A monument to broken hearts and lost loves, the clever Museum of Broken Relationships features objects related to former romantic relationships, anonymously donated by broken-hearted people all over the world.

The museum was originally conceived by Olinka Vištica and Dražen Grubišić as a travelling exhibition, and now has a permanent home in Zagreb, Croatia. Featuring diverse love tokens such as teddy bears, wedding dresses, underwear, and even an axe, the collection becomes a physical manifestation of the heartache, nostalgia and anger experienced during the demise of a relationship.

Each object and its accompanying description offers a juicy little glimpse into someone’s personal life. But why donate these objects in the first place? Why offer up a slice of your most painful memories and failed love stories for strangers to gawk at? Maybe it is a ritualistic purging, or a sort of celebration of the universality of heartbreak. But I think people have given objects to the museum because it provides a place to share a part of their past they don’t want to forget, but find too painful to remember.

What item would you put in the Museum of Broken Relationships?

// Images from the Museum of Broken Relationships, and other places (click on images to go to individual sources).