The Residence of Princess Ljubica in Belgrade is one of the few buildings dating back to the first reign of Miloš Obrenović at the beginning of the 19th century. Designed as a ruler’s residence, this house was actually designed to provide a cheating husband with an escape from his wife. Today it is part of the Belgrade City Museum.
Ljubica was loved by the people but her marriage with Miloš was volatile and he was frequently unfaithful to her. In order to get himself a bit of freedom, Miloš sent Ljubica and the children to Belgrade to live in this building.
The permanent exhibition reflects the interior of bourgeois houses in Serbia from back then. It is a perfect way to drift away into the life of Belgrade’s citizens in the past. The temporary exhibitions are usually organized in the mezzanine covering different topics from baroque in Belgrade to jewelry excavated in the area.
Once in a while, I like to treat myself and my guests to a coffee with Princess Ljubica (plus homemade lokum — Turkish delight). A curator of the Belgrade City Museum, Nataša Popovska, meets us as the hostess and dressed in the early 19th-century costume to tell us interesting details about the private life of the ruling family, the dressing habits of the wives of Serbian rulers, their domestic economy etc.
The performance is also organized in English (RSD 700) and it has to be booked in advance by phone or e-mail.
