The Museum of Broken Relationships is dedicated to failed romantic relationships. It exhibits personal objects left behind by former lovers and short explanations of their story. In its initial stage, this was a travelling exhibition in which the objects were merely donations but on 21 May 2011 it found its permanent location in Zagreb. The European Museum Forum gave this museum the prestigious Kenneth Hudson award for the most innovative European museum at the ceremony in Bremerhaven. The museum was founded by various artists from Zagreb, including the film producer Olinka Vištica and painter Dražen Grubišić. The two of them were in a relationship between 1999 and 2003 and after they broke up they didn’t know what to do with all the material things which they had accumulated during their time together. They thought about starting a museum where all such objects could be exhibited. Three years later, Grubišić contacted Vištica so as to remind her of their idea. After their conversation, they both began asking their friends to donate their objects from former relationships, which marked the beginning of this unusual collection.

Photo © Turistička zajednica grada Zagreba. Photo by D. Rostuhar.