Many cities in the world have commemorated the places where their great fellow citizens lived, showing their gratitude for literary work that became part of the national culture. Thus, in Belgrade which was first visited by Andrić in 1919, and then, upon completion of his diplomatic career, became his permanent residence as of 1941, a memorial museum was established in the writer's remembrance. On October 10, 1976, his birthday, a year and half after Ivo Andrić's death, the Memorial Museum received its visitors.
The apartment on Proleterskih Brigada 2a (today Andrićev Venac 8 in honor of the writer) where Andrić lived from 1958, after his marriage to Milica Babić, is arranged in a manner similar to other memorila institutions in the world. On the one hand, part of the authentic atmosphere has been preserved which enables a reconstruction of the writer's daily life, and on the other, various exhibits present Andrić's life and important points in the bibliography of his creative work. Since the purpose of the apartment is both pedagogical and memorial, part of it (the writer's study and the salon which Milica Babić decorated with the proven taste of a talented artist) has retained the same apperarance as during Andrić's life. The two former bedrooms have been remoted into exhibit space where various documents present Andrić's life and his creative development. The exhibits contain personal and professional documents (university student's booklet, diplomatic passport, medallions, diplomas, the Nobel Prize - medal and plaque - Vuk's Award, honorary doctorates) and photographs. Displays present original manuscripts of Andrić's works, letters, various editions of his books in Serbian and foreign languages, as well as some of the writer's personal items.Andri}'s study
Andrić's personal library is primarily displayed in the study. It has been organized as a museum: there is an inventory containing 4,502 bibliographical units, and a catalog is being compiled which will contain all the notes and comments that Andrić wrote in the margins of the books he read. The rich collection of photographs has also been organized and inventoried.
Although they are institutionally separate, the Ivo Andrić Foundation and the Memorial Museum, which belongs to the Museum of the City of Belgrade, should represent a whole. The Memorial Museum contains examples bearing testimony to the writer's life and creative work, and the Ivo Andrić Foudation takes care of his overall legacy. The personal holdings located in the Archive of the Serbian Academy of Science and Art, and the Documentation center in the Ivo Andrić Foundation satisfy scholarly and professional needs regarding the study of Andrić's work, while the Memorial Museum bestows respect on the writer as an individual.