Skip to main content

Croatia’s Museum of Hangovers Opens Just in Time for the New Year

Those of us old enough to have seen a little of love and life have more than a few hangover stories worth telling. Most can recall at least one seriously epic hangover — that morning after that damn-near killed us. For one Croatian university student, those stories were worth immortalizing at the all-new, one-of-a-kind Museum of Hangovers.

One night in 2019, Rino Dubokovic was out with friends sharing their most memorable (or not) drinking and hangover stories. Evidently, those anecdotes seemed worthy of elevating to museum status. Six months later, the Museum of Hangovers opened its doors with the tagline, “An unforgettable place of forgettable happenings.” On December 1, it debuted in a space adjacent to the same bar where Dubokovic had been drinking in the capital city of Zagreb.

Recommended Videos

The tiny museum includes an exhibit where visitors can don a pair of “beer googles” while testing their walking and driving reflexes. There’s a section for visitors to share their favorite hangover stories and another that displays curious objects that people discovered around them the morning after a hard night out. The attached gift shop sells kitschy booze-inspired wares like a Drinkopoly board game, branded darts, and more. While the museum might suggest otherwise, Dubokovic is quick to point out that his intention is not to glamorize excessive drinking. “In the future, we want to make people aware of the bad things related to alcohol,” he told CNN.

Museum of Hangovers

Worldwide, dozens of quirky niche museums have popped up over the past decade. Sweden debuted the aptly named Disgusting Food Museum last year; Iceland has a museum dedicated to all things phallic; and Osaka pays homage to the world’s most beloved instant noodles at The Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum. Croatia, in particular, is no stranger to similar museums. In 2010, the Museum of Broken Relationships opened in Zagreb with the goal of presenting and gathering miscellaneous artifacts from romantic couples who were no more. The idea proved so popular that a satellite location for the museum opened in Los Angeles in 2016.

The Museum of Hangovers opened earlier this month, just in time for New Year’s Eve. The concept is a semi-permanent test to gauge visitor reactions. Dubokovic hopes to expand and make it a larger installation this year.

If you’re too hungover to make it to Zagreb this Wednesday, we have you covered with our complete guide to hangover cures. Of course, your best bet is to steel yourself with an ounce of prevention even before you head out Tuesday night.

Mike Richard
Mike Richard has traveled the world since 2008. He's kayaked in Antarctica, tracked endangered African wild dogs in South…
The scoop on sparkling wine — it’s not just for New Year’s Eve anymore
Sparkling wine continues to gain popularity — Here's where we stand and where fizzy wine is headed
A toast with several glasses of sparkling wine

A very interesting thing has been happening in the wide world of wine over the last several years. Sparkling wine is becoming both more flavorful and more approachable, especially here in the US. Thanks to a spike in production and some earned wisdom over time, now is perhaps the best time investigate America's answer to champagne.

These days, we're into everything from entry-level sparkling to top-shelf stuff made in the méthod champenoise style. It comes in all shapes and sizes, from sparkling rose wine to sparkling white wine and everything in between. We're giving it the full wine treatment, exploring how terroir plays into the wine genre and experimenting with ratios of different grapes. If you like wine with effervescence, now's the prime time to dive in.

Read more
The 7 New Champagne of Beers to Drink This New Year’s Eve
Beer Alternatives to Champagne

Beer is always welcome, whether it's a smoldering Sunday afternoon in August or a chilly December eve. Why should anything change during New Year's Eve? Granted, it's the occasion of occasions but there are some great beers out there that can compete with your favorite sparkling wine. And some are so celebratory and effervescent they're practically bubbly anyway.

By all means, get your holiday cocktail and wine on. Just don't overlook beer. It's so often the commoner in drinks land, deemed ill-equipped for more lavish gatherings or the most festive nights out (or in). Well, that all depends on the beer you're celebrating with, of course.

Read more
How to Prevent a Hangover From Happening
friends drinking drinks bar

Did you know there is a 100-percent foolproof way to prevent a hangover? Want to hear it? You're not going to like it, we can promise you that. The way to prevent a hangover? Put the glass down and don't drink.

See? We told you that you wouldn't want to hear it. It was hard enough for us to type those damnable words.

Read more