Difference between revisions of "Idrija Municipal Museum"

Latest revision as of 21:58, 10 November 2019

The Idrija Municipal Museum was founded in 1953 as the Museum of Idrija and Cerkno. It is housed in the Gewerkenegg Castle, which dominates the old centre of the town. The 16th-century castle had been mostly a seat of management and administration for many centuries of the second oldest and largest mercury mine in the world, which dates back to 1490. The museum's main aim has been to preserve, present, and research the rich technical heritage of the mercury mine and the ethnological features of the life of miners and peasants of this region that lies on the borderline between the Karst and the pre-Alpine hills.

The museum is responsible for the area's natural sights and technical, ethnological, historical, and cultural monuments, as well as for the major monuments of the National Liberation Struggle from the Second World War. It also administers the Cerkno Museum and the France Bevk Homestead in Zakojca, and publishes the Idrijski razgledi Magazine.

In 1997 the Idrija Municipal Museum received the Luigi Micheletti Award, as the best European museum of industrial and technical heritage.

Copper engraving of Idrija, including the mercury mine, by Janez Vajkard Valvasor (published in his The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola), 1689

Exhibitions on the Gewerkenegg Castle

The central museum exhibition with the title Five Centuries of the Mercury Mine and the Town of Idrija presents the development of the town of Idrija and 500 years of the second oldest and the largest mercury mine in the world. While operating, the mine produced one-eighth of all mercury in the world. The exhibition is thematically divided into 11 sections with 25 exhibition rooms covering a total area of more than 1,300 square metres.

The Collection of Rocks, Fossils, Mercury Ores and Minerals, with nearly 3,000 different specimens is the biggest exhibited collection of its kind in Slovenia. Documents Tell the Story and View of the Town in the front tower of the castle exhibit a selection of significant archival sources from all over Europe along with documents of Idrija cartographers and mine maps from the 18th and 19th centuries.

Mercury Tower, is highlight of the exhibition and is designed like a shaft with three levels. Each level presents different symbolic values in the work of the miner. Equipment, ways, and customs before entering the shaft. The second level presents work, working conditions, tools, miners at work in the 17th century, etc. And in the lowest part, a treasure here hangs in the air on iron wires, represented by a 320kg transparent Plexiglass cube with drops of mercury inside.

Famous Personalities, show portraits and documents relating to the activities of all those workers, intellectuals, and mining experts who came to or lived in Idrija and influenced Slovenia's and Europe's science and culture at large. For instance in Idrija were the naturalists Scopoli, Hacquet, and Paracelsus.

The process of extracting mercury and cinnabar is illustrated in a room with a massive millstone used for grinding cinnabar, clay retorts for blasting ore, and original mercury scales from 1830. An important support industry for mining is foresting, and Idrija is surrounded by hills and forests that were cut for centuries for shaft support and mining architecture. Wood was also exported and the Idrijca River and its mouthing streams were used as transport routes. Architecture and technical solutions are vividly presented by various models of water dams, barriers, and water rakes to pool incoming wood. The facilities shown in the models can still be visited in the town of Idrija or in surrounding areas.

Witnesses of Life's Beat presents the lively social and cultural life in the Idrija of the past. The Idrija Brass Music Association with over 350 years of tradition found its permanent tribute in the museum. The mining operation was responsible for the establishment of several very good local schools as well as craft traditions such as lace-making. Bobbin-lace making was introduced into Slovenia from the Czech and German lands of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy more than 300 years ago; the first mention goes back to the year 1696. Idrija gradually developed its own techniques and design patterns. In 1876 a lace school was established and its activities achieved European dimensions. Lace was exported worldwide the same as mercury.

A part of the museum is the Memorial Room of France Bevk, the famous Slovene writer, that was donated by his wife after his death in 1971. His study was moved from Ljubljana to the museum's permanent exhibition at Gewerkenegg Castle the same year.

On display in the Idrija Municipal Museum is a relief model of the Partisan Hospital Bolnica Pavla, the less-known, but no less important hospital where more than 1600 Partisans were treated.

Temporary exhibitions

On the castle the museum runs also two separate exhibition spaces, the Small Gallery [Mala galerija] and the Nikolaj Pirnat Exhibition Space [Razstavišče Nikolaja Pirnata]. Specific research projects such as The 50 years of Basketball in Idrija (2019) as well as contemporary artworks are exhibited there.

Satellite locations

The museum works closely with the Idrija Mine Museum and the Municipality of Idrija to run numerous sites (the theatre, a warehouse, the city hall, Gewerkenegg Castle, miners houses, the water barriers klavže, etc.). In 2007 the whole complex was added to the tentative list of the UNESCO world heritage sites under the title Idrija on the Mercury Route of the Intercontinental Camino Real, while in 2012 the nomination, this time as Heritage of Mercury by Idrija and Almadén, was successful.

The museum therefore oversees the activities of various satellites showing works which were necessary to maintain mine shafts, wood cutting and transport: the Flood Dams, Klavže in Idrija, built in 1772; Francis's Shaft, the museum's technical department, a mine shaft that has 15 of the most modern battery and steam machines for pumping water out of the mine from the 19th century to the early-20th century. It has the biggest water pump, known as Kley's Pump, made by the E. Škoda Pilsen factory (Plžen, Czech Republic) in 1893 and operated until 1948. After being repaired and renovated, the pump was opened again for the public in 2009. The Idrija Kamšt (from the German word Wasserkunst – "water art"), the largest wooden water wheel in Europe which pumped water from the mine from the time of the French Revolution all the way till 1948. It was restored and reopened for public viewing in September 2009. The Idrija Miner's House dating from the end of the 19th century was renovated in 1990.

The museum cares also for the World War II heritage, the Franja Partisan Hospital and the Slovenia Partisan Printing Shop in Vojsko. The Printing House operated from 1944 till the end of the war, and Partizanski dnevnik [The Partisan's Daily] was the only daily newspaper in occupied Europe printed by a resistance organisation.

External links

UNESCO World Heritage List

Heritage of Mercury. Almadén and Idrija, UNESCO presentation

Gallery

Mill wheel, The Cerkno Region Through the Centuries permanent exhibition at Cerkno Museum presenting the historical development of the Cerkno region, 2004

Prison doors, The Cerkno Region Through the Centuries permanent exhibition at Cerkno Museum presenting the historical development of the Cerkno region

The Cerkno Region Through the Centuries permanent exhibition at Cerkno Museum presenting the historical development of the Cerkno region

Dairying accessories, The Cerkno Region Through the Centuries permanent exhibition at Cerkno Museum presenting the historical development of the Cerkno region, 2004

"Ta terjast", PUST IS TO BLAME! – A Story about the Cerkno Laufarija exhibition, (Laufarija are carnival figures particular to Cerkno), exhibition, Cerkno Museum

PUST IS TO BLAME! – A Story about the Cerkno Laufarija (Laufarija are carnival figures particular to Cerkno) exhibition, Cerkno Museum

"Laufarji", PUST IS TO BLAME! – A Story about the Cerkno Laufarija (Laufarija are carnival figures particular to Cerkno), exhibition, Cerkno Museum

PUST IS TO BLAME! – A Story about the Cerkno Laufarija (Laufarija are carnival figures particular to Cerkno), exhibition, Cerkno Museum

The Cerkno Museum was established by Idrija Municipal Museum in 1978 as a branch museum about the NOB (National Liberation Struggle). The institution studies the rich heritage of the Cerkno region in an integral way

The operating room at the Franja Partisan Hospital. A precise reconstruction of the original interior that was devastated by huge floods in 2007.

Footwear design by Ana Novak with handmade lacework by Idrija Lace School, exhibited during Idrija Lace Festival, 2007

A replica of a 6 sqm large lace tablecloth, ordered and made in 1976 by 14 Idrija lacemakers from 34.560 metres of cotton tread for Tito's wife Jovanka who has never received the gift. Exhibited at Idrija Lace Festival, 2008

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Article
-| status       = ROBOT INFOBOX TOPROOFREAD NIFERTIK!
+| status       = TOPROOFREAD NIFERTIK! PHOTO
-| maintainer   =
+| maintainer   = Admin
 }}
 {{Infobox
-| name                = Idrija Municipal Museum
+| name                = Idrija Municipal Museum - The Museum of The Idrija and Cerkno Regions
 | localname           = Mestni muzej Idrija
 | street              = Prelovčeva 9
 | town                = SI-5280 Idrija
+| map                 = http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lon=14.01865&lat=46.00083&zoom=17&layer=mapnik
 | telephone           = 386 (0) 5 372 6600
 | fax                 = 386 (0) 5 377 3580
 | email               = tajnistvo@muzej-idrija-cerkno.si
 | website             = http://www.muzej-idrija-cerkno.si
-| proprietor          = Idrija Municipality and Cerkno Municipality
+| founded by          = Municipality of Idrija
 | contacts = {{Contact
 | name                = Ivana Leskovec
 | role                = Director
-| email               = ivana.leskovec@muzej-idrija-cerkno.si
+| email               =
 }}
+| accounts            =
+http://www.facebook.com/MestniMuzejIdrija
+https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-aWMVPoqHBR-BmfLbGeqsQ/
+https://www.instagram.com/mestnimuzejidrija/
+https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g2177201-d6840176-Reviews-Idrija_Municipal_Museum-Idrija_Slovenian_Littoral_Region.html
 }}
-{{Abstract|
+{{Teaser|
-[[Idrija Municipal Museum]] was founded in 1953 as the Museum of Idrija and Cerkno, regions which lie on the borderline between the Karst and the pre-Alpine regions. The museum’s main aim has been to preserve, present and research the technical heritage of the mercury mine, which is of European significance, and the ethnological features of the life of miners and peasants. The museum is responsible for the area's natural sights and technical, ethnological, historical and cultural monuments, as well as for the major monuments of the National Liberation War from the Second World War. Since 1953 the museum has been housed in Idrija Castle, which dominates the old centre of the town and has preserved its historical name Gewerkenegg, reflecting the fact that the castle had been mostly a seat of management and administration for the mercury mine.
+The [[Idrija Municipal Museum]] was founded in [[established::1953]] as the Museum of Idrija and Cerkno. It is housed in the [[Gewerkenegg Castle]], which dominates the old centre of the town. The 16th-century castle had been mostly a seat of management and administration for many centuries of the second oldest and largest mercury mine in the world, which dates back to 1490. The museum's main aim has been to preserve, present, and research the rich technical heritage of the mercury mine and the ethnological features of the life of miners and peasants of this region that lies on the borderline between the Karst and the pre-Alpine hills.
+The museum is responsible for the area's natural sights and technical, ethnological, historical, and cultural monuments, as well as for the major monuments of the National Liberation Struggle from the Second World War. It also administers the [[Cerkno Museum]] and the [[France Bevk Homestead]] in Zakojca, and publishes the ''[[Idrijski razgledi Magazine]]''.
+In 1997 the Idrija Municipal Museum received the Luigi Micheletti Award, as the best European museum of industrial and technical heritage.
+{{Image|Municipality of Idrija 1689 Valvasor.jpg}}
 }}
-The central museum exhibition presents the development of the town of Idrija and the once second largest mercury mine in the world, equipped with the latest technology. The geological collection with nearly 3,000 different specimens is held to be the biggest exhibited collection of its kind in Slovenia. The front tower of the castle exhibits a selection of significant archival sources from all over Europe along with documents of the Idrija cartographers from the 18th and 19th centuries. Othe important sections include the Mineral Collection (including exhibitions on mercury mining) and documents relating to the activities of naturalists in Idrija, Scopoli, Hacquet and Paracelsus; and the section 'Views of the Town and Monuments of the Ancestors', a stroll through the town which had its liveliest period in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. There is an exhibition on the mercury tower, which was designed like a shaft with three levels. The process of extracting mercury and cinnabar is illustrated by the massive millstone that was used for grinding cinnabar, the clay retorts for blasting ore and original mercury scales from 1830.
+== Exhibitions on the Gewerkenegg Castle ==
+The central museum exhibition with the title ''Five Centuries of the Mercury Mine and the Town of Idrija'' presents the development of the town of Idrija and 500 years of the second oldest and the largest mercury mine in the world. While operating, the mine produced one-eighth of all mercury in the world. The exhibition is thematically divided into 11 sections with 25 exhibition rooms covering a total area of more than 1,300 square metres.
+The ''Collection of Rocks, Fossils, Mercury Ores and Minerals'', with nearly 3,000 different specimens is the biggest exhibited collection of its kind in Slovenia. ''Documents Tell the Story'' and ''View of the Town'' in the front tower of the castle exhibit a selection of significant archival sources from all over Europe along with documents of Idrija cartographers and mine maps from the 18th and 19th centuries.
+''Mercury Tower'', is highlight of the exhibition and is designed like a shaft with three levels. Each level presents different symbolic values in the work of the miner. Equipment, ways, and customs before entering the shaft. The second level presents work, working conditions, tools, miners at work in the 17th century, etc. And in the lowest part, a treasure here hangs in the air on iron wires, represented by a 320kg transparent Plexiglass cube with drops of mercury inside.
+''Famous Personalities'', show portraits and documents relating to the activities of all those workers, intellectuals, and mining experts who came to or lived in Idrija and influenced Slovenia's and Europe's science and culture at large. For instance in Idrija were the naturalists Scopoli, Hacquet, and Paracelsus.
-A small exhibition room presents famous figures from the history of the mine and town, while another exhibition features furnishing from an early 20th century Idrija miner’s house.
+The process of extracting mercury and cinnabar is illustrated in a room with a massive millstone used for grinding cinnabar, clay retorts for blasting ore, and original mercury scales from 1830. An important support industry for mining is foresting, and Idrija is surrounded by hills and forests that were cut for centuries for shaft support and mining architecture. Wood was also exported and the Idrijca River and its mouthing streams were used as transport routes. Architecture and technical solutions are vividly presented by various models of water dams, barriers, and water rakes to pool incoming wood. The facilities shown in the models can still be visited in the town of Idrija or in surrounding areas.
-The last exhibition hall presents the lively social life in the Idrija of the past. The mining operation was responsible for the establishment of several very good local schools as well as craft traditions such as lace-making. Bobbin-lace making was introduced into Slovenia from the Czech and German lands of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy more than 300 years ago, and Idrija developed its own techniques and design patterns. In 1876 a Lace School was established and its activities achieved European dimensions. A part of museum is the memorial room of Dr Aleš Bebler (1907-1981), Slovene politician, diplomat, ecologist and participant in the Spanish Civil War. There is a permanent gallery collection, donated by Idrija-born translator and Rome gallery owner Valentina Orsini Mazza, which comprises 33 paintings and prints by renowned Slovene and Italian artists. Other interesting parts of the museum include the peasant frescoes painted by itinerant folk artists. The motifs are religious and combined with decorative elements and simple ornamentation.
+''Witnesses of Life's Beat'' presents the lively social and cultural life in the Idrija of the past. The [[Idrija Brass Music Association]] with over 350 years of tradition found its permanent tribute in the museum. The mining operation was responsible for the establishment of several very good local schools as well as craft traditions such as lace-making. Bobbin-lace making was introduced into Slovenia from the Czech and German lands of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy more than 300 years ago; the first mention goes back to the year 1696. Idrija gradually developed its own techniques and design patterns. In 1876 a lace school was established and its activities achieved European dimensions. Lace was exported worldwide the same as mercury.
+A part of the museum is the Memorial Room of [[France Bevk]], the famous Slovene writer, that was donated by his wife after his death in 1971. His study was moved from Ljubljana to the museum's permanent exhibition at [[Gewerkenegg Castle]] the same year.
-The museum oversees the activities of various satellites, including: the Flood Dams (Klauže) in Idria, built in 1772; the Frančišek Mine, the museum`s technical department which presents old driving and mining machines; the homestead of the Writer France Bevk; Idrija Kamšt (from the German word Wasserkunst – 'water art'), the largest wooden water wheel in Europe which pumped water from the mine from the time of the French Revolution down to 1948; an Idrija Miner's House dating from the end of the 19th century which was renovated in 1990; the Wild Lake Natural Museum, located two kilometres south of Idrija; the Franja Partisan Hospital (huge floods in September 2007 demolished the monument; repairs are underway); the Cerkno Museum; and the Partisan Printing Press 'Slovenia'. The latter is one of the best preserved monuments from the Second World War. The Printing House operated from 1944 till the end of the war, and Partizanski dnevnik ('Partisan's Daily') was the only daily newspaper in occupied Europe printed by a resistance organisation.
+On display in the Idrija Municipal Museum is a relief model of the Partisan Hospital ''Bolnica Pavla'', the less-known, but no less important hospital where more than 1600 Partisans were treated.
-In 1997 Idrija Municipal Museum received the Luigi Micheletti Award, as the best European museum of the industrial and technical heritage.
+===Temporary exhibitions===
+On the castle the museum runs also two separate exhibition spaces, the Small Gallery [Mala galerija] and the [[Nikolaj Pirnat]] Exhibition Space [Razstavišče Nikolaja Pirnata]. Specific research projects such as ''The 50 years of Basketball in Idrija'' (2019) as well as contemporary artworks are exhibited there.
+== Satellite locations ==
+The museum works closely with the [[Idrija Mine Museum]] and the [[Municipality of Idrija]] to run numerous sites (the theatre, a warehouse, the city hall, [[Gewerkenegg Castle]], miners houses, the water barriers [[Flood Dams, Klavže|''klavže'']], etc.). In 2007 the whole complex was added to the tentative list of the [[:Category:UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Slovenia|UNESCO world heritage sites]] under the title ''Idrija on the Mercury Route of the Intercontinental Camino Real'', while in 2012 the nomination, this time as ''Heritage of Mercury'' by Idrija and Almadén, was successful.
+The museum therefore oversees the activities of various satellites showing works which were necessary to maintain mine shafts, wood cutting and transport: the [[Flood Dams, Klavže]] in Idrija, built in 1772; [[Francis's Shaft]], the museum's technical department, a mine shaft that has 15 of the most modern battery and steam machines for pumping water out of the mine from the 19th century to the early-20th century. It has the biggest water pump, known as Kley's Pump, made by the E. Škoda Pilsen factory (Plžen, Czech Republic) in 1893 and operated until 1948. After being repaired and renovated, the pump was opened again for the public in 2009. The [[Idrija Kamšt]] (from the German word ''Wasserkunst'' – "water art"), the largest wooden water wheel in Europe which pumped water from the mine from the time of the French Revolution all the way till 1948. It was restored and reopened for public viewing in September 2009. The [[Miner's House - Ethnological Collection|Idrija Miner's House]] dating from the end of the 19th century was renovated in 1990.
+The museum cares also for the World War II heritage, the [[Franja Partisan Hospital]] and the [[Slovenia Partisan Printing Shop]] in Vojsko. The Printing House operated from 1944 till the end of the war, and ''Partizanski dnevnik'' [The Partisan's Daily] was the only daily newspaper in occupied Europe printed by a resistance organisation.
 == See also ==
 * [[Cerkno Museum]]
+* [[France Bevk Homestead]]
+[[:Category:Mercury mining heritage|Mining monuments and sites:]]
+* [[Idrija Mine Museum]]
+* [[Miner's House - Ethnological Collection]], Idrija
+* [[Idrija Kamšt]]
+* [[Francis's Shaft]]
+* [[Flood Dams, Klavže]], Idrija
+WWII monuments
 * [[Franja Partisan Hospital]]
-* France Bevk Homestead, Zakojca
+* [[Slovenia Partisan Printing Shop]], Vojsko
-* Miner's House - Ethnological Collection, Idrija
-* Slovene Partisan Printing Shop, Vojsko
+== External links ==
+* [http://www.muzej-idrija-cerkno.si Idrija Municipal Museum website]
+* [http://www.luigimichelettiaward.eu/winners/dettaglio_winner.asp?id=67 Idrija Municipal Museum as the Luigi Micheletti Award winner]
+UNESCO World Heritage List
+* [https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1313/ Heritage of Mercury. Almadén and Idrija, UNESCO presentation]
+{{gallery}}
 [[Category:Museums]]
+[[Category:Municipal museums]]
+[[Category:Mercury mining heritage]]
+[[Category:EU funding of Slovene organisations (Culture and MEDIA Programmes)]]
+[[Category:EU Culture funding recipient]]
+[[Category:Venues]]
+[[Category:Municipal cultural institutions]]
+[[Category:UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Slovenia]]

Difference between revisions of "Idrija Municipal Museum"

Latest revision as of 21:58, 10 November 2019

Contents

Exhibitions on the Gewerkenegg Castle

Temporary exhibitions

Satellite locations

See also

External links

Gallery

Operated by

Financed by