The number of visitors to the Trenčín Museum in Trenčín was significantly affected this year by the pandemic of the new coronavirus and related government measures. Nevertheless, the curve in traffic statistics has risen slightly compared to last year. During 2021, the museum and its branches were visited by 112,134 visitors, which is approximately 8.5 percent more than last year.

"We recorded the largest drop in attendance in the months of January to April due to the state of emergency and the closure of all branches. In numbers, this means a drop of more than 30,000 visitors in the first four months of the year compared to 2019, ie the year before the pandemic. Another drop occurred in the months of September to November, when epidemiological measures were tightened and entry to the branches was allowed only to visitors in the OTP regime (vaccinated, tested or after coping with Covid-19). The limited number of people at the shows also had a negative impact on attendance, as did the lockdown at the end of November and the related closure of branches, which are otherwise open all year round, " said Peter Martinisko, director of the Trenčín Museum in Trenčín. He further stated that the public's demand for a visit to Trenčín Castle in particular was continuously high, but due to the set measures, we were unable to satisfy the interest of all visitors.

"Trenčín Castle had a major impact on the increase in attendance this year as well. The summer season at the castle was extraordinary. The numbers were higher than before the pandemic. In July and August, despite strict hygienic measures, up to 70,315 visitors passed through the castle gates, which is almost 6,400 more people than last year and almost 2,700 more visitors than in 2019, when Trenčín Castle recorded record attendance. Just a few days before the end of the year, despite the unfavorable pandemic situation, we managed to break the 100,000 visitor limit, which we are very pleased about. For the whole of 2021, Trenčín Castle was visited by 100,273 visitors, which is almost 9,000 more than last year, " added Peter Martinisko.

Summer rich in events

During the main summer months, the Trenčín Museum produced 16 weekend programs, events and night shows, most of which depicted life at the medieval castle, and which were mainly dedicated to the 700th anniversary of the death of Matúš Čák Trenčiansky. Events such as Matúš Čák's Fairy Tale of Trenčín, Honey from Matúš's Apiary, Fairy's Weekend, Matúš Čák's Golden Lion Search, Matúš's Castle Festival and the extremely popular staged night shows won the public's favor. . The weekends at the castle were made more attractive by fencing and archery groups, as well as the traditional performances of falconers who entertained visitors with their predators throughout the summer. Visitors could also fully enjoy the magical atmosphere of the southern fortifications, where several summer events were located. The events at the castle were closed by the nice children's event "Kingdom of Lights" at the end of October.

From May to October, 26 events took place in the branches of the Trenčín Museum, including music and dance performances, including IMT Smile, Kandráčovci a Kollárovci, Tublatanka, Peter Bič Projekt, Filip Jančík and the musical The Duchon´s.

Events for families with children also took place in the Ambrovec Curia in Beckov. In September, the exhibition "Beckov in Historical Photography" was opened in the curia, which presented historical photographs and interesting views of the village of Beckov over the past 100 years.

On the occasion of the commemoration of Alexander Dubček's undead 100 years, the Trenčín Museum in Trenčín started selling the "Alexander Dubček" collector's souvenir euro banknote in November and lent some of his personal belongings to his native house for a period of one year from the Slovak National Museum.

In addition to events, classic shows and exhibitions were also a great attraction for tourists. Until September 2021, visitors could see at Trenčín Castle an exhibition of perfect miniatures of rare and legendary retro cars "By car around the world" and from April to September an exhibition "Trenčianske liqueurs" presenting the distillery industry and exceptional people who worked in liqueurs and left their energy in them.

On 13 August, the Trenčín Museum opened a permanent exhibition entitled “Mr. Váh and the Tatras” in the premises of the Barracks. The museum introduced not only Matúš Čák Trenčiansky himself, but also the time in which Matúš lived. The exhibition reveals valuable and unique collection items of the Trenčín Museum in Trenčín. The most interesting exhibit of the exhibition is a copy of the hermit (bust), which is supposed to be the originator of many portraits of Matúš Čák Trenčiansky. The original is made of gilded copper and is currently housed in the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest. Visitors will be able to admire a copy of the hermitage at the exhibition until August this year.

At the beginning of November 2021, an exhibition of paintings from the collections of the Trenčín Museum and collector JUDr. Slavomír Mošek under the name "Trenčín and Trenčín Castle". The exhibition will run until May 31, 2022.

Important events and news at Trenčín Castle

A significant event for the Trenčín Museum was the issuance of a commemorative souvenir euro banknote with a zero value on the occasion of the 700th anniversary of the death of the most famous lord of Trenčín Castle. The sale of the "Matúš Čák Trenčiansky" banknote began at the end of April 2021.

A memorable event was the opening of a new entrance gate in the southern fortifications of Trenčín Castle. On April 23, 2021, the historically first visitors passed through it.

On 28 May, the ceremonial opening of the Southern Fortifications and the Cherry Orchard took place, which was reconstructed as part of the international project TreBuChET - Trenčín, Bučovice, Protecting European Traditions. Thanks to this project, Trenčín Castle is one of the largest in Europe due to its size available to the public.

A novelty that the Trenčín Museum certainly pleased its visitors was the introduction of a common entrance fee for Trenčín Castle and two other branches of the museum, namely Kat's House and Karner St. Michala / Kostnica. The novelty came into force on July 1, 2021 and met with the expected result of the increased interest in learning about cultural heritage, which was reflected in higher attendance at the museum's branches. Thanks to the common entrance fee, Kat's house was visited by 60% and Karner sv. Michal / Constance by 109% more visitors than last year in the same period (ie in the months of July to October). The total attendance of branches in the case of Katova dům increased by 50% year-on-year and in the case of the Karner sv. Michala / Kostnica by 100%.

The offer of Trenčín Castle services was made more attractive and modernized by an augmented reality, which was presented at the Barborin Palace at Trenčín Castle by the Trenčín Regional Tourism Organization as a new attraction and a hot news for visitors. The application impressed with the depiction of period furniture, historical figures, interesting animations, mini-games or reliefs and frescoes on the walls of the room.

As early as the end of August, the first signs of a deteriorating situation began to show, which was gradually reflected in the tightening of anti-pandemic measures. Nevertheless, the Trenčín Museum, in cooperation with the Department of History of the Faculty of Arts of the University of Trnava, managed to hold an autumn professional conference at Trenčín Castle on September 23-24, which was the culmination of Matúš Čák's Year. At the conference “700. Anniversary of Matúš Čák Trenčiansky (1321 - 2021) ”lectures on topics related to the political situation and economic conditions during the reign of Matúš Čák. An interesting subject of the lectures was the topic of Matúš's personality, the Čák family, the development of society in Matúš's time from the point of view of archeology, etc. The lecturers were important Slovak historians and personalities who are among the experts on the Middle Ages. The space was also given to younger colleagues, who brought new stimuli to the research.

Lectures, quizzes and competitions

In addition to the aforementioned events and many activities connected with the Matúš Čák Year, the Trenčín Museum gave professional lectures in the County House, which covered both the settlement culture from the Matúš period, military history and Matúš Čák's relationship with the church. Their goal was to bring the personality of the palatine closer to the public. At the beginning of September, a lecture entitled "The Financial Guard of the Czechoslovak Republic and the Phenomenon of Smuggling in the Interwar Period" was held.

Throughout the past year, the museum has brought various knowledge competitions and quizzes for visitors to its branches and social network monitors. At the end of the year, the "Matúšov brush" art competition for younger and older children enjoyed great interest. More than 400 young artists took part in the competition. The best works will be exhibited at Trenčín Castle in the coming months.

Reconstructions during 2021

Some buildings of the Trenčín Museum underwent reconstructions in 2021. In April 2021, the roofing was replaced at the birthplace of Ľudovít Štúr and Alexander Dubček in Uhrovec and in May at the Katov House in Trenčín. The projects were implemented with financial support from the budget of the Ministry of Culture in the amount of 30,000 euros and cost 99,745.20 euros, including VAT.

Since the beginning of September, Trenčín Castle has also undergone various renovations. In September 2021, the roof of Matúš's tower was reconstructed. The project was implemented with financial support from the budget of the Ministry of Culture in the amount of 38,000 euros, while the total price of the work was 62,993.56 euros including VAT. The replacement of the wooden railing between the fourth and fifth castle gates was also successfully completed. Another novelty is the new painting in the Knights' Hall in Barborin Palace and the museum's investment in new, more economical and aesthetic lamps in this room. Repairs were also carried out on the castle wall in the southern fortifications. The weathered plaster was gradually removed from the original masonry of the niches (shooting ranges), and it was subsequently re-bricked. The hall at the Barracks building was also reconstructed. The windows and doors were replaced at the Summer Tower, 5th Castle Gate, Ľudovít Palace and Carriage House. The last costly renovation is the reconstruction of the sewer connection on Matúšova Street. The total amount invested in the restoration and reconstruction of the museum's facilities is more than 429,000 euros, including VAT.

Plans for 2022

The Trenčín Museum in Trenčín is preparing a diverse program for its visitors this year as well. Guests can expect an interesting summer season with many surprises. The children will own Easter at the castle. In May they will have fun on the Fairytale Road and in June we will celebrate Children's Day together. The castle will be filled with children's laughter throughout the summer. We are preparing highly sought-after and popular night shows for adults, as well as other cultural opportunities, the details of which we will not reveal yet. The year-round program will close in December with the event Ondrej to Three Kings, which will bring a Christmas atmosphere not only to the castle, but also to the premises of the County House.

As part of the events planned for 2021 could not take place due to the pandemic situation, the restrictions also brought new challenges. "This year, the museum plans to bring its attention more to the online world and jump on the wave of innovation and trends. In the event of a worsening of the situation in connection with the Covid-19 disease and the closure of branches, we will be able to stay in touch with the most vulnerable groups through streaming broadcasts as well as implement educational activities for school groups, lectures for the general public and commented professional examinations. The aim is also to address foreign visitors for whom the museum's branches have become unavailable in the last two years due to the set measures. In addition, we have decided to enter the new year in a new dress. We have launched the new website of Trenčín Castle (www.trencianskyhrad.sk), which is modern, clear and allows users easier access to the published information. The original website of the Trenčín Museum in Trenčín, which is accessible at www.muzeumtn.sk, remains available, ”revealed Peter Martinisko.

"We believe that the situation in connection with the pandemic will develop only favorably and we will be able to offer our visitors a full experience in the form of interesting events throughout the year 2022," concluded the director of the Trenčín Museum in Trenčín Peter Martinisko.

Source: Ing. Radovana Keliarová, Marketing and Communication Department, Trenčín Museum in Trenčín