Night of Museums

Night of Museums 2026 across Croatia will take place on Friday, 30 January 2026, and will also include numerous programmes in Istria. During the evening, museums and cultural institutions will open their doors to visitors with a wide range of activities, from 18:00 to 01:00 after midnight. Admission is free, offering a unique opportunity to experience heritage through exhibitions, music, poetry, interactive programmes and stories from the past and present.

The Night of Museums in northwestern Istria is part of a national event organized by the Croatian Museum Society for over two decades, in collaboration with museums and cultural institutions across Croatia. First held in 2005, it now brings together more than 250 institutions and takes place every year on the last Friday of January. The event highlights museums as dynamic spaces for creativity, research, and public engagement, with a rich programme also in northwestern Istria.

BUJE
In Buje, Night of Museums will be held at the Ethnographic Museum with the evening programme “Discover Buje – Story by Story”, starting at 18:00. Visitors will be able to attend the opening of an illustration exhibition by Dragana Savić, which presents the history, traditions and landmarks of Buje through visual storytelling.

The programme also includes poetry readings in the Istro-Venetian dialect by Valter Turčinović, a musical performance by Leonardo Medica Gregorič, and an interactive activity in which participants create a “living city installation” by drawing their own motifs on a large outline of Buje. A photo point, prize games and the sale of illustrated T-shirts will also be available, and at 20:00 a quiz dedicated to museums and heritage will take place.
More information on the organiser’s official website.

UMAG
This year, for the 21st time in a row, the City Museum of Umag is taking part in the national Night of Museums programme, inviting everyone to join another special museum evening.

The Umag programme begins at 18:00 with a children’s prize game, followed by an urban walk through the city’s history titled “The Development of Umag after the Second World War”. During the evening, the catalogue of the exhibition “Progress and Unity – Craftsmen of Umag” will be presented, along with the educational programme “Ship Model Kits”. The evening also features a performance by the vocal group Ad Libitum at 20:20 and a guided tour of the archaeological exhibition “In Memoriam”. Visitors can explore the permanent display with the prehistoric boat Zambratija and purchase museum souvenirs.

GROŽNJAN
In Grožnjan, the Night of Museums 2026 takes place in two museums.

The Archaeological Museum (19:00–23:00) presents a display of finds from the Sv. Križ site, located on a hill above Završje, covering periods from the Neolithic to the Middle Ages. The exhibition includes flint arrowheads, obsidian fragments, pottery from the Bronze and Iron Ages, fragments of Roman roof tiles and amphorae, and medieval ceramics.

The Museum of Folk Musical Instruments preserves a collection of traditional instruments gathered and made over nearly forty years, dedicated to Ottavio Štokovac Rapatočki, a folk musician and instrument maker. The instruments on display include those once used to play polkas, waltzes and mazurkas.