Demhist 2023 Belgrade: Remembrances of Things Lost
In 2023, my doctoral co-mentor, Professor Nikola Krstović —
a respected curator and professor at the University of Belgrade,
and then also the president of ICOM Serbia —
invited me to attend a very special event: DEMHIST conference 2023, held that year in Belgrade.
DEMHIST is an international ICOM committee dedicated to historic house museums —
from grand castles to humble cottages — and the question of how to keep their stories alive in a world that moves faster and forgets quicker every day.
Its name comes from the French “demeures historiques” – historic dwellings. Oui!
The theme of the conference?
Remembrances of Things Lost.
Perfect, somehow.
Why was I hesitating?
To explain, you have to rewind fifteen years.
(Remembrances of Things Lost, indeed.)
I had spent four intense years studying acting in Belgrade —
creating, dreaming, growing.
And since then, I had rarely returned.
Life pulled me elsewhere.
From theater, I drifted toward museums, heritage, house museums.
Would Belgrade still recognize me?
Would I recognize myself in Belgrade?
And honestly —
was I even ready to step into the world of professional academics and museum experts?
Cue: Bajaga’s “442 do Beograda” blasting from my car speakers,
as I drove past Zabreb down the old highway toward Belgrade.
Old songs, old roads – and somewhere along them, an old version of myself waiting.
First night in Belgrade
And quickly, all my fears started to dissolve.
Not cold academics.
Not intimidating scholars.
But real people.
People who love house museums —
not just academically, but stubbornly, irrationally — the way you fall head over heels for a new album from your favorite band, even before the first chorus ends.
There was something deeply human about it.
Conversations with Ted from the Gamble House (yes, from Back To The Future movies!),
Denise, author of Heritage Interpretation and Visitor Perceptions,
Bård from Eidsvoll 1814 (a proud Laibach fan!),
Victor from Museum Van Loon,
Lotti, Milja, Kojo and many others.
And meeting Lidija from the Museum of spoonsweet,
whose journey from acting to art history and house museums mirrored my own,
gave me the quiet reassurance that I wasn’t alone.
Maybe Belgrade understood more than I had ever realized.
Conference:
And beyond the brilliant conversations and new friendships,
there were the lectures and presentations themselves —
stories about house museums across the world,
from from Russia, Israel, Serbia, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, Argentina, and beyond.
I remember sitting there, slightly stunned,
realizing I was talking to someone who manages Tolstoy’s house.
Someone who manages Dostoevsky House Museum.
Imagine that: walking every day through the spaces where the author of The Idiot once breathed, thought, wrote.
It felt surreal.
And at the same time — absolutely right.
Field Visits:
And of course, the houses themselves — because come on, we’re nerds. We live for this stuff.
The Royal Compound in Dedinje — living, breathing history behind guarded gates.
The Jevrem Grujić House — a residence that still echoes with secrets of old Belgrade society.
The Jovan Cvijić House — modest, full of soft, intimate beauty, just like Cvijić himself.
The Residence of Princess Ljubica — a dazzling blend of Ottoman luxury and European refinement.
Each place: a stubborn little time capsule, refusing to be forgotten.
And Belgrade?
Still alive.
Still stubborn.
Still laughing in the face of time.
Maybe it’s a little older.
Maybe a little bruised.
But still glowing with the chaotic, forgiving soul I once loved.
Maybe Belgrade was never about fitting in.
Maybe it was always about finding the courage to come back —
to yourself,
to your memories,
to the things you thought you had lost forever.
Soundtrack: Bajaga i instruktori – Daljina, dim i prašina
I thought I was heading somewhere – now I see I was just tracing old circles…
Along the way, I kept meeting good souls, almost every day…
For the journeys that lead you in circles —
and for the people you meet along the way,
who remind you that circles are not prisons.
They are maps.
They are memories.
They are beginnings.
More Information on Demhist 2023 Belgrade
Official website: Demhist / Demhist 2023 Belgrade Remebrances Things Lost / Dom Jevrema Grujića – The Jevrem Grujić House / The Royal Compound in Dedinje – Kraljevski kompleks Dedinje / The Jovan Cvijić House – Muzej Jovana Cvijića / The Residence of Princess Ljubica – Rezidencija Princese Ljubice
Photos: Matjaž Koman / House Museum Nerd
Text: Matjaž Koman / House Museum Nerd
This post is part of the Ultimate House Museum Guide for Nerds – a personal project exploring the beauty, strangeness and magic of house museums around the world.