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National Museum of Slovakia- Museum of Ethnography in Mar-tin and the creation of the funds

Eva Králiková( Adriana Daneková), Martin/ Slowakei

The National Museum of Slovakia in Martin has been creatingits collection fund since 1890. In the second half of 20th century itwent through significant organization changes which marked its ex-pert and collection aiming close connected with acting of other insti-tutions of national character with acquisition, documentary and pres-entation character. In the year 1961 it was united with Slovak Na-tional Museum in Bratislava and one uniform Slovak National Mu-seum was established, first with departments, later with institutes,respecting the geographical character of the original collection funds( historical, natural sciences, later archeological, ethnographic). TheSlovak National Museum became a national working place withdetermined orientation on documentation and presentation of collec-tions and the phenomenon of traditional folk culture. It subordinatedto this fact its collection and exhibitions.

From the middle 60s on the Slovak National Museum in Mar-tin started to build an open- air museum- the Museum of the SlovakVillage( proposal was approved in the year 1964, the foundationstone was laid in 1968, the exhibition was opened to the public in1972). In the years 1974- 1975 expositions of Slovak traditional folkspiritual and material culture were opened to public in the building ofthe museum and in the year 1968 the Gallery of Creative Folk Artwas open as well. Many exhibitions were dedicated to the presenta-tion of the folk culture collection; many of them as Slovak premiersand many of them were seen by visitors in foreign countries.

From 1980 the fund of ethnological photography and film hasbeen formed as a part of our museum. Later it was transformed intothe Museum of Karol Plicka. The Czech photographer Karol Plickawas an important personality of artistic and cultural life in 20th cen-tury. Work pieces of this important pioneer of Slovak photography,well known filmmaker who proved to seize the beauty of Slovakvillage and its vivid, realistic life, were returned again to Slovakia, to