It isn't easy to describe the wealth of Zagreb's twenty museums, dozens of large galleries, collections and studios as well as around fifty state-owned and private galleries. In this respect, Zagreb abounds daily with cultural events: openings of exhibitions of both young and established artists, retrospectives, auctions, and shows. Zagreb is a city with a very active cultural life in the art world. These and all other cultural events including scientific ones receive momentum from the members of the Croatian Academy of Arts and Sciences (HAZU) founded in Zagreb in 1866 at the initiative of Bishop Josip Jura Strossmayer. HAZU has branched out and has eight sections of sciences and arts with 188 full, associate and correspondent members. The Strossmayer gallery shares a part of the building housing the Croatian Academy of Arts and Sciences. The gallery displays works by old masters with a collection numbering 450 works dating from the fourteenth to the nineteenth century by Italian, Dutch, Flemish, French, and Central European painters among them, even some Croatian painters. The collection, totalling some 4,000 paintings and other items, includes works by Tintorerto, Bellini, Boticelli and many other celebrated artists from both here and abroad. The Strossmayer Gallery is found on 11 Zrinjevac. View of Zagreb from a master's Diploma of the end of the 18th century The Mimara Museum, on 5 Roosevelt Square, tel. 448-055 The Croatian Natural Science Museum is found on 1 Demetrova Street The Archaeological Museum is located on 19 Zrinjevac tel. 627-600 The Historical Museum of Croatia is on Matseva 9, tel. 227-991 The Ethnographic Museum of Croatia is on 14 Mazuranid Square, tel. 449-215 The Museum of Arts and Crafts is on 9 Marshall Tito Square, tel. 441-058 The Technical Museum is on 18 Savska Street, tel. 435-446 The Museum of Zagreb is on 20 Opaticka Street, tel. 274-642 The Croatian School Museum is on 4 Marshall Tito Square, tel. 420-604 The Ivan Mestrovic' Foundation is on 8 and 10 Mletacka Street, tel. 428-586 The Museum of Contemporary Art is on 2 Katarinski Square, tel. 425-227 The First Croatian Bank Museum The Museum of Hunting is on 63 Nazorova Street, tel. 433-310 The Museum for the Blind is on 80 Draskovceva Street, tel. 425-227 The Croatian Postal Museum is on 13 Jurisiceva Street, tel. 274-811 The Museum of Physical Education is on 7 Ilica Street, tel. 423-900 The Serbian Orthodox Church Museum is on 2 Dezeliceva Street, tel. 433-133 The Mimara Museum, on 5 Roosevelt Square, tel. 448-055 This museum has been given the flattering title, "the Zagreb Louvre" which it entirely deserves given its numerous and valuable collections from all corners of the world with an exceptionally rich assortment of works by old masters like Raffaello, Valazquez, Rembrandt, Rubens, flats, Goya, Van Dyck, and Murril, to mention but a few. Rodin, Della Robbie, Clodion, Verrocchio and others also represent the works of sculptors. The Croatian Natural Science Museum is found on 1 Demetrova Street Before the establishment of this institution, there was the National Museum established in 1846 with numerous departments that later became independent museums. At the moment, the museum has three major collections. The geological-paleontological collection of fossils which include the remains of large prehistoric animals, and of special interest is the section displaying how Krapina prehistoric man looked one to two hundred thousand years ago. This Krapina Neanderthal man is very interesting to scientists as it represents an evolutionary link in the ancient history of mankind. The mineralogical and petrographic collection has more than 10 thousand pieces of rocks, stones, minerals, and crystals from all over the world revealing the wealth of the earth's crust. The zoological collection depicts the life of local woodland animals and also displays a butterfly and insect collection as well as a bird collection, a collection of Adriatic fauna and exceptional specimens of animals and fish from throughout the world, from sharks to whales. The Archaeological Museum is located on 19 Zrinjevac, tel. 627-600 The museum houses especially valuable stone monuments deriving from the ancient history of the Croatian people and their first national rulers. There are pieces of stone which reveal the history during the age of the Kings Trpimir and Branimir, etc. As far as foreign exhibitions are concerned, there is an interesting Egyptian collection with a mummy, an Etruscan mummy with the longest extant text written in the Etruscan script which has yet to be deciphered. The entire museum has some 400 thousand exhibits with a numismatic collection considered valuable both in its quantity and quality. In the courtyard of the Archaeological Museum, an archaeological park has been open with a collection of stone monuments from ancient times with many from Scitarjevo where the Roman municipality of Andautonija used to be and which, according to some, was the predecessor of Zagreb. The Historical Museum of Croatia is on Matseva 9, tel. 227-991 The museum is found in a Baroque mansion with a Baroque facade and rococo staircase. It houses monuments and items reflecting Croatian history. Of particular value are the collections of portraits of major figures in Croatian history, from the Hungarian-Croatian kings to Ban Jelacic. There are also collections of maps, arms categorised by types, uniforms and coats-of-arms. The Historical Museum of Croatia also has exhibition space in Mestrovic's round palace on the Square of Croatian Greats. The Ethnographic Museum of Croatia is on 14 Mazuranid Square, tel. 449-215 This museum has an interesting collection of folk costumes, village architecture and objects used by people from the past, nicely shaped items reflecting the national costumes. The museum also includes exhibits of pieces brought from Africa by the explorers, Seljan and Lerman. The Museum of Arts and Crafts is on 9 Marshall Tito Square, tel. 441-058 The collection includes furniture, musical instruments, textiles, and pieces of clothing and crafts as well as Gothic and Baroque sculptures. Of special interest are the exhibitions of architecture and design. The museum also includes a 50,000 book library dating from 1880. The Technical Museum is on 18 Savska Street, tel. 435-446 This is one of Croatia's newer museums especially appealing to the young people due to its collection of old bicycles, cars, planes and ships. The museum also has a full-size replica of a mine, old factory equipment and state-of-the-art technology from spaceships to a planetarium. The Museum of Zagreb is on 20 Opaticka Street, tel. 274-642 It depicts the development of Zagreb from prehistoric times until the nineteenth century with exhibits from the cultural, artistic, economic and political spheres of life. There are numerous portraits of Zagreb craftsmen, flags of their guilds and city plans. The Croatian School Museum is on 4 Marshall Tito Square, tel. 420-604 It has a rich assortment of teaching aids, books and manuals together with a pedagogical library housing thirty thousand books. One per Manent exhibit is the Paris room (made according to the plans of H. Bolle with specially made furniture and items used by pupils attending different schools like the School of Crafts. The watercolor collection is particularly note worthy with works by Croatian artists: Slava Raskaj, Medovit, Tisov, Ivekovic and others. The Ivan Mestrovic' Foundation is on 8 and 10 Mletacka Street, tel. 428-586 Two hundred and fifty works, which the great artist donated to Croatia, are on display together with his house and its entire inventory. The magnificence of this celebrated sculptor can best be felt here, in the ambiance of his home where he constructed his own furniture according to his own specifications. The Museum of Contemporary Art is on 2 Katarinski Square, tel. 425-227 Many Zagreb artists search for new ways of expression, new shapes and techniques in their art. This museum follows their efforts and regularly collects the best of works, for example, by; Picelj, Sutej, Vanista, Kozaric', Lontarid and others. This makes the museum an avant-garde one as it is closely tied to the most daring young artists. The First Croatian Bank Museum: An exhibition entitled Croatian Money and the book, Croatian Numismatics, the first of its kind, will be promoted in the museum. The Museum of Hunting is on 63 Nazorova Street, tel. 433-310 As Croatia is a country which deals in tourism, it promotes hunting and has been very successful in this. The museum displays a collection of over 800 trophies from our game reserves: deer, buck, and bears. The Museum for the Blind is on 80 Draskovceva Street, tel. 425-227 A specialised museum dealing with objects closely linked to the education of people with impaired vision. The Croatian Postal Museum is on 13 Jurisiceva Street, tel. 274-811 It presents the history of the postal service with an exhibition dealing with telecommunications and a particularly notable stamp collection. The Museum of Physical Education is on 7 Ilica Street, tel. 423-900 This newly opened museum depicts the history of sports in Zagreb and Croatia with some three thousand exhibits. The Serbian Orthodox Church Museum is on 2 Dezeliceva Street, tel. 433-133 The museum houses items of church and national history and theology as well as an exhibition on the development of writing and literature by Serbs in Croatia. There is also an engaging collection of icons.