About the Institute

The Provincial Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, Petrovaradin was founded on 9 January 1951. years. It is one of the oldest and most successful institutions in the field of protection and restoration of cultural heritage in the Republic of Serbia. The headquarters of our institution is in Novi Sad, in the suburbs of the Petrovaradin Fortress, the oldest part of the city and a protected spatial, cultural and historical entity.

In the years after World War II, the strengthening of national consciousness also encouraged the birth of the idea of ​​the importance of preserving antiquities. In that spirit, 1945. In 1999, the first Yugoslav Law on the Protection of Cultural Monuments and Natural Rarities was passed. Already in 1947. In 1950, the Department of Protection was established at the Vojvodina Museum, which in 1950 continue its work as the Institute for the Protection and Scientific Study of Cultural Monuments of the People's Republic of Serbia, Department for Vojvodina, Novi Sad. With only a few employees and Rajko Mamuzić as director, this department became the core of the research and conservation service in Vojvodina. In the period from 1947. until 1951. In 2016, the first 262 protection decisions were made, covering over 2,500 cases. Among the first established cultural monuments are, among others, the Romanesque basilica of Arača, the Bođani monastery, the Fruška Gora monasteries, the fortresses in Vršac and Petrovaradin, the Obedska bara and the Deliblatska pesčara, the iconostases of the Assumption and Almaška churches in Novi Sad, the painting by Đuro Jakšić "Uprising of the Montenegrins", the manuscript of the operetta "Prince Ivo of Semberija" by composer Isidor Bajić...

Based on the Founding Act of 1951. adopted by the Main Executive Board of the National Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, the Institute for the Protection and Scientific Study of Cultural Monuments in Novi Sad was established, for the first time as an independent institution. With care for the war-torn Fruška Gora monasteries in focus, the Institute begins to establish its internal organization, equips the conservation workshop, and systematizes its activities in all significant areas related to the preservation and protection of cultural property: from research, legal and technical protection, archaeological, construction, and painting and conservation works, to professional development and writing the first texts on the results obtained. The magnitude of the tasks set before this institution has necessitated the rapid development of its practice and the engagement of all available professional potential.

Today, the Provincial Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, Petrovaradin is organizationally divided into four sectors: research sector with a department of archaeology, an architectural sector, a sector for the conservation of works of fine and applied art with a sculpture, woodcarving and goldsmithing department and a joint service sector. Initially, security work was performed by a small number of employees, but over time, that number increased due to the expansion of the field of interest and the development of the service towards specialized activities.

In accordance with the Law on Culture, the Law on Cultural Property, the Law on Cultural Heritage, regulations related to the activity and international standards, the Institute's experts, through research and valorization of cultural heritage, point to the artistic, creative and spiritual values ​​of the peoples living in Vojvodina, and to the need to preserve these values, national identities and diversity, as part of European values.

During decades of work, many conservation projects have been developed and works on the conservation, restoration and reconstruction of cultural heritage have been carried out throughout Vojvodina, but also in Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Egypt and Greece. Years of research work in archives and in the field have resulted in the legal protection of hundreds of significant objects and entities in Vojvodina.

The Documentation Center and the professional library of the Provincial Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments preserves invaluable materials, which include a large number of written documents, over 30,000 architectural drawings and 85,000 photographs.

When the activities of the Institute are viewed from this distance, it can be concluded that the conservators of this cultural institution have done an enormous amount of work, the significance of which exceeds the activities of a professional service within its legal prerogatives, as well as the boundaries of the territory within its jurisdiction. Work on finding new professional and scientific methods continues, as does continuous practical training in the conservation, restoration and presentation of cultural heritage.