Nikola Tesla Museum
Музеј Николе Тесле
The only museum in the world that holds Tesla's personal belongings, manuscripts, and ashes. During guided tours, visitors can hold fluorescent tubes that light up in a Tesla coil's field.
Nikola Tesla (1856–1943) was a Serbian-born inventor and electrical engineer, known for alternating-current systems, induction motors, and the Tesla coil. He was born in the village of Smiljan, in what is now Croatia and was then part of the Austrian Empire. He later moved to the United States and died in New York in 1943. In 1952 his nephew brought his belongings to Belgrade and established this museum. It occupies a 1927 villa in the Vračar district, known as the Gencić Villa. The museum is modest in size but holds about 160,000 items, including Tesla's original documents, manuscripts, photographs, personal belongings, and books. Its archives are listed in UNESCO's Memory of the World Register. The museum's prized exhibit is a gilded spherical urn holding Tesla's ashes. Visits are guided, lasting about 45 minutes, with English-language sessions available. Guides demonstrate Tesla coils and induction motor models live, and the most popular moment is when visitors hold fluorescent tubes that light up in a high-frequency electric field. Admission is about 1,000 dinars (check the official website), and it is closed on Mondays. Timely note: the museum plans to relocate and expand, so check the official website for its latest address and opening information before visiting.
Opening hours
Tue–Sun 10:00–20:00; closed Mondays (see official website)
Nearby sights
- St. Mark's Church
- Church of Saint Sava
- House of the National Assembly
- Jevremovac Botanical Garden
- Skadarlija
- National Museum of Serbia
- Knez Mihailova Street & Republic Square
- Savamala