City Museum in Vršac | Museums of Serbia

City Museum in Vršac showcases the cultural heritage of Southern Banat and is among the five oldest museums in Serbia.

It is a complex local museum that includes a conservation and restoration studio for easel painting, a conservation workshop for ceramics, and several departments.

When a large collection of Roman coins belonging to Emperor Constantine was discovered in Veliki Rite near Vršac, the municipal representation of Vršac Municipality established the museum in 1882. The discovered collection dates back to the fourth century.

The museum collection consists of about 260,000 items, with the following departments standing out:

• Archaeological
• Art
• Numismatic
• Ethnological
• Historical
• Natural History

The permanent exhibition is carried out in phases and is located in four buildings. The "Konkordija" building serves as the central part of the museum and houses working and accommodation spaces, as well as rooms for organizing thematic exhibitions. The "Pharmacy on the Stairs" building presents the history of healthcare in the southeastern Banat region. Cultural artifacts are also exhibited in the Vršac Castle, and the permanent exhibition "Robert Hamerštil Museum" is located in the village of Gudurica near Vršac.

The Archaeological department represents the economic, cultural, and historical development of the city from the Paleolithic period to the 14th century. It is followed by the Historical department, which preserves objects covering the period from the 14th century to the modern era. Objects found in 73 settlements in southeastern Banat are preserved in the Ethnological department, with notable items including pottery tools, jewelry, clothing, and household items.

The Natural History collection showcases mammals and birds from this part of Serbia and includes geological-paleontological, zoological, and botanical collections. This department houses the "Bernački" herbarium, the Grapevine Variety Collection, the South Banat fauna, and the Ornithological collection, which displays 175 prepared birds.

The first curator of the museum, Feliks Mileker, made a significant contribution to enriching the museum collections by exploring the field, acquiring gifts and objects from collectors. He carefully listened to the advice of colleagues from Timișoara and Budapest, and immediately after the museum's opening, he established various departments. Therefore, today the museum collection resembles the first Paleolithic settlements and bears witness to the development of Vršac and its surroundings up to the present day.

The "Konkordija" building is open to visitors from Tuesday to Friday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, on Saturdays from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm, and on Sundays from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. Vršac Castle is open on weekends from April to October, from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, and the "Pharmacy on the Stairs" is open from Tuesday to Friday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm and on weekends from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Whether you want to visit one or all of the buildings, the entrance fee is 150 dinars, while the privileged categories of the population have a price of 100 dinars.