Permanent exhibition "Time machine of the Leskovac region"

The crown of the Museum's decades-long work is a new permanent exhibition, "The Time Machine of the Leskovac Region", which chronologically and thematically exhibits material from prehistory to the beginning of World War II in 1941, which mostly shows local history from ancient times to the middle of the 20th century. The first phase of the new permanent exhibition, which shows the life of the inhabitants of the Leskovac area from the Neolithic to the late Turkish era, was opened on May 9, 2015. In the first part, in a pyramid-shaped display case, the archeological treasure of Hisar, a hill above Leskovac, is symbolically shown, which is the richest site of the Brnjica cultural group, from the 14th century BC. Gold jewelry from the Mala Kopašnica site was presented from the period of Roman domination. Medieval history depicts Dubocica and the time of Nemanjic, the time of the Despotate and the development of the city in the time of the Turks. The space that testifies to the Middle Ages is dominated by the figure of the Serbian knight Nikola Skobaljić - life-size and under full warrior equipment. A special place was given to the Leskovac Fair, the largest and most famous fair in the Balkans, which was attended by Dubrovnik merchants and merchants from the entire region. In the second architectural part of the exhibition, the archeological site Caricingrad - the birthplace of Emperor Justinian I - is presented. Part of the exhibition about the Empress' city, which is on the preliminary UNESCO list of world cultural heritage, is material collected in a hundred years of research. The second phase of the permanent exhibition "Time Machine of the Leskovac Region", entitled "Leskovac - Serbian Manchester (1878 - 1941)", was opened on June 19, 2020. The exhibition, through several thematic units, shows the period from liberation from the Turks, at the end of 1877, to the beginning of the Second World War, in 1941, when Leskovac underwent a dynamic transformation - transformation from a slightly larger oriental town in the middle of the 19th century to the most important Serbian industrial center after Belgrade. Leskovac had the opportunity, thanks to the development of the textile industry, to enter the society of four cities in Europe at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century, to which the term "Manchester" is connected. In the period between the two world wars, Leskovac became the center of the chemical, metal and food industry, crafts and trade. He also had a developed education, culture, sports life and health, everything that gives him the physiognomy of a modern city. The exhibition shows the clash of the old and the new, the traditional and the modern, the transformation of the palanquin and the "birth" of the city: from ancient costumes with fezzes to tailcoats made of English cloth; in one place the tenacious survival of some archaic crafts, in another the dealerships of "Standard Oil", "Singer" and "Pafa", from inconspicuous and dilapidated cafes on the outskirts with barns in the yard, to the city center where the competition of the hotel "Kostić", "Plow" "And" Paris "with dances, balls, operettas, jazz concerts and screenings of sound films. Despite the modernization, Leskovac has retained a mixture of the spirit of the Turkish town and modern architecture, the composition of winding streets and alleys with Turkish cobblestones and the main street with a cube, the spatial harmony of the Turkish mosque and the new Orthodox church. The Leskovac Bazaar was the center of all important events and the best indicator of economic and social development. The new exhibition, with the reconstruction of the main street, shows the spirit of the bazaar environment between the two world wars, through the authentic shop windows and shops of colonial and delicatessen goods, bookstores. Also, the architecture of Leskovac with famous buildings in cooperation with fashion is shown. At the very end of the exhibition is a story about hotels and taverns, of which there were 105 and which were the main gathering place and entertainment for the people of Leskovac. Larger cafes of that time had stages for performances, musical performances, but also cinema projections. For that reason, in addition to the cafe, a stage was reconstructed, on the wall of which various projections will be made. This space is also intended for holding children's and creative workshops, thematically developed to develop positive feelings in children towards the cultural and historical heritage of their city. The new exhibition Leskovac - Serbian Manchester opens a space where visitors can interactively participate and discover, learn and get to know the history of Leskovac in a different way and thus enrich their experiences and knowledge.