The National Museum in Vranje was founded in 1960 in the old Selamluk building (part of the complex known as Pašini Konaci), by the decree of the People’s Committee of the Vranje District, as the Museum of the People’s Liberation War.
Over time, as the collections grew and expanded, it transformed into a comprehensive museum type and was renamed the National Museum in Vranje by the decision of the Vranje Municipal Assembly in 1992.
Since its establishment to the present day, it represents a venue for dynamic exhibition seasons, featuring both contemporary creative works and other thematic exhibitions, along with suitable urban programs.
Founded in 1967, the Museum House of Bora Stanković and in 1995, the Gallery of the National Museum become an integral part of the National Museum Vranje.
Under the museum’s management since 2019, Prijbojčić’s House serves as the administrative center.
Since 2021, Haremluk’s building is under the management of the National Museum of Vranje, thus completing the entire complex of Pasha’s Konaks (with the buildings Selamluk and Haremluk).
The permanent museum exhibition is located in Selamluk, showcasing the urban house of Vranje from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which opened to visitors in 2022.
The Bora Stanković House Museum focuses on the life and work of the renowned writer.
The museum publishes the Vranjski Glasnik journal, which has been the only professional journal in the district since its first edition in 1965.
The territorial jurisdiction of the National Museum in Vranje covers the city of Vranje and the municipalities of Vranjska Banja, Bujanovac, Preševo, Trgovište, Bosilegrad, Vladičin Han, and Surdulica.
Permanent exhibitions
Departments
Department of Archaeology
It is one of the two established specialized departments of the newly founded museum, and in 1963, the Department of Numismatics was also formed. The archaeological collections contain a fund of around 5,000 inventoried artifacts, while the numismatic collections possess around 7,000 processed and inventoried coins.
The archaeological and numismatic collections belong to the most representative museum collections of this type in the country and cover the period from prehistory to the late Middle Ages/Turkish period.
The three main collections are: prehistory, antiquity, and the Middle Ages.
The archaeological sites that have provided the most representative finds include Gumnište and Čukar, Pavlovac – Neolithic period; Meanishte, Ranutovac – Bronze Age; Kale, Krševica – Hellenistic period; Gradishte, Davidovac – Roman period; Gradishte, Prvonak – Late Antique/Early Byzantine period; Gradishte – Topionica, Veliki Trnovac – Late Antique/Early Byzantine period; Markovo Kale, Vranje – Roman period/Late Middle Ages/Turkish period; and the Gate of the St. Prohor Pčinjski Monastery – Roman period/Late Middle Ages.
Department of Ethnology
The Department of Ethnology was formed from the very establishment of the museum.
At that time, systematic research on the traditional culture of the Vranje Pomoravlje and Pčinja District began.
The Vranje Pomoravlje region includes sub-regions with their own characteristics: Pčinja, Trgovište, Poljanica, Krajšte, and Vlasina.
The department currently holds around 3,750 objects, covering the 19th and 20th centuries, and tracing the development of material and spiritual culture, as well as intangible cultural heritage, of the villages and towns in the Pčinja District.
Department of History
During the establishment of the museum, the collection of the People’s Liberation Movement was formed, containing objects related to the Second World War.
Over the years, the collection has been enriched with items from various historical periods originating from the Vranje region and the southern Serbian regions.
The Department of History collects objects and knowledge related to the history of Vranje and its surroundings from the Middle Ages to the present day.
Over 3,000 items are organized into 7 collections and 1 fund, thematically covering a wide range of spiritual, political, cultural, and everyday life aspects, with an emphasis on events and personalities that have marked the life of Vranje and the Pčinja District.
The objects are categorized into the following collections: photography and postcards, decorations and medals, memorabilia, weapons, uniforms and military equipment, documents, coins and banknotes from the 19th and 20th centuries, technical and industrial materials, and objects of cultural and spiritual history.
Within the department, the Jovan Hadži-Vasiljević Fund has been established.
Department of Art History
The establishment of the art collection is associated with the beginning of the 1990s when, through the reorganization of the Cultural Institution of Vranje, a certain fund of artworks was acquired.
This fund included works by local artists, pieces from artist studios, as well as works from the exhibition “100 Miniatures” donated to the city of Vranje by Zoran Stojić Vranjski.
Based on this collection of 184 artworks, the Department of Art History was founded in 1993/94 as the youngest department consisting of the Contemporary Art Collection, Medieval Art Collection, and Applied Art Collection.
Today, the Department of Art History preserves 1,590 artworks in its collection, including paintings, graphics, drawings, watercolors, pastels, sculptures, mosaics, photographs, and works of new media.
Since 2010, the collection has been expanded to include works created during the “Prohor Pčinjski” Art Colony from 1974 to 1990 and the “Vranje” Art Colony from 2002 to 2022. Additionally, the collection includes works from three legacies: Zoran Stojić Vranjski (1936-2022) since 1992, Milica Dinić (1925-1999) since 2003, and Zorica Tasić since 2015.