Petercsák Tivadar: Várak és múzeumok - Studia Agriensia 29. (Eger, 2010)

Tízéves a szerencsi múzeum

THE FIRST TEN YEARS OF THE SZERENCS MUSEUM

The idea of having a museum in Szerencs was first mentioned in the 1960s. On the initiative of the local intelligentsia, and within the context of local history groups, collection work began among the local population in the interests of establishing a “museological Collection”. One of the organizers was dentist dr. László Petrikovics, who was in the possession of a substantial collection himself. It was he who bequeathed his collection of400,000 picture postcards, his bookplate collection, his collection of scientific books and his local history collection to the town, which led to the Szerencs Museological Collection being opened on 15th July 1967. This was supplemented by the local history material assembled by the local history circle. The collection's name was changed to the Szerencs Local History Museum in 1968, the Takta Museum in 1975, and to its present name, the Zempléni Museum, in 1977.

In the first ten years the museum's collections have expanded, and some useful categorization work has taken place. The most significant section is the history collection, which includes 600,000 picture postcards. In recent years major developments have taken place within the ethnographical collection. Apart from the collection of 30,000 small prints, most of which are bookplates, there is also a local history-ethnographical database, a photographic collection and a specialist library available to researchers.

During the course of the 1970s the upgrading of the pennanent exhibitions and the numerous temporary exhibitions contributed to an increase in the number of visitors. The museum plays an active part in the cultural life of the town. Among its most pressing tasks at the present time is the publication of its important picture postcard collection, and its research into the history and ethnography of Szerencs and its immediate surroundings.

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