70th anniversary of the ”Old Village” Museum Kumrovec

On the occasion of the European Heritage Days, a special exhibition was opened yesterday at the "Old Village" Museum in Kumrovec, marking the museum's seventieth anniversary. Seventy years speak volumes about the development of an institution that, through its activities, has changed and expanded its own knowledge, as well as the knowledge of the residents in whose environment it grew up.

From a small, memorial museum housed within a single building in the center of the Kumrovec settlement, over the course of seventy years it has grown into a unique open-air museum, which today has around thirty restored or reconstructed residential and commercial buildings, valuable examples of rural architecture from the turn of the 19th to the 20th century. The photo-documentary exhibition shows the development of the museum from its very beginnings to the present day, when the museum, with its rich contents, has become an increasingly attractive cultural and tourist destination. Anita Paun Gadža, the museum director, spoke about the exhibition itself and the museum activities of the "Old Village" Museum in Kumrovec, while the former director of the Kumrovec Memorial Park, Nikola Filko, mentioned the most important events that preceded the establishment of the Museum. A brief overview of the beginnings of museum and educational programs in the museum was given by museum pedagogue Tatjana Brlek. The attendees were also addressed by the mayor of the Kumrovec municipality, Robert Šplajt, who thanked all the museum employees for their cooperation so far.

Before the opening of the exhibition, on behalf of the prefect of the Krapina-Zagorje County, the head of the Administrative Department for Education, Culture, Sports and Technical Culture, Mirjana Smičić Slovenec, awarded the "Old Village" Museum in Kumrovec a certificate of appreciation on the occasion of its 70th anniversary, for its contribution to the preservation and promotion of cultural heritage, and for the promotion of the Krapina-Zagorje County in the country and abroad.

Klapa Brv participated in the special musical program, and museum visitors were also able to meet presenters of traditional crafts that today represent the wealth of intangible cultural heritage.