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

Műemlék, nemzeti emlékhely, múzeum

ANCIENT MONUMENT, NATIONAL MEMORIAL PLACE, MUSEUM

Taking the István Dobó Castle Museum as its point of reference this paper examines the pecular conditions and challenges that come with being a museum, functioning within the walls of an ancient monument also weighed down by the responsibility of being a national memorial. The author describes how the museum, which is in the grounds of the castle itself, has contributed to the cultivation and propagation of the cult associated with the site.

As the scene of a famous siege against the Turks in the middle of the 16th century, the castle really came to the public's attention with the publication of Géza Gárdonyi's novel Egri csillagok (variously translated as the Stars of Eger or Eclipse of the Crescent Moon) and subsequent film adaptation. In the Hungarian national psyche Eger Castle has become synonymous with patriotism and heroic resistance. A museum has been in operation in the castle since 1958, and it is to this museum that many hundreds of thousands of visitors go to pay homage to the heroic defence of 1552, to inspect the key locations, to visit the castle history exhibition, the Hall of Heroes, and the subterranean corridors and cannon chambers. The standing of the castle, and the cult surrounding it, mean the museum has visitor numbers unrivalled elsewhere in Hungary. The museum encourages further interaction with the historical site, and, with the help of its scientific research, the professional co-ordination of its restoration projects, the hosting of permanent and temporary exhibitions, and its spectacular historical programmes and publications, endeavours to leave visitors with a deep and lasting impression. At the same time, however, the large visitor numbers have a negative effect on the museum budget, as the increase in outside income affects the amount of financial help the museum can expect to get from the state.

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