Zoran Rapajic, publisher and founder of new museum on Oplenac – Wine history of royal Serbia in 500 exhibition items and 12 stories (PHOTO)

Although he has been in publishing for over 30 years, including more than 20 years as the owner of a small publishing house, Zoran Rapjic from Belgrade has been dedicated for nearly as long to one of his other passions – wine and viticulture. For more than two decades, and since 15 years ago also as the president of the association Vinski putevi Srbije, he has, among other things, been collecting items related to viticulture in Serbia beginning with the 19th century. As a result of his work as a collector, in less than a month, on Oplenac, during the 61st Oplenac Harvest event, the Wine Museum “Zlatna Kruna” (“Golden Crown”) will open.

It is certainly not the first museum in our country that is dedicated to this nectar of the gods, but as Zoran says for eKapija, it is perhaps the first museum of this type in the world. Considering that Serbia has a rich wine history, culture and tradition, there will obviously be plenty to see and hear in this museum.

– This is a wine museum, which is, in fact, a museum of wine stories. On around 250 m2, around 500 items grouped into 12 wine stories will be exhibited. Through those stories, which date back all the way to the time of the Illyrians, the visitors will be able to also learn about how wine used to be made, but also about the wine history of the ruling, royal families. It is known that both royal families, the Karadjordjevic family and the Obrenovic family, were winemaking families. Even now, grapes grow in those properties featuring vineyards established by those families – Zoran Rapajic says in his interview for eKapija, but still doesn’t want to reveal too much to the public regarding the look of the future museum before the opening.

Invaluable collection

The works are still ongoing, but everything will be ready for the visitors by the harvest. What is certain at the moment is which items from the rich collection, which has so far been kept as a private collection, are to be exhibited. It is difficult to even talk about the value of the collection itself, according to our interviewee – one could say it is invaluable, and the works on the building of the future museum were not minor either.



To clarify, the museum is being opened in the Villa Biserka which used to be privately owned and which Zoran bought with the intention of opening a museum in it. His investment of EUR 120,000 in the facility itself is certainly not small, but the importance it has for Zoran is also immeasurable.

– My big wish is to not let exclusive original collector’s items be forgotten, to not let them go abroad, because somehow everything valuable goes abroad. These are items which speak of the rich wine industry of Serbia, but also the rakija history, which have been collected and carefully selected for several decades. Since the very beginning, my wish was to have one such place which shows the history of winemaking and this area, but also the whole Serbia, in the place which is the capital of the royal Serbia – adds Zoran.



Original deeds and other historical documents

Among the numerous items among which he is finding it difficult to highlight those most important to him, among others, there will be some original deeds that Serbs used to buy vineyards from Turks in the liberated Serbia. There will be numerous other original historical documents, postcards, artistic paintings, photographs, ad panels, wine labels, and among them is also, for example, a painting depicting Karadjordje, done in wine. There’s also an ebullioscope from 1850 from Bela Palanka, the garments of a Sumadija knight and… As we’ve already mentioned, it’s difficult to highlight all the items.



Parts of the collection are grouped thematically and will convey the past, the present and the future of Serbia rich with wine to the visitors.

– One of the items is a bottle of the Zupska Ruzica wine from 1932 of the family of Radenko Stojakovic from Trstenik, and there are so many items that not even this space will be enough. We will have 3,000 of them – Zoran reveals for eKapija.

Before the opening of the museum, these items were exhibited within the two big exhibitions in Kragujevac and the Heritage House in Belgrade. Unfortunately, the exhibition in Belgrade coincided with the tragic events in the “Ribnikar” elementary school in Belgrade, so the author of the exhibition did not want to divert public attention in that tragic moment.



However, now all aficionados of winemaking, wine and the Serbian history will be able to visit the exhibition on Oplenac from October 11. The permanent exhibition will be displayed on three floors of the renovated edifice, in nine exhibition halls. And in order to make the experience full, a special part is set aside for a thematic wine collection and tasting sessions, as well as a gift shop.

Danijela Stanimirovic-Gavrilov

Turistička organizacija Oplenac Topola

Kuća Legata Beograd

Tourism Organization of Oplenac

Wine Museum Zlatna kruna Oplenac

Zoran Rapajić

Heritage House Belgrade

Oplenac Harvest

collecting

wine tourism

museum exhibits