When a relationship ends, what do you do with the things that meant something to both of you? Do you hold dear to the things both of you shared? Do you know you could donate them to the Museum of Broken Relationships in Zagreb, Croatia?
TheĀ Museum of Broken RelationshipsĀ (Croatian:Ā Muzej prekinutih veza) is aĀ museumĀ inĀ Zagreb,Ā Croatia, dedicated to failedĀ love relationships. Its exhibits include personal objects left over from former lovers, accompanied by brief descriptions.Ā
The unifying power of heartbreak has had such a draw that the exhibition has toured across the world, and a second permanent branch was opened inĀ Los AngelesĀ in 2016.Ā
TheĀ Museum of Broken RelationshipsĀ lies between Saint Markās Church and Saint Catherineās inĀ Zagrebās Upper Town.Ā
On Saturdays in theĀ CroatianĀ capital, brides and grooms rotate for portraits against these spiritual backdrops, while wedding guests refuel during the happy day with coffee on the terrace of the museumās well-positioned cafe.Ā
Behind the patrons, this innovative exhibition space puts heartache on display. The idea to gather personal leftovers from breakups came to a former couple of Croatian artistsāOlinka ViÅ”tica, a film producer, a
ndĀ Dražen GrubiÅ”iÄ, a sculptorāupon ending their four-year union.Ā
āItās a metaphorical space to put things behind you but still leave a trace this relationship existed, that it mattered to me,ā explains ViÅ”tica of the collection which opened in its current home in 2010, becoming the first private museum in Zagreb.Ā
The foundersā contribution to the globally-crowdsourced supply of woe is a lifeless wind-up toy rabbit standing in front of his vacation snapshot in a desert near Tehran. It now poses under the placard: āThe bunny was supposed to travel the world but never got further than Iran.ā
Seemingly mundane objects fill the rooms, but the accompanying original words of the worldās broken-hearted delve deep: A garden gnome squats under the description of its angry flight through the air on the da
y marking divorce of a 20-year marriage.Ā
The last checkbook with both partnersā names sits on a pedestal near a stiletto heel representing a clandestine but memorable encounter between prostitute and client.Ā
A letter from first loves parting ways
in Sarajevo on the brink of the war that dissolved Yugoslavia memorializes yet another romance that never stood a chance.Ā
A tattered flag missing its bottom half-waves in the entrance, while the small gift shop offers commissioned work from local designers like bad memory erasers and jewelry stringing shards of broken china.Ā
Pieced together from people around the world, the curated collection reflects diverse perspectives from coming-of-age to family bonds that failed. āWe transformed the concept of a museum from that temple about historic things.Ā
Museums can be about you and about me. We added some sort of democratic value and introduced love as a tool to learn about the world,ā says ViÅ”tica, who knew the perfect locationāinside the former palace of early 20th-century Croatian abstract painterĀ Count Kulmer, right where todayāsĀ funicularĀ re
aches from Lower Town to the top of the hill surrounded by other city cultural sites.
Yet visiting here touches a uniquely personal but universal level, as ViÅ”tica describes: āItās an intimate experience in a public space, and thatās so rare.āĀ
Around one hundred thousand people visited last year, not including traveling exhibitions that juxtaposed the objects against church aisles inĀ AmsterdamĀ or helped theĀ SamiĀ people of remote arcticĀ NorwayĀ open up in atypical ways.Ā
With stories considered private, the Museum of Broken Relationships provides a much-needed place to heal.Ā ResearchĀ under an MRI scanner found that the brains of the heartsick can resemble the brains of those experiencing cocaine withdrawal.Ā
AnotherĀ study, monitoring coping methods of various heartbreak-afflicted foci groups, found that while long-term wallowing is never a great idea, reflecting upon a recent breakup can help speed the healing process.Ā
Honking cars in procession merrily pass by the museum on the way to the next wedd
ing event, while cafe guests come and go.Ā
After considering the varied stories insideāfrom humorous to distraught, romantic, or familialāanyone can rehabilitate by leaving a message in the museum guest book, propped in front of a mirror so a person must face oneself. As ViÅ”tica says, āYou can always make something of your broken relatio
nship.ā