Salamon Berger

Who was Salamon Berger?

Salamon Berger was Croatian Jewish industrialist, textile trader, founder and first director of the Ethnographic Museum in Zagreb.

Berger was born on February 25, 1858 in Mnešice, Nové Mesto nad Váhom, Slovakia. When he lost his parents, as 16 year old, Berger moved to Zagreb. As a textile merchant and manufacturer, Berger presented the products of Croatian industry on 96 exhibitions across the Europe, United States and Australia. During his business career he collected the ethnographic material across Croatia and Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The largest amount of textile, such as weaving and lace, Berger gathered in Posavina. In 1919, Berger founded the Ethnographic Museum in Zagreb with over 8,000 textile items titled the "Land collection of Salamon Berger". He was the first director of the museum until 1925, and from 1925 until his death the honorary director. Berger was buried at the Mirogoj Cemetery.