Archaeological Museum of Zagreb

The Archaeological Museum of Zagreb, known in Croatian as Arheološki muzej u Zagrebu, is a premier archaeological institution located in Zagreb, Croatia. It holds over 450,000 varied artifacts and monuments, gathered primarily from Croatia and especially from the surroundings of Zagreb, alongside several collections of global significance. The institution traces its roots to 1836 and has been open to the public since 1846. Today, it operates as a standalone museum and also manages the Andautonia Archaeological Park in Šćitarjevo.

The museum originated in 1836 as the National Museum, operating within the Austrian Empire under the German name Kroatisches Nationalmuseum Agram. It opened its doors to the public in 1846. In 1866, the institution was placed under state management and renamed the State Institute of Croatia, Slavonia, and Dalmatia, functioning under the direction of the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts. A major organizational shift occurred in 1878 when the Archaeological Department became an independent entity within the broader State Institute. The umbrella institute was dissolved in 1939, and by 1940 the archaeological collection began operating as a fully independent institution.

The museum is organized into five principal sections: Prehistory, Egypt, Antiquity, Middle Ages, and Coins and Medals. The Prehistory section encompasses 78,000 objects spanning from the Paleolithic to the Late Iron Age. The Egypt section displays approximately 600 objects in its permanent exhibition. Antiquity is anchored by an important collection of roughly 1,500 Greek vases and stones with inscriptions, alongside extensive Roman antiquities. The Roman material includes statues, military equipment, metal objects, and items of everyday life and religion, acquired through systematic excavations in Croatian cities founded during the Roman Empire. The numismatic section is among the largest collections of its type in Europe, and a dedicated portion of the museum focuses on Roman stone monuments.

Among the most celebrated artifacts in the collection is the Vučedol dove, a flagon shaped as a bird. The museum also houses the Liber Linteus, a mummy and its bandages bearing the longest Etruscan inscription in existence, dating to the 3rd century BCE. Another significant piece is the Lumbarda Psephisma, a 4th century BCE stone inscription detailing the founding of an ancient Greek colony on the island of Korčula. Additionally, the museum holds the mummified remains of a young Egyptian man who, according to carbon dating, died sometime between 900 and 790 BCE.

From the 1880s until 1945, the archaeological collection of the State Institute was housed in the Academy mansion at Zrinski Square. In 1945, the museum relocated to its current site, the 19th century Vranyczany-Hafner mansion, situated at 19 Zrinski Square. This location places the institution prominently within the Zrinjevac local board area of Zagreb.

The Archaeological Museum of Zagreb is located at 19 Zrinski Square in Zagreb, Croatia. As of April 2024, the museum's permanent exhibition is closed to the public due to building repairs necessitated by damage from the 2020 Zagreb earthquake. However, temporary exhibitions remain accessible to visitors on the first floor of the museum. The institution's official website is hosted at www.amz.hr.