Murska Sobota Regional Museum

Founded in 1955 by the Prekmurje Museum Society, the Murska Sobota Regional Museum found a permanent home in Murska Sobota Castle in 1956. It is the main regional institution for the protection of movable cultural heritage in the Pomurje region. From its initial 186 square metres the museum has since expanded its premises to an area of 2,000 square metres.

History

The beginnings of the Murska Sobota Regional Museum are binded with the Prekmurje Museum Society, which was established in 1935. The collection of the Prekmurje Museum Society was first indexed during the Second World War by Avgust Pavel. In 1978 the museum became a working unit of Murska Sobota Cultural Centre, which was renamed in 1984 to Miško Kranjec Cultural Centre, Murska Sobota. In 1987 it acquired the status of general museum for Pomurje. It was established as an independent cultural institution in 1992 by the Municipality of Murska Sobota. With the reorganisation of the municipalities the museum remained without proprietors for many years. The problems were solved in 2007 with a new act established by the Urban Municipality of Murska Sobota and the Municipality of Moravske Toplice.

Programme and mission

Its mission is a complex museum activity, which includes recording, collecting, research, documentation, conservation, education and various forms of representation of all types of tangible and intangible cultural heritage. There are intertwined cultural influences of neighbouring provinces and countries, and unique creativity that comes from ethnic, national and religious diversity. Museum performs a public service for all municipalities in this region and is also responsible for recording and documentation of intangible heritage in Porabje (Hungary) and Radgona corner (Austria), where a part of the Slovenian national minority lives . Its activity includes archaeology, ethnology, history and art history, conservation and restoration, and professional library. Museum performs educational and andragogical programs including workshops and lecture activities.

Venues, branches

Beside main location at Murska Sobota Castle, the museum has many dislocated units: Beltinci Museum Collection in Beltinci castle; Gornja Radgona Museum Collection in Špital, Gornja Radgona; Radenska Museum Collection; Vaneča Memorial Room – District Committee of the Association of National Liberation War Veterans Murska Sobota; Memorial Room of Dr Fran Kovačič, Veržej; Miško Kranjec Homestead; Grad Castle, Grad - Krajinski park Goričko; Memorial Room of Štefan Hozjan, Brezovica; Pečarovci Museum Collecton of Fire Brigade; Memorial Room of Dr Anton Trstenjak, Rodmošci.

Collections

Collected material is arranged into different collections: archaeological collection includes over 7.000 stone items, Eneolithic material from Šafarsko and Bukovnica, Bronze Age material from Dolnji Lakoš and Gornja Radgona, settlements in Dolga vas, Ivanci, sepulchral mounds and burial-grounds in Dobrovnik, Gančani, Vučja gomila, Gerlinci, Motvarjevci, Čikečka vas, Dokležovje, Rakičan,Strehovci and Mačkovci, Bronze Age settlement Oloris…; ethnological collection includes over 2.000 items of farming and household activities (a pottery collection, a shoemaker collection, a belt-making collection and a collection of farming utensils, folk art artefacts, recording elements of folk and mass culture...); art historian collection includes over 2.000 items of fine arts and crafts, art photography by Jožef Kološa, legacy of painter Alojz Eberl, music instruments, collection of caricaturist Ladislav Kondor; historian collection includes over 11.000 items of numismatics, photos, publications, technical objects, documents, textile items, smaller items; library collection houses over 14.500 inventory units; health collection of Pomurje region, collected by Nikolaj Szepessy, doctor from Beltinci; and museum collection Radenska.

International cooperation

The cooperation with Lendava-Lendva Gallery and Museum and Pável Ágoston Museum in Monošter (Hungary) in the project Sense of place, started in 2009, is to be named. Main goal is to realize a new permanent exhibition in Monošter and to renovate premises for the realization of the permanent educational programme in Murska Sobota, Lendava, and Monošter.

Museum takes part in international project Handicrafts Academy.

Exhibitions

Museums main permanent collection, set up in autumn 1997, is located in Murska Sobota castle and presents life in the region along the Mura river from prehistoric times until today. For this exhibition museum won European Museum of the Year Award in 1999.

Other permanent exhibitions are in the dislocated units: in Beltinci castle: History of Health in Pomurje region; in Gornja Radgona: Bridges of Radgona; in Radenci: Museum Collection Radenska; in Lendava: Bronze Age Settlement Oloris; in Grad: Handicrafts Workshops and Domestic Activities; in Brezovica: Štefan Hozjan, Royal Imperial Pilot; in Velika Polana: At the Advanced Printing, in Veržej: Memorial Room of Dr Fran Kovačič.

There are also many contemporary exhibitions taking place in Murska Sobota Regional Museum; a recent exhibition in 2009: HA, this was an artistic Soul was a part of a programme of the 1. International Triennial of Ceramics.

Awards

In 1999 museum won Special Prize, European Museum of the Year Award for permanent exhibition in Murska Sobota castle. In 1998 museum curators won Valvazor-Prize for Curators. In 1987 Vlasta Koren won Valvasor-Prize for Lifetime Achievement. Other Prizes: Plaque of Municipality of Murska Sobota for Outstanding Achievements in the Field of Museology, 1992: Irena Šavel; Plaque of Municipality of Murska Sobota for Outstanding Achievements in the Field of Culture, 2001: Metka Fujs; Izidor Cankar-Prize For Research in the Medieval Painting, 2001: Janez Balažic; Plaque of Municipality of Murska Sobota for Outstanding Achievements in the Field of Culture, 2002: Janez Balažic; Plaque of Municipality of Murska Sobota for Outstanding Achievements in the Field of Culture, 2003: Branko Kerman; Valvasor-Prize for Exhibition-Project At the Turn of the Millenium, 2003: Metka Fujs; Award of Slovenian Archaeological Society for the book Oloris 2003: Irena Šavel.

Publishing

Periodical publication Anthology of Regional Museum Murska Sobota ("Zbornik soboškega muzeja") is the first periodical publication in region dedicated to sociology and science, published since 1990. Four documentary - feature films (Naravni in božji čas, Biografski čas, Merilci časa, Družbeni odnos do časa) are the resulte of the project At the Turn of the Millennium, director: Aleš Nadai. Museum publishes regulary exhibition catalogues, sound carriers and other promotion material.

External links

Murska Sobota Regional Museum website