Military Museum (Belgrade)

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Military Museum Војни музеј Београд Vojni muzej Beograd

Established	1878
Location	Kalemegdan, Belgrade
Type	military museum
Director	colonel Miroslav Knežević
Curator	lieutenant-colonel Čedomir Vokić
Website	muzej.mod.gov.yu

The Military Museum in Belgrade was founded in 1878. The museum has over 3000 ancient and modern items. These include Roman swords and helmets, Greek helmets and daggers, Serbian heavy knight's armor, axes, shields, helmets, crossbows, armoured gloves, as well as Western medieval weapons. There are also more modern guns, firearms, and elements of soldier's uniforms and equipment. Diormas, plaques, and displays illustrate the use and historical context of the museum's collection. Recent exhibits address NATO actions against Serbia in the 1990's, including the use of cluster bombs, depleted uranium, and graphite bombs, some of which may have violated international law. A well-known exhibit features parts of a US F-117 stealth aircraft which was downed by Serbian anti-aircraft gunners.

Inside the museum's main building, the exhibits are found in a single long hall progressing from ancient through medieval and then towards modern. All exhibits are labelled in the Serbian Language in both Cyrillic and Latin characters, and many exhibits also have explanations in English. Outside the museum's main building, there are numerous tanks, howitzers, and armoured cars of many types. Some were acquired during World War II, when they were captured by Yugoslav Partisans from retreating Nazi and Axis forces. These decommissioned tanks and artillery pieces line the walls and paths leading to the Military Museum from two directions.

The Military Museum is located inside the walls of the historic Kalemegdan fortress, situated at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers. Kalemegdan is located within a popular park of the same name, near the center of the city.