Technikatörténeti szemle 24. (1999-2000)

Szabadváry Ferenc: Országos Műszaki Múzeum: előzmények, elődök, jelen és jövő

visited those interested. The Hungarian Museum for Science and Technology tried to make as many of its objects as possible acquainted with the public interested and thus making the public acquainted with the universal and Hungarian past of technology, with special regard to Hungarian inventors. Though the Museum does not have a permanent exhibition building, two smaller museums joined us entirely. One of them is the former Ganz foundry (today Foundry Museum) in Budapest, the other one is the Central Metallurgical Museum in Miskolc. Both of them are actually technical monuments, even the buildings themselves. They used to be supported by the iron industry. After the changes in the political system the industry was no more able to take upon itself their support, therefore the Ministry of Culture took over their maintenance in the frame of the Hungarian Museum for Science and Technology. Even in its difficult situation the Hungarian Museum for Science and Technology did everything to make as many people as possible acquainted with the development of technology, the old one and the newest one equally, by means of temporary exhibitions. The individual exhibitions dealt mainly with individual branches of technical development or with a given epoch. In its temporary exhibitions the Museum payed special attention to presenting and making acquainted technical development in Hungary as well as to the activities of creative Hungarians, to their achievements and their recognition abroad and worldwide. Since its foundation, the Hungarian Museum for Science and Technology has organised lots of temporary exhibitions. A "common feature" of them was that the site of all of them was some room (or rooms) obtained or acquired from some other institution, some museum or a university or a school etc. That is why our exhibitions were always open for a shorter time than it would have been desirable. On the pages to follow we are going to enlist all the exhibitions of the Hungarian Museum for Science and Technology along with their sites. As can be seen, the Hungarian Museum for Science and Technology presented itself not only in Budapest, but also in the countryside, moreover also abroad. All that happened in the hope that sooner or later, rater sooner it would have an own building for its exhibitions and their visitors. Dr. Ferenc Szabadvâry Director-general em.