A unique museum where it is allowed to touch the exhibits and enter any door. Bencovje grunt in Bojnice is a museum that was opened in the summer season 2020. The atmosphere is completed by a unique space of a 400-year-old renovated house, which will transport visitors to the last century.

The owner of the historic building, who is also actively involved in the day-to-day operation of the museum, Emil Medera, told us more about this place and an interesting idea.

1. How did it all start? What was the first impulse to make the craft museum at this very place?

I like history and for a long time I had the idea in my head that it would be nice in Bojnice, where I live, to preserve a piece of the old world for future generations, as it was once lived here. Because, as everywhere, this town is modernizing and the old world is disappearing forever. Not everyone knows that Bojnice was poor in the past, basically a village. People mostly lived in small houses, on a small farm, a field, a farmhouse in the barn and that was it. I was looking for a suitable object and fortunately I found it - a small house, uninhabited for a long time, albeit in the city center, but hidden in a side street. A traditional dwelling that has preserved the soul of the old world. When I first entered the courtyard through the old gate, I felt that time had gone back 150 years. And since in the past there were no shops as we know them today and the landlords had to make many things for life themselves or buy them from a craftsman, to make a museum of crafts came to me a suitable idea to pay tribute and respect the skills of old masters who knew how to make practical valuable items often only with their dexterous hands. And also to keep these products in the future. They are the treasures of our historical heritage from our ancestors, who formed the image of this country in which we live today.

2. The museum offers a number of interesting services such as a café with home-made snacks, a craft shop, spinning and painting of ceramics, wine tasting, workshops and more. Did you add these services gradually or were created at the same time?

From the beginning, I wanted the house to live actively. So, so that we don't just create a "boring museum", where in a few minutes you can see all the rooms with stored objects from history and that's all, you can go away, just take a few photos on social networks. We created the concept of activities gradually, we had a certain basic idea, which we developed further. We wanted to return to Bojnice the glory of the old masters who devoted themselves to the processing of clay. In the past, there were up to seven ceramic and tile workshops in this small town, as there was quality clay as a basic raw material. All the works were wasted, there was nothing left. Therefore, we decided to revive this tradition and opened a ceramic workshop. We didn't know anything about ceramics, we started literally from scratch, we had to learn everything and we continue to learn. It's creative and beautiful, when I sit in a century-old house behind a potter's wheel in the workshop and hold clay with my hands, I feel very comfortable. I guess you need to experience it for yourself, I don't know if I can bring this experience to you enough in this way.

3. How did you get to them? Did you have the idea from the beginning that you wanted all this to be a part of it?

In addition to clay processing, we wanted to bring other interesting activities. The house has an amazing historic tuff cellar, which is an original, now a real rarity, is over 400 years old (unfortunately, almost all medieval Bojnice cellars were poured with concrete during the modern reconstruction of buildings and destroyed forever). Wine was produced in Bojnice in the Middle Ages - an ideal combination for wine tastings. We plan to do various creative workshops, lectures, for children, adults. Our goal is for Bencovje grunt to be such a community crossroads of contemporary life - the world where we want to live, so that we can all be well together. This means that the door is open to all people of good will, who will find a variety of events in our country, which they can attend and which can bring them a better value of their own being. So we also want to be an inspiration for how valuable to live. Because the planet Earth does not belong to us, on the contrary, we should take care of it as best we can. For example, we will give lectures on how to establish an eco-garden on a small plot of land, beekeeping in the city, effective waste sorting or. the concept of life in the style of "zero waste", the use of the healing power of herbs and the like.

4. Do you have ideas for other services that you would like to add gradually?

Yes, we have. But we're in no hurry, we've been open since last August and covid-19 has closed the gate for us again. Gradually, we will present new interesting activities, step by step. We would like to welcome craftsmen working in our region of Upper Nitra during the weekends. In order for visitors to have the opportunity to experience how they create beautiful objects, they could talk to them in person, or even try their craft. It is completely different than when you buy a product somewhere in a shop via the e-shop, here you will meet "face to face" with a real person who creates these things with his mind, hands and also heart.

5. With which service do you record the greatest success and why do you think this is the case?

So far, our chart is led by painting ceramics with colored glazes, both for children and adults. It's creative, relaxing, playful, you can fully express your freedom of thought, creative imagination and transfer them with your hand with a brush to the surface of a bowl or cup. And the best thing will come in the end when you see your own original creation after firing in the oven. A miracle has happened, your glazes have come to life, you have breathed into your body your personal original seal, life. We are convinced that from such a ceramic original, you will taste food or drink differently at home.

6. What do you consider to be the most difficult aspect of creating a museum?

Unambiguous period of reconstruction. It lasted three years and we had to deal with literally every nail. All the more difficult for me as I am not a technical type. When I look at the photos in our private archive today, I don't even want to believe what we had to go through. Because our effort was to keep everything original that could only be preserved (eg an old brick stove in the kitchen, ceramic tiles in the room, wooden structures of the house, entrance gate from the street, original windows with beautiful metal shutters). We are now preparing a photo book where our visitors will have the opportunity to see how the reconstruction took place. I will honestly say that I am glad that we have this stage behind us, it was really a chore.

7. On the contrary, what do you remember the most?

How this beautiful house was literally born again from the ashes, which has its charm, its soul, its historical value, its amazingly positive energy. I was surprised when we laid a wooden floor in the rooms (the original one we had to replace, as it was destroyed by moisture), and the house began to smell beautiful - on wood, on nature, I had never experienced it before. When we placed a birdhouse in the yard "only as a decoration" - and in a few days the titmouse domesticated in it and successfully brought out the cubs. These may be just such small moments in life, but I think they have value.

8. Is there a story / experience that relates to the museum and resonates with you?

I was very pleased when the descendants of Bencov's family, who lived here as children as children, came to visit us after the opening (today they are 80 years old). And when they started telling us their true stories, how they lived here with their parents and grandparents. We laughed together when they mentioned the incident, how their grandmother scared them that if they didn't listen, he would lock them up in the cellar where the buggers were. It was a horror film for the children J. They expressed their appreciation for how we saved their birth house and how nice it looks. We are also very pleased that the Bojnice people will stop by and bring their experiences - as when a gentleman came to us and said that they were playing together in this yard as children. Today he is almost 90 years old. This gives us feedback that the house is alive again, breathing man. And that's what we wanted to happen. Because why are bricks lifeless? It does not make sense. Bricks only make sense if you feel human warmth in them.

9. What do you say about winning the TOP competition in tourism in the TOP innovation category in the Trenčín Region?

We are sincerely glad that our efforts have been appreciated in this way, we appreciate it very much. It surprised us, because many others try and create values that have their own quality, meaning, for which we also want to sincerely thank them for doing so, together with us.

10. In the end, what would you tell readers of the Trenčín region?

We are looking forward to all our guests who come to us - either purposefully or just wander to us as they say during a walk around Bojnice. Bencovje grunt has risen from the ashes and is alive again, not for me, not for my team, but for all who want to enter our gate from the street with good intentions, they are warmly welcome here. Therefore, we have opened the whole house to visitors, there is no private zone in the style of "no entry". We look forward to opening the old wooden gate from the street again so that we can say: “Welcome to us warmly. Sit on an old wooden bench and enjoy the rare Genius loci of this forgotten corner of Bojnice, an image of the old world that has completely disappeared in many places. Not here. Welcome to the old days ... "

In Trenčín on March 17, 2021

Text: MT