Memorial Museum of Bishop J.J. Strossmayera was founded in 1991. It exhibits original documents, copies, books, objects, photographs and artistic paintings related to the figure and work of Bishop Strossmayer. All this is shown in six rooms of the Museum, but it is only a "drop in the ocean" from the entire legacy that we inherited from the great bishop.
Bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer (1815 - 1905), theologian, politician, humanist, visionary, initiator and patron of significant cultural, educational and scientific projects, one of the most significant and influential Croatian figures of the 19th century. Doctor of philosophy and theology, professor at the Theological Seminary in Đakovo, court chaplain and one of the three directors of the Augustineum in Vienna, was appointed and enthroned as the Serbian-Bosnian bishop in 1850 in Đakovo. In a political sense, he advocated for the unification of Croatian countries, civil liberties and the right to the Croatian language.
Guided by the principle of "Education to Freedom", he initiated and materially supported the construction of the cathedral in Đakovo and the building of the JAZU (HAZU) in 1880 in Zagreb, to which he donated a collection of paintings by old masters (which became the foundation of the Strossmayer Gallery in 1884). The work of Croatian schools, libraries and reading rooms helped; he was the founder of the renovated modern University of Zagreb (1874), supported magazines and newspapers, supported writers, scientists and artists and the printing of scientific works.
The museum materials of the Memorial Museum are divided into three collections:
An art collection that includes portraits of Bishop J. J. Strossmayer, works by prominent painters and sculptors of the 19th and 20th centuries (M. Stein, T. Krizman, O. Iveković, I. Meštrović, etc.), then paintings, drawings, graphics and sculptures various authors (among which stand out J. F. Overbeck, M. Rački, I. Rabuzin, V. Radauš, D. Popović..., and 120 paintings from the donation of the painter Z. Ćosić).
The sacral collection, which includes a model of the Đakovo cathedral by K. Rösner from 1885, church dishes, the bishop's clothes, a staff and other objects.
A collection of books and documents about the bishop and the diocese, which is thematically related to the Diocese of Đakovo and the life and work of Bishop Strossmayer.
In the attic, there is an exhibition space, where art exhibitions are held.