The Homeland Museum “Kotarka”, Novo Miloševo

The Homeland Museum “Kotarka” belongs to the Count Karaczony’s family castle in Beodra (Novo Miloševo) and its surroundings, which is the cultural monument of great importance. Among many utility buildings, today are left just the horse stable closer to the castle and opposite the old grain warehouse, corn barn and a management building with workshops. Bogdan Karaczony bought the estate Beodra from the Vienna Court in 1781. Since then Beodra had been developing fast, and during the 19th century it became the town with more than 50 buildings.

The most beautiful among those which were preserved are classical castles of Karaczony family, mausoleum church and large grain warehouse opposite the older castle which upholds even today. The grain warehouse had the corn barn in its surroundings. The corn barn is the building for keeping corn. Thanks to Novi Bečej municipality and its citizens, the corn barn was made into the unique museum with original name “Kotarka”. The idea for restoration and renovation of this building and moving 4500 exhibits into the building, which were kept carefully from forgetting, was born in 1994.

The intensive collecting of exhibits continues even today. Reconstruction works are still going on. They started in 2001, and in 2006 the building with three exhibition rooms, plumbing, the office-depot were finished. The urban and architectural heritage of the development of Novi Miloševo was presented in the first hall: three parishes of which two are orthodox and one is catholic church, Karaczony family photos, old crafts and trade exhibits and children’s corner with items from everyday life of that period. There is a special place dedicated to fire department founded in 1889. Two replicas, bourgeois ball gown from the 19th century and Andor Karaczony’s servant uniform, are in this hall as well as photos and documents that belonged to two famous people from Miloševo: Dr. Đorđe Joanović, founder of Medical Faculty in Belgrade, and Teodor Pavlović, a journalist and a restorer of Matica Srpska.

In the second hall are old textile handicrafts, one and two face carpets from the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, national costumes, towels with flowers on them used in different custom rituals, golden embroideries, girl’s clothes, looms, distaffs for cotton and hemp and embroidery accessories. There is also the small exhibition of traditional household items and kitchen cutlery. The third hall is actually a guest room, so called the front room with the bed in it, a bench, a table and chairs, a big wardrobe, carpets and rugs, that shows the lifestyle of a rich family from that time. There is St. Patrons’s icon between two windows, family photos, and the clock with chains which complementing the experience of the lives of our fellow citizens in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

The special part of the museum with the exhibits of farm tools was adapted in 2011. There are also some items connected with the peasant’s way of life and items from the summer kitchen which served for food preparation. Larger agricultural machines, such as grain trier, carts, plows, beam scale, oak wine barrels, grain dusting machine, flour containers and a funeral car and numerous photos taken on the field during sowing and harvesting, help us to imagine the life of peasants in Novo Miloševo. Grain warehouse placed next to Kotarka museum, has been adapted and made into the exhibition space in 2017. After conservation and restoration works has been done, this large building got the new look. In the renovated ground floor many cultural events are held: book promotions, literary evenings, music evenings, different types of manifestations, Museum Night, gatherings… The narrow stairs leads to the gallery, into the wholly new world. The permanent exhibition of photographs from the peasant’s and, in general, from social life of the previous two centuries, the authentic Biedermeier furniture in the form of a guest room, ball gowns in the most beautiful colors of gold and aristocratic red, wedding dresses and engagement gowns, as well as original 19th-century church clothes that are preserved in old coffins and now, to our great joy, they are exhibited as the items of special importance.

In order to complete the story of the museum and the grain warehouse, the restoration and reorganization of the grain warehouse cellar is planned. Whether it will be a vintage tavern or a favorite martini and vodka, which the famous Jams Bond from Novo Miloševo used to drink, remains to be find out.