Belgrade - Egyptian mummy, Da Vinci's machine designs, Picasso's drawings and political murders in 19th century Serbia are just some of the exhibitions Serbs will be able to see during Saturday's Night of the Museums event. This unique cultural event, organized in more than 120 world cities, offers visitors an opportunity to visit the museums and galleries of their city and see interesting exhibitions, listen to concerts and participate in street performances, organizers said.
The first museum night was organized five years ago in the Serbian capital of Belgrade and a record 20,000 people visited the museums. Long queues in front of the run-down and neglected museums of the capital were a sight to remember.
Organizers of this year's event expect even more people to visit the shows and performances, since this year's museum night will be organized in more than 20 towns in Serbia.
The show that is already causing a lot of interest is the exhibition of a genuine Egyptian mummy - last displayed in Belgrade in 1915.
Visitors will be able to see the mummy, which was brought into Belgrade in 1888 from Luxor, via video link.
The National Museum of Serbia will present itself with an exhibition on the Lepenski Vir locality near Belgrade, dating from the Stone Age.
A more current and political exhibition is entitled Murders of the Rulers, which is about four Serb rulers that were killed in the 19th and at the beginning of the 20th century.
The Italian cultural centre in Belgrade will show the works of artists from the Rome School, while artists from Greece, the United States, Germany and Slovakia will present their works in Belgrade, Nis and Valjevo.
Visitors in Novi Sad, Serbia's second largest city, will be able to see Serbian medieval knights fight or try prehistoric meals.
The southern city of Nis will exhibit a collection of Leonardo da Vinci's machine designs, while other towns will feature exhibitions on vampires, skeletons, naive art or fashion items from the 19th century and love potions from central Serbia.
"We are very proud to have organized this event in 23 cities and 140 museums in Serbia," said Mladen Petrovic, one of the co-founders of Serbia's museum night.
"All 140 locations are interesting in their own way and we recommend visitors to inform themselves and make their own tour, but even if one can't find anything interesting they will be able to learn something about the rich cultural possibilities of their own city."
