18 May 2010 | Museums across the Balkans kept their doors open into the wee hours of Saturday as they celebrated "The Night of Museums", an event held throughout Europe to celebrate International Museum Day.
Macedonians participated in the event at the Museum of Macedonia, situated in the heart of the “old bazaar” near downtown Skopje.

As part of the event an exhibition depicting family trees of Macedonia was opened. Visitors also had an opportunity to look at the new features in the Ethnology Museum that were dedicated to the development of the local economy through ages.

High school students from Skopje presented their project dubbed “Early Christian Art in Macedonia” and as part of the festivities the director of the museum Meri Anicin-Pejoska displayed her sculpture of a tree on the plateau outside the museum.

Museums in cities all over Serbia also opened their doors for the international event, with a variety of special exhibitions and bands to welcome visitors.

The Historical Museum in Belgrade hosted ‘Dinar Po Dinar’ an exhibition dedicated to saving money that includes a collection of 500 piggy banks, billion dinar banknotes, and ancient cash boxes.

Museums in Bulgaria also marked the yearly event, with free entrance and doors open late for visitors to admire the exhibits and to take part in various events scheduled to celebrate the event.

Bosnia rang in the annual celebration in a similar fashion, and families were also treated to kids-friendly activities, including a program at the National Gallery in Sarajevo that introduced children to various artistic styles and let them create art themselves using various media.

A number of museums in Bucharest and other cities in Romania also kept their doors open late on Saturday as part of the event, and entry was free.

"The Night of Museums" is an event held as part of International Museum Day, which has been celebrated around the world since 1977. The International Council of Museums uses the day and related events to allow the public to meet museum professionals and alert citizens to the challenges facing museums.

This article is courtesy of Balkan Insight, the online publication of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, which contains analytical reports, in-depth analyses and investigations and news items from throughout the region covering major challenges of the political, social and economic transition in the Balkans.