July 14, 2023 – The Ivan Vučetić Museum of Mystery is officially open in Hvar. The interpretation center is dedicated to the Croatian inventor of dactyloscopy and one of the world’s most influential pioneers of forensic science, Ivan Vučetić.
All its visitors get the opportunity to explore the life and work of the famous scientist in one place through a comprehensive exhibition, artifacts, and exciting stories previously unknown to the public.
The Museum of Mystery is located in the house where this great man lived and worked, in the very centre of the town of Hvar. The interpretive centre pays tribute to Ivan Vučetić, whose revolutionary achievements shaped the field of forensics as it is known today.
It is the first museum in Croatia dedicated to one of the most prominent figures in the world of forensics. It brings a fascinating story about the father of forensics and his contribution to the development of science.
Through the exciting exhibits in the museum, you can find out everything about Vučetić’s revolutionary work. You can get to know his identification methods and the forensic techniques he developed, which are still crucial in solving crimes worldwide.
Museum of Mystery: Welcome to the Age of Discovery
“Walk through history and explore significant cases that Ivan Vučetić helped to solve, as well as his influence on modern forensics. Discover how his revolutionary fingerprint system has contributed to the detection and identification of criminals. Welcome to the age of mystery and discovery,” the museum invites.
Ivan Vučetić was born in Hvar in 1858, and from 1884 he lived in Argentina. There he worked at the Central Police Office in La Plata and soon became head of the Statistics Department. He was one of the first to realise the value of taking fingerprints for identification. In 1891 he founded the Identification Service in La Plata.
The Argentine or Vučetić system, the ten-finger identification system, was officially introduced in Argentina in 1902. Many other South American countries introduced it as well. California, France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, China, Czechoslovakia, and Serbia followed.
The value of his system lies in its simplicity and vast possibilities of practical application.
The Juan Vucetich Police Museum was opened in La Plata in 1923. The Zagreb Centre for Criminal Expertise of the Croatian Ministry of Interior has been called Ivan Vučetić since 1997.
The Museum of Mystery is located at 39 Kroz Burak Street in Hvar. It is open on working days from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
