Public Institution Museum of Bijelo Polje
The Public Institution Museum of Bijelo Polje is the oldest officially established cultural institution in the town. It was founded on January 31, 1957, with the aim of presenting the development of culture, history, ethnography, and art of Bijelo Polje and its wider area. Since its establishment, the Museum has carried out intensive activities in collecting, preserving, and valorizing the rich cultural and historical heritage of the Bijelo Polje region.
In 1982, the building of the old Ruždija was purposefully adapted for the needs of the Museum, significantly improving working conditions and providing adequate space for the storage and protection of a large number of museum objects.
According to its typology and the area it covers, the Museum of Bijelo Polje belongs to the group of regional (local history) museums, whose work and selection of objects encompass a wider area than the town itself.
With the aim of improving and presenting all forms of cultural creativity, the Museum collects, professionally processes, preserves, and exhibits materials and data from prehistory to the present day, which are of particular importance for the history and culture of this region.
According to the content and classification of its museum material, the Museum is categorized as a complex-type museum and comprises five collections: archaeological, historical, ethnographic, numismatic, and art.
All collections are registered as cultural assets with the Administration for the Protection of Cultural Properties of Montenegro—formerly the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments in Cetinje—in the period from 1962 to 1964, thereby placing them under legal protection.
Over decades of work, the Museum has become an integral part of the cultural, scientific, and educational life of Bijelo Polje and Montenegro. It has actively promoted and preserved cultural heritage, organized and participated in numerous archaeological and ethnological research projects, collected and professionally processed more than 5,000 items, organized several permanent and hundreds of temporary exhibitions, established traditional events, enhanced its publishing activities, and implemented numerous projects in the field of museology.
In addition, the Museum successfully cooperates with cultural, scientific, higher education, and educational institutions in the country and the region.
The building in which the Museum is located today represents a cultural asset of special importance, as it houses more than 1,200 objects, which form part of movable cultural property within the museum collections registered as cultural heritage.
It was built between 1897 and 1905 for the needs of the Ruždija—a Turkish secular four-year state school, which operated until the liberation of Bijelo Polje from Ottoman rule in 1912. After that, by decree of King Alexander in 1926, a lower secondary grammar school was established in the building.
During the Second World War, the building served as a barracks for the Italian army, and in the post-war period it was used for the School of Vocational Education and a kindergarten, until the establishment of the Regional Museum.
On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the protection of cultural monuments, in December 1975, the Association of Conservation Societies of the former SFRY awarded a Charter to the Museum of Bijelo Polje for its significant contribution to the protection of cultural heritage.1