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Description
The main theme of the project is wood and its local links to history and culture. The Spis region is very rich in wood. The tradition of wood processing in the region is very important. The project can show beautiful old, but also new furniture, and wooden musical instruments, promote arts and traditional crafts connected with wood, music, Roma, and Jewish inhabitants of the Spis region. The Project will share stories with locals and tourists also by using new interactive solutions (augmented reality). All the activities are aimed to attract visitors more as well as to show them the rich local heritage (culture, arts, crafts).
Summary of project results
The project included an investment part - solving the disrepair, poor structural and technical condition of the National Cultural Monument, the Farm Building situated in the grounds of the French Park and the Manor House in Markušovce. The reconstruction and the creation of the necessary infrastructure in the first step created the conditions for the fulfilment of the next challenge - the creation of a multifunctional cultural object of European level, which will provide a new view of the museum and its use, a new way of education and presentation of the experience. A major challenge, a fundamental need for the museum , was to create a space for visitors that had been lacking up to that point - a rest area, refreshments, but also space for museum staff.
The biggest challenge was to create innovative exhibitions using technology and to create a form of presentation that connects the visitor to their own experience. Virtual reality, personalizing the museum''s collection, engaging all the senses - period music, clothing, crafts return the visitor in time to the original place (authenticity). Susanna Manor House will become a ring that will connect the jewels tied to the important noble family of Mariassa, which are located in the grounds of the French Park - the Manor House and the Dardanelles summer palace. The unique displays of historical furniture and keyboard musical instruments and the stories of the new exhibitions in the Curia Susana will create a place in the region that no visitor or tourist will bypass.
A professional challenge for the museum was also the possibility of cooperation with project partners who contributed to the introduction of technologies such as the company Gagarin from Iceland, as well as the Slovak partner (Slovak Paradise Regional Tourism Organization), which will expand the visitor clientele, and Secondary Vocational School of Woodworking in Spišská Nová Ves City, which will attract young people to learn about the history and craftsmanship of the Spiš region, the continuators and preservers of the cultural heritage.
The implementation of the project met the expected objectives. The Museum of Spiš obtained a reconstructed historical building "Manor House Susanna", i.e. another National Cultural Monument - tangible cultural heritage was saved. The building was built in 1745 by František Máriássy and his wife Zuzana Szontághová. The Máriássy family occupied the area until 1933. The reconstructed chateau symbolically connects the historical values and jewels associated with the Máriássy family. Simultaneously with the reconstruction of the building, its functionality was also fulfilled in accordance with the project - a multifunctional cultural object was created. It includes: a visitor zone, office space, a handy depository, new expositions - in the reconstructed attic "The Story of the Ancestors" ethnographic exhibition with technologies in cooperation with partner 1 Gagarin from Iceland, upstairs furniture exhibition, on the ground floor craft workshops, as well as a museum café.
In cooperation with partners, the Promoter has continuously from 2021 - 2024 carried out soft activities and outputs such as: experiential events - Letohranie, or summer at the Mariussy family, music courses, concerts, exhibitions, which involved the general and professional public, school children, art schools, as well as the residents and municipality of the municipality of Markušovce, as well as private owners of monuments in the municipality. The publicity of the project has already attracted thousands of visitors to the museum during its implementation. An experiential, innovative form of museum presentation. Tangible heritage - real collection objects, combined with virtual reality - present the life and stories of our ancestors.
The project enabled a new use of the potential of the unique historical area of the French Park with the Manor House, the Dardanelles summer palace. Increased visitor numbers and own income will ensure further development and the provision of quality cultural services of European standard. The space for new entrepreneurial activities - summer school of art, new way of education and presentation of historical collections – was created. New technologies that will enable a personalised experience for visitors through augmented reality were installed (for the first time in museum in Slovakia). Historical figures in an authentic setting tell their stories. Encouraging curiosity, engagement and visitor interaction. Already during the implementation of the project, we have seen interest from the younger generation, foreign visitors as well as compatriots living abroad, and marginalised residents of the region. The presentation of the intangible, spiritual heritage has been given a space for approach through the project. The exhibition "Cultural Heritage of the Roma and Jewish Minorities" installed in the open space of the French Park is unique. The exhibition of the works of the students of the Secondary School of Woodworking is a presentation of skill, creativity and gives hope that we have continuators in the preservation of cultural heritage and woodworking craft.
Summary of bilateral results
The main result of the cooperation was the introduction of new technologies, which opened opportunities for innovation in the field of presentation. The strengthening of bilateral relations between donor partner and beneficiary is already based on mutual knowledge, cooperation, communication and exchange of experience. The visits of colleagues from Norway to Markušovce (SR) in June 2023 and the visit of the technologically unique expositions of the staff of the Spiš Museum in Iceland in April 2024 contributed to this. The cooperation with the donor partner was beneficial for both the promoter and the partner, who learned a lot about our history during the project. Further cooperation with Gagarin ehf. will not be possible in the future as it has ceased to exist as a legal entity. However, the personal relationships that were established during the project will form a good basis for the creation of new projects.