The Castle is located in a small town of Budatín (at present it is a part of Žilina) in the north part of Slovakia. It was built in the 13th century and its oldest part is the tower which is almost 20 meters high. After the Second World War, it underwent a thorough renovation. The Museum of Považie was arranged in its interiors. There are almost 150 000 objects of historical, cultural, ethnological, botanic, geological, zoological and numismatic value collected there.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the last owner of the castle count Geza Cskay pulled down the damaged baroque palace and built a two-storey mansion in its place. At present, there is a hall on the ground floor which serves as a tourist information about the museum. This room is really impressive, it has a beautiful wooden ceiling and fancy wooden stairs. They actually invite all the visitors to see the exhibitions which are located upstairs. One can see the original interior design of the palace from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. The expositions present antique archeological collections, artefacts found in the local caves, the works of the handcraft masters from the 15th to 20th centuries, as well as a hunting room and a collection of old maps from the 16th and the 18th centuries and a collection of clocks.

One of the most interesting expositions is the one connected with the development of tinker craft. It was a technological and artistic phenomenon, taking a very important place in the national culture of the Slovaks. Objects made of wire are a unique product offered by the local artists and craftsmen. Until today the travelling tinker is perceived as one of the typical Slovakian symbols.

Tinker craft is a profession having folk roots and it is based on hand wire processing. It appeared in the 18th century as an alternative source of income for the poor inhabitants of the highland and alpine regions of the northern and the north-western parts of Slovakia. A lot of people worked in different sectors of metallurgical industry and they traded iron ore and their products were delivered even to Hungary. That is how they got to know this material and they started to use it for making everyday and artistic objects. At the beginning tinkering was only an additional job – the wire netting was just used to enhance the durability of clay ceramics. Later they made simple tools and over the years it became more artistic.

At the tinker craft exhibition, we can see incredible three-dimensional objects, sculptures made of common wire. These are sculptures of animals, people, beautiful cages for birds, mirror frames, bowls, accessories and many more other forms. Before visiting this place you don’t even realize how impressive a simple wire can be.

The castle is an example of how harmonious can be the combination of the modernism of expositions with passing the knowledge about the past. The legend about beautiful Katarína Dungelová who was, while still alive, walled up in the Castle and her spirit still roams the castle and its premises...

Považské múzeum v Žiline – Budatínsky hrad (sídlo)
010 03 Žilina, Topoľová 1
tel. (+421) 41 500 15 10, (+421) 41 500 15 11
e-mail: muzeum@pmza.sk
www.pmza.sk