Nikola Tesla Museum, Belgrade, Serbia Museum

Address: Nikola Tesla Museum, Krunska 51, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia

Website: https://www.tesla-museum.org/

The Nikola Tesla Museum is a science museum in Belgrade dedicated to the life and work of inventor Nikola Tesla, established in the early 1950s. It is one of the main repositories of Tesla’s papers and personal effects.

Exhibits focus on Tesla’s electrical experiments, rotating magnetic field devices, and personal archive. Displays include original apparatus, models, photographs, and technical drawings, arranged across several exhibition rooms and secure vaults. The museum also preserves a sealed urn with Tesla’s ashes, kept as part of the permanent collection.

The museum was founded by the Government of Yugoslavia in 1952 to preserve Tesla’s legacy and opened to the public in the 1950s. Over the decades the institution has expanded its archival holdings and modernized displays while remaining focused on research and conservation.

Located in central Belgrade, the museum sits in a residential district near the city centre; it is within walking distance of major central transport links and municipal amenities.

• Foundation and collection size: Founded by the Belgrade authorities in 1952 and opened to the public in the 1950s, the museum holds one of the largest Tesla collections in the world.
• Collection highlights: Housed in a downtown Belgrade villa, the collection includes over 160,000 original documents and more than 1,200 artifacts related to Tesla’s life and work.

What to See#

• Main exhibition: Permanent exhibition of scientific instruments, models, original papers and personal effects primarily related to Nikola Tesla, with displays arranged across several rooms and vaults.
• Tesla’s ashes: A sealed urn containing the ashes of Nikola Tesla is kept on display and form part of the museum’s core collection.

The Nikola Tesla Museum sits in central Belgrade. From Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport drive into the city on the A1 / E-70 (about 18 km, roughly 30-40 minutes by car depending on traffic). In the city center the museum is served by Belgrade’s local buses and trams; get off at a central tram/bus stop and expect a short walk of around 5-15 minutes to the museum.

• Aim for a weekday morning right at opening to avoid school groups and midday tourist crowds; the museum is compact so people arriving later often encounter waits.
• Book or check the museum's timed demonstration sessions (Tesla-coil/experiments) in advance on the official site - those demonstrations are the highlight and are scheduled at specific times.
• Allow about 45-90 minutes so you can join a guided demo and view the permanent exhibition without rushing; check the museum's website for any temporary closures or special-event schedules before you go.