko Brdo in the same year), as well as studies linked to infrastructure construction and restoration projects (the Japodian hillfort at Lipove Glavice in 2004, Velika Karaula in Široka Kula and the Old Town in Karlobag in 2008, and during the restoration of sacral buildings in Lički Novi in 1999, Mušaluk in 2002, Otočac and Udbina in 2005).
The Department’s collection comprises several thousand diverse items gathered through research, donations, or purchase, including stone artifacts, ceramic objects, bronze and iron weapons and tools, jewelry made of precious and less precious metals, and more.
Ethnography Department
The Ethnographic Collection of the Museum of Lika in Gospić is presented through several selected themes that showcase part of the rich traditional culture of the region’s inhabitants. Some of the exhibited items were still in use at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. The objects are displayed in a modular wooden structure, whose interior layout and certain architectural elements resemble a traditional Lika log house.
During the Homeland War, the exhibition was temporarily removed and reopened in 1998 during a scientific conference organized by the Croatian Ethnological Society, with minor modifications and additions by T. Kolak.
Over the past decade, the Department has focused on targeted acquisitions of objects, and conservation and restoration work is carried out as needed. The Department participates in numerous national-level projects conducted by the Ethnographic Museum, including studies on Lika Christmas and Easter customs, and exhibitions such as “Folk Medicine in Croatia” and “Traditional Pottery of Croatia.”
In 1994, T. Kolak organized the exhibitions “Christmas Light in the Family” and the especially popular “Lika Easter.” During the construction of the Memorial House of Dr. A. Starčević in Veliki Žitnik in 1998, the Department contributed to the permanent exhibition, which still features part of the museum’s collection today.
The preservation of regional identity largely depends on the research, conservation, and presentation of traditional heritage, thereby contributing to the education of visitors about the cultural legacy of the area.
Museum Library
An integral part of every museum is its library. While there is no precise record of the library’s establishment as a separate department, publications have certainly been arriving since the museum’s founding. The library is of an open type, meaning it is accessible to all users. Within the collection, there are also two closed library units—the Šporčić Library with 494 titles and the Knežević Library with 641 titles. The oldest books in the library include the Marriage Registry (Matica vjenčanih, 1781–1834) and the Confirmation List (Popis krizmanika, 1781–1823) from the parish of Smiljan.
According to the categorization of its collection, the library is considered specialized, but frequent users include high school students, university students in the humanities and social sciences, as well as professionals and researchers.
The library’s holdings were built through inter-museum exchange of publications produced annually by most Croatian museums, as well as through international exchanges. Most of these publications are exhibition catalogs accompanying various museum displays, but there is also a significant number of journals, yearbooks, and collected works regularly published by museums. A smaller portion of the collection was acquired through purchases or by the Ministry of Culture, particularly for art monographs.
Publishing by the Museum of Lika, Gospić, has been relatively modest. Aside from exhibition catalogs and brochures, which have been printed more frequently in the past two decades, the museum has published only a few works, including:
- Guide to the Archaeological Collection of the Museum of Lika, Gospić (first printed publication, 1974)
- Lika Yearbook 1 (edited by Mara Hećimović-Seselja, focused entirely on ethnography)
- Central Lika – Socio-Geographical Transformation (author Dane Pejnović, detailed study of population movements in part of Lika, 1985)
- Traditional Life and Culture of the Lika Village – Ivčević Kosa (author Mara Hećimović-Seselja, 1985)
- Migrations and Settlements in Lika, reprint edition of Stjepan Pavičić, 1990
- Greetings from Gospić, postcard monograph (editor Marko Čuljat, 1997)
- Commemorative Publication of the Museum of Lika, Gospić, 2008
Cultural and Historical Department
The Cultural and Historical Department of the Museum of Lika in Gospić houses a significant collection of items from the Ottoman period and the Military Frontier era, providing extensive material for understanding the history of the Lika region.
Many valuable objects come from private family estates. Particularly noteworthy is the collection of the noble Šporčić-Kosinski family from Zagreb, which includes 3,000 items of archival and artistic material, with a special focus on family coats of arms. Of particular interest is the noble coat of arms of the Orešković family from Široka Kula near Gospić, as well as a letter of nobility issued by Maria Theresa in Vienna on May 23, 1761, granting Captain Matija Orešković the title Grube alias Oreskovich Mathias von Breithen – Thurn.
Other significant items include heirlooms from the Vitas family of Gospić from the early 20th century and several documents from the Rukavina family of Trnovac. Of exceptional historical value is a charter with the seal and signature of Maria Theresa from 1757, written in German Gothic script on parchment, which recognizes Paulo and Georgio Ruckavina of Trnovac as noblemen. The Department also houses numerous objects from the Mire Čanić household, the most striking of which is a concert grand piano.
During the 1990s, two new collections were formed within the department: the Weapons Collection and the Furniture Collection.
The Weapons Collection comprises 60 items, including 16 melee weapons and the remainder firearms. Among the highlights is an 18th-century Dalmatian flintlock rifle belonging to the last Lika hajduk leader, Lazo Škundrić, richly engraved with floral ornamentation, silver inlays, and a signature in Arabic script. Another outstanding piece of melee weaponry is a yatagan (Turkish sabre, dimiskija) from the late 18th or early 19th century, featuring embossed ornamentation, silvered Quranic inscriptions, and marks of the master gunsmith and owner.
The Furniture Collection contains 30 items, mostly purchased or donated, including pieces of furniture, musical instruments, lamps, clocks, mirrors, and other objects, providing a clear view of the development of the middle-class lifestyle in Gospić and the surrounding area at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
In 2010, on the occasion of Museum Night, the permanent exhibition of the Cultural and Historical Department was opened on the museum’s upper floor, connected to the gallery space. The Furniture Collection forms a significant part of this display, featuring the most remarkable items, including:
- Donated pieces by Ada Došen: an Empire-style display cabinet from the late 18th or early 19th century and a Biedermeier-style writing desk (secretaire, 1810–1840)
- A canapé from the Mile Jengić family of Gospićka Kaniža, dating to the late Art Nouveau period, upholstered in green gobelin fabric with red floral patterns
- A well-preserved floor clock from the Matilda Mirić household in Gospić, dating to the late 19th or early 20th century
- A German mechanical orchestrion from the early 19th century, acquired from Mile Pintar of Gornji Kosinj, believed to be the first musical automat brought to Lika before World War I
- A gramophone from 1925, also from Kosinj
- A hanging lamp donated by the Herman family from the old Gospić town pharmacy, dating to the first half of the 20th century, still in use today
The permanent exhibition of the Cultural and Historical Department continues to be expanded, successfully presenting the rich cultural and historical heritage of the Lika region.
Art Gallery
The Art Gallery was established at the very beginning of the Museum of Lika in Gospić and forms the foundation of the Gallery Department. Throughout its history, the gallery has undergone several transformations. It was officially opened on April 11, 1966, in two rooms of the museum as a permanent exhibition of works by Lika painters, marking the initial collection that has grown every year since.
Soon after, an exhibition of painters, graphic artists, and sculptors titled Lika Art Annals was held. This traditional event, still ongoing today, has become a symbol of the long-standing visual arts culture in the region. Through this artistic event and systematic acquisitions, alongside donated works, the First Lika Art Gallery gradually emerged. After overcoming spatial challenges, the gallery officially opened to visitors in 1987 with a permanent exhibition on the first floor of the museum building, where it remains to this day.
The permanent exhibition remained in place until the beginning of the Homeland War, during which it was secured to prevent damage. Despite the war, the gallery continued its exhibition activities and even intensified them. During this period, in its established gallery space and beyond, approximately 200 exhibitions of various kinds were organized, including the Lika Art Annals, which continued uninterrupted despite the war and destruction.
In 2008, on the occasion of the publication of the Museum of Lika’s commemorative volume, a temporary gallery exhibition From the Gallery Department’s Collection, 19th and 20th Century was opened, presenting a selection of works from the gallery’s holdings, arranged into several sections. Among the artists featured are M. Kraljević, N. Mašić, M. Uzelac, L. Rupčić, M. Tartaglia, Z. Šulentić, Z. Prica, E. Murtić, O. Gliha, I. Šebalj, J. Knifer, S. Golac, P. Dolić, and others.
Today, the museum’s gallery represents the overall contribution to the visual arts life of Gospić and the entire Lika region. It ensures not only a strong foundation for enriching the spiritual life of people but also the continuity of artistic development.
The gallery aims to maintain the same exhibition policy, ensuring that every exhibition is accompanied by a catalog and featuring both young emerging artists and established figures who have contributed to the recognition of national art.
Nikola Tesla Memorial Center
Under the administration of the Museum of Lika, Gospić, the Nikola Tesla Memorial Center in Smiljan operates as a separate but affiliated unit. It was officially opened on July 10, 2006, to mark the 150th anniversary of Nikola Tesla’s birth.
The Memorial Center is designed to integrate multiple disciplines—science, art, and tourism—and to engage a wide variety of visitors: preschool children, school students, university students, retirees, tourists, local residents, Tesla enthusiasts, and media artists.
The concept of the Memorial Center emphasizes the coexistence of various elements. These include pre-existing structures such as Tesla’s birth house and associated outbuildings, the Church of St. Peter and Paul, the cemetery, stone monuments, and benches designed by architect Zdenko Kolacija. Newly constructed features include a porch, parking area, pedestrian paths, a monument by sculptor Mile Blažević, an auditorium, scale 1:10 prototypes of Tesla’s Colorado Springs experimental station, Tesla turbine, and remote-controlled Tesla boat, as well as a bridge/platform, multimedia center, HI-TEC children’s playground, ambient lighting, and ongoing expansions.
Vision of the Museum of Lika, Gospić
Our vision is to become the most important cultural hub for the management, presentation, and sustainable use of cultural heritage, serving as a key and established destination for both the citizens of Gospić and tourists from Croatia and abroad. The museum aims to be an attractive and engaging space that facilitates the exchange of experiences, skills, and knowledge, thereby promoting regional, national, and international sustainable development.
Three main objectives closely linked to this vision can be identified: defining the museum’s strategic direction and desired development path, and identifying the target groups with which the museum will collaborate.
Equally important is establishing communication with identified stakeholders, such as the media, government institutions, the local community, clients, suppliers, and others, and determining the museum’s position and approach toward these groups.
From this vision arises the museum’s mission and its long-term strategic goals, designed to achieve the stated vision. Ultimately, the goal is to position the Museum of Lika as one of the most significant and prestigious museums at both a national and international level.
Mission of the Museum of Lika, Gospić
The mission of the Museum of Lika, Gospić (MLG) is to act as the central institution of the city of Gospić, using professional and scientific methods to process, systematize, and present the role and development of the region’s social and cultural life in Lika, the Lika-Senj County, and the city of Gospić, highlighting its unique characteristics in comparison with other regions. By emphasizing key values and strategic objectives, and in accordance with the nature of its complex collections, the museum aims to maintain its reference role for the benefit of the wider public, support the education of all social groups, and promote the sustainable use of cultural heritage.
To ensure the mission—i.e., the purpose of MLG—is effectively fulfilled, clear objectives have been established that must be achieved to ensure operational success and, consequently, to enhance the museum’s overall performance.
The mission encompasses the museum’s historical development, the environment in which it operates, and the resources at its disposal. Defining a mission of high quality is a long-term and complex task. Its essential purpose is to motivate staff and reflect the museum’s core policy and guiding principles.
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