Považie Museum, Žilina

Opened in 1956 at Budatín Castle, the Považie Museum, Žilina is a regional museum which focuses on local archaeology and history and the tinker trade.

The museum’s collections originated with those of the former Žilina Municipal Museum (1942) and now comprise over 100,000 objects from the fields of natural science, archaeology, history and ethnography.

Považie Museum is the only museum in the worid concerned with the systematic documentation of the tinker trade. Within the range of its research activity, it surveys both historical and present demonstrations of the tinker craft on the whole territory of the Slovak Republic and abroad. The tinker collection of the museum, comprising almost 2,500 pieces of collected objects, is the largest of its kind in the world. It comprises tinker tools, aids, utility and art objects of wire and tin, written documents and photographs, as well as various curiosities. The museum also owns an extraordinary rare collection of naive art consisting of human figures sculpted out of wire, fairy tale creatures, animals and birds. The tinker collection documents the historical development and material expression of this unique and typically Slovak folk art form from its beginnings among itinerant tinkers to its industrialisation. It shows how Slovak tinkers were able to use their skill in their craft to achieve fame and success in business all over the world.

Visitors can also view an exhibition on the history of Strečno Castle, the ruins of which are administered by the museum. Individual display cases contain archaeological discoveries made during research and excavation work on the castle. Part of the exhibition is a model of the castle showing the building as it looked before reconstruction.

The Považie Museum, Žilina also administers several other historic buildings, including Strečno Castle and two objects of folk architecture in the heritage village of Čičmany.