About the museum:
The Croatian Tourism Museum was founded in 2007 as a specialised museum dealing with the material and intangible tourist heritage of Croatia.
The museum is located in the central city park at Villa Angiolina, the oldest villa in Opatija. It holds the permanent exhibition Opatija – The Golden Beginnings of Croatian Tourism.
The regional heritage collection consists of various objects, documents, plans, and photographs from the Kvarner region. It also comprises items from the legacies of Boris Papandopulo (1906-1991), one of the most significant Croatian composers and conductors, and Dr. Albin Eder (1859-1916), a leading figure in the history of the development of the Lovran area.
The museum collects hotel inventory, equipment, and documents that illustrate the beginnings of tourism in Kvarner, as well as in Croatia. The collection is supplemented by tourist guidebooks (the oldest copy in the holdings was printed in 1827), souvenirs, memorabilia, personal items related to travel and holidays, tourist and geographical maps, letters, and so on.
Postcards printed in late 19th and early 20th century, as well as photographs of people, places, and architecture, represent a valuable resource for tracking the origin and development of tourist centres, as well as providing documentary evidence to their continuous changes.
Tourist posters and advertisements reflect the development of advertising from the boom of climate resorts and health centres to the beginning of mass tourism.
An integral part of the holdings include Opatija’s famous Madonina, a sculpture of the Virgin Mary erected on the waterfront of Opatija by Countess Kesselstadt in memory of her son who was lost at sea in 1891. Today, the Madonina is a part of the museum's Art Collection.
The art pavilion Juraj Šporer, which also belongs to the museum, houses other exhibitions.
|