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Ušće Aquarium & Natural History Museum
Ministry of Finance
About Ušće Aquarium & Natural History Museum
A new aquarium and the first purpose-built home of Belgrade’s Natural History Museum are planned in Ušće Park, where the Sava meets the Danube, beside the Museum of Contemporary Art.
The back story
Belgrade’s Natural History Museum is one of the oldest scientific institutions in Serbia. It was founded in 1895, building on the collections of the great botanist Josif Pančić, who described dozens of species new to science, among them the Serbian spruce, Picea omorika. The museum’s first exhibition opened in 1904 in the presence of King Peter I, and the same year its specimens were shown at the World’s Fair in Paris.
Yet in more than 130 years it has never had a proper home. Since 1939 its collections, now more than 1.6 million specimens, have been kept in the former First Women’s Grammar School on Njegoševa Street, and visitors could only see a small part of them in its gallery inside Kalemegdan fortress.
Ušće Park itself grew from the sandbanks where the Sava flows into the Danube.
Ušće Park itself grew from the sandbanks where the Sava flows into the Danube. Ušće simply means “river mouth”. Laid out after New Belgrade was built, it is the city’s great riverside lawn, used for concerts and celebrations, with the Museum of Contemporary Art at its tip.
What is planned
In 2023 the government announced a new purpose-built building for the museum in the park. The plans cover about 8 hectares, with an aquarium of about one hectare and a museum building of about 1.8 hectares, and the Ministry of Finance, the investor, has said both should be finished for EXPO 2027. With the Museum of Contemporary Art next door, Ušće would become a museum park on the rivers.
Visiting
The ministry has promised new planting and the protection of the park’s existing trees. Check the latest news before planning a visit, and in the meantime see the museum’s gallery at Kalemegdan.
Why it's on our list
- A new aquarium on the rivers
- Natural History Museum’s first purpose-built home
- Beside the Museum of Contemporary Art
What’s planned
From the Ministry of Finance and the museum’s design competition; plans and timing may change.
The projects · 3
An aquarium of about one hectare, A new Natural History Museum building of about 1.8 hectares, Both in Ušće Park, near the Museum of Contemporary Art
Timing · 2
Investor: the Ministry of Finance, Planned to be ready for EXPO 2027
Listings, fees and opening hours change, so please contact Ušće Aquarium & Natural History Museum directly before you visit.
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