Nikola Tesla Museum

Overview

The Nikola Tesla Museum houses the personal effects, documents, and inventions of Serbia's most famous scientist. Located in a residential villa near the Church of Saint Sava, it holds over 160,000 original documents, photographs, and technical instruments, including Tesla's funeral urn.

Highlights

• Interactive Demonstrations: Staff perform live demonstrations of Tesla coils, wireless energy transfer, and rotating magnetic fields every hour.
• Tesla's Urn: The inventor's ashes rest in a gold-plated sphere on permanent display.
• Original Patents and Letters: Correspondence with Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, and Mark Twain.

History

The museum was established in 1952 in accordance with Tesla's will, which directed that his personal archive be sent to Belgrade. The collection was shipped from New York in 80 trunks. In 2003, UNESCO inscribed Tesla's archive on its Memory of the World Register.

Visitor Tips

• Tip 1: Buy tickets online or arrive 15 minutes early — guided tours start on the hour and are limited to 30 people.
• Tip 2: The interactive demonstration is the highlight; don't skip it even if you're short on time.
• Duration: 1–1.5 hours.