Museums in Rijeka

Every tourist tour of the city implies a visit to the most famous buildings, churches, squares, but also museums. As a city of rich history, Rijeka has many museums, and here we will bring a selection of only a few that should be placed on the list of places to visit when visiting Rijeka.

MUSEUM OF THE CITY OF RIJEKA
If there is a “main” museum of the city, it would be the Museum of the City of Rijeka. The museum is dedicated to documenting the history of Rijeka – showing the development of Rijeka’s culture, industry and politics over the centuries. The museum is located in a famous building popularly called Kockica (Dice), and its nickname best describes its cubic appearance. The building was designed for the Museum by architect Neven Šegvić in the 1970s, and for this work he received a prestigious architectural award.
The museum has more than 15 collections of various themes – fine and musical art, theatre and film in Rijeka, objects from the everyday life of the people of Rijeka, Rijeka crafts through history, Rijeka in World War II, and there is also the first torpedo ever invented. But two permanent exhibitions that are not located in the Museum’s home space should be singled out from the permanent exhibition.
The first is the Sugar Palace, which stands out as the most valuable “exhibit” of the Rijeka City Museum. It is a building built in the middle of the 18th century, and was originally the administrative building of a sugar refinery. This refinery marked the beginning of the industrialization of Rijeka, a process that greatly shaped not only the skyline but also the identity of Rijeka and the people of Rijeka.
The second exhibition is Brod Galeb, and it is really about a ship. This ship, built in the 1930s, really lived through a lot: it was a cargo ship in the beginning, a warship in the Second World War, a school ship after the war, a residential yacht of Josip Broz Tito in his lifetime, and now it is a museum ship. Don’t miss this unique museum piece that is fully integrated into the everyday life of the city.

MARITIME AND HISTORY MUSEUM OF THE CROATIAN LITTORAL RIJEKA
It is a museum whose exhibition is displayed in several locations, and its headquarters is in the Governor’s Palace, a building protected as a cultural monument that also functions as an exhibit of a museum that testifies to the centuries-old history of Rijeka.
In addition to the Governor’s Palace, do not miss to visit the Memorial Center Lipa pamti (Lipa remembers), and you can see more about the rich history of resistance to totalitarian regimes in this area in Kastav in the Museum Collection of the Kastav Region, which also belongs to the Maritime and History Museum. In addition to war history, it is an opportunity to learn a lot about the culture of this area, languages and scripts that have been used throughout history in Kastav, and about the daily life of the population of Kastav and its surroundings.

MUSEUM OF MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY ART
The museum is located in a specific bright red building. It is a building that is part of the former Rikard Benčić Factory complex, which is why this is another museum that testifies to the industrial history of Rijeka. He has been bringing works of art by renowned Rijeka artists since the 19th century, as well as Croatian and world artists.

JGL PHARMACY MUSEUM
It is a unique museum in Croatia, the first dedicated exclusively to pharmacy. In addition to showing the development of pharmacy in the world and Rijeka, the Museum has an exhibition Hortus sanitatis – Garden of Healing in its permanent exhibition. The garden is located in the outer space of the Museum with medicinal evergreen plants. If you are interested in how to cure and relieve some symptoms, hurry to the Pharmacy Museum!

PEEK&POKE – MUSEUM OF CHILDHOOD
This museum is dedicated to childhood as the most carefree period of life and, above all, to the things most important to children – toys. Toys in this museum date back to the beginning of the 20th century, and with their donations it was built by the citizens of Rijeka. And remember – this museum is not (only) for children!

When planning your visit to any of the museums listed, book your stay in Rijeka on the Molo Longo Agency website.