The Emotions of a museum

 THE EMOTIONS OF A MUSEUM 

Armelinda Kashtanjeva 

24.05.2022

Today, on the 24th of May, I visited the National Museum of Kosovo. I had never visited this museum before. The museum was made up of two parts: archaeological and historical. As I was going inside, the entrance caught my eye. It was big and reminded me of those old movies, and that gave me some chills.

While I was going inside, a guide welcomed me and my friends at the entrance. She told us what the artefacts displayed meant, how they were made and why people used them. Through this blog, aspire to share my experience and all the emotions this museum gave me.

 

Sometimes we don’t care about the origin of a thing and "the why" of it, but believe me, it is far from 

boring and very fascinating.

We started off with the Early Neolithic Period, in the Archaeological part. When I got to learn about decorative dishes in the early Neolithic period, I was stunned because  they were made out of animal nails. All I could think about was how they did it. How did they put it together? Was it hygienic? But again, I was left speechless. 

I am astonished at how people used to put the smallest things to use in such beautiful ways. While the guide was telling us more and more about the Early Neolithic period, we moved on to "The Goddess on the Throne". "The Goddess on the Throne" was unjustly taken by the Serbs along with other 1247 Kosovar artefacts. Fortunately, it was returned to Kosovo in 2004 and is now displayed in the National Museum of Kosovo.

I couldn’t enjoy the sculpture because I was feeling frustrated and angry. These feelings would become more intense as I moved to the next part of the museum.

 

The next part of the museum was the Historical part, placed on the second floor. There, I could see the weapons, clothing, car plates, and other items that UÇK used during the war. Ah, but there was also a part where you could see what serbs used to torture Kosovars, and I have to tell you, this was the most intense feeling I had during my visit at the museum. After that, I wasn’t that calm. I was angry and thinking of the fate of those who were tortured. These thoughts wouldn’t get out of my head. But while I was moving to the next part of the exhibit, I noticed the personal belongings of Ibrahim Rugova, the President of Kosovo after the war. Seeing that, I felt relief since even though those who fought and sacrificed are not alive, at least their beloved ones are in freedom and peace. To be honest, this part was the most touching part of the museum for me, probably since it is the most recent tragic event in my country. I try to be as informed as possible about what Kosovars went through during the war. This place gave me more than just my imagination; it gave me actual things to look at so I could understand the tragic events even more. 

Who knew that something displayed behind the glass would make me feel so many emotions and thoughts at once. I enjoyed my visit at the museum to the fullest. It was an amazing experience. The feelings when I got to see the actual artefacts were immaculate, I might say. It made me appreciate my culture and my origin more and also filled me with more knowledge that every Kosovar should know. I would suggest to everyone who hasn’t been to this museum to go and visit it, you won’t be disappointed.

P.S I took a selfie with a Roman celebrity.