(Ne)ostvareni san Branka Vajića: od Zbirke zavičaja do Gradskog muzeja
The (un)fulfilled dream od Branko Vajić: from the homeland collection of Gračanica to the town museum

Summary/Abstract: In March 2023, the City Council of Gračanica adopted a decision that changed the previous internal organization of the Public Institution for Culture and Information “Bosanski kulturni centar” (Bosnian Cultural Center). With that decision, in addition to the existing five organizational and work units, a sixth one was founded: the Town Museum. This finally resolved the legal status of the Homeland Museum Collection (Zavičajna muzejska zbirka), which has existed within the institution for decades, and has actually been functioning as a separate organizational unit for ten years. The Homeland Collection in Gračanica, as a unique fund of museum material, archival records, documents and literature dedicated to Gračanica and its surroundings, was originally founded in the early 70s. The greatest credit for its establishment and initial development belongs to Branko Vajić, a retired teacher, history enthusiast and amateur archaeologist. For the next 15 years, Vajić was the volunteer curator of the Homeland Collection, intensively collecting new material and data on archaeological sites, mineral resources, history and ethnology of the Gračanica area. Since 1980, the Homeland Collection has been housed in a study room in the newly built Culture Center (Dom kulture). Unfortunately, Branko Vajić’s ideas to grow the collection into a Regional Museum were left without sufficient support from the local government and the general public. After Vajić’s death (1989), the Homeland Collection was almost forgotten, and the collected material remained inaccessible and almost completely unknown. After the Aggression on Bosnia and Herzegovina there were several initiatives for the organization and presentation of the Homeland Collection. In the summer of 2005, parts of the Collection were presented to the public for the first time, and a year later the first permanent exhibition was ceremonially opened. Unfortunately, that exhibition display and several later were only temporary. In the meantime, the primary processing, marking and inventorying of the museum objects was carried out. In 2014, with the support of the Municipality of Gračanica and the Federal Ministry of Culture, a new permanent exhibition of the Homeland Museum Collection was organized and officially opened. Since 2016, a thorough revision of the museum inventory has been carried out, including the processing and conservation of museum objects, along with the arrangement of the museum depot, as well as the reorganization and expansion of the permanent exhibition. In the course of 2020 and the beginning of 2021, the implementation of the Memorial Collection of 1992-1995 project began, during which the museum was adapted, the permanent exhibition was thoroughly reorganized, and the Memorial Room of the Defense of Gračanica 1992-1995 was established and officially opened. Two years later, the Town Museum was founded by previously mentioned decision of City Council of Gračanica. Today, the Town Museum in Gračanica consists of two parts. The first part is the permanent exhibition, which includes items and exhibits from the geological-paleontological, archaeological, numismatic, historical and ethnographic collections. The second, special part of the Town Museum is the Memorial Room of the Defense of Gračanica 1992-1995, dedicated to the period of defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Gračanica in it against Serbian aggression on this country. The Town Museum in Gračanica is open for visits with prior notice.

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