The Millennium Team company, as a socially responsible enterprise, has donated the sign from the former “Jugoslavija” Hotel to the Belgrade City Museum. The letters, which adorned the main hotel entrance for decades and stood as an important witness to the times and one of the symbols of the capital, will become part of the museum’s future permanent exhibition.
The letters from the sign were expertly dismantled and prepared for transport before being placed in the museum’s storage. The removal, loading, and transport of the sign were overseen by conservators from the Belgrade City Museum.
The Director of the Belgrade City Museum, Jelena Medaković , expressed gratitude to the Millennium Team company for the valuable donation, which will enrich the museum’s collection.
“The collaboration between the Belgrade City Museum and Millennium Team is very significant. We are pleased that such a major company involved in the development of our city has established good communication with cultural preservation institutions, including our museum. I am grateful to Millennium Team for recognizing the need to donate this important sign, as well as for the technical assistance in dismantling and transporting the letters to the museum’s storage,” said Jelena Medaković , Director of the Belgrade City Museum.
She explained that the significance of the “Jugoslavija” sign from a museological perspective is multi-layered.
“This iconic sign was a recognizable city landmark for decades and holds great importance for the capital. The sign from the old Hotel “Jugoslavija” is an exceptionally successful artistic and graphic element that marked the city’s past and, with its aesthetic qualities, successfully reflected the economic boom and design development for which Belgrade and Jugoslavija were known worldwide. It is not just a historical artifact but also an extremely significant artistic piece,” Medaković emphasized.
The “Hotel Jugoslavija” sign will now become part of the Collection of Applied Arts and Design and will be displayed in the museum’s permanent exhibition on Resavska Street. Appropriately housed and exhibited to a broader audience, it will enhance a collection that testifies to artistic trends across a wider region of Belgrade.
Previously, the Millennium Team company also donated the valuable “Water Flower” sculpture, a work by prominent Serbian sculptor Aleksandar Zarin, to the National Museum of Serbia. This significant bronze sculpture, which had been inadequately stored at the “Jugoslavija” Hotel for decades, has enriched the museum’s Collection of Yugoslav Sculpture.
