70th Anniversary of the Founding of the Technical Museum of Slovenia

<p>​</p><p><strong>70th Anniversary of the Founding of the Technical Museum of Slovenia</strong></p><p>&#160;</p><p>In 2021 the Technical Museum of Slovenia (TMS) marks the seventieth anniversary of its founding. The main monastery/castle complex in Bistra near Vrhnika has a long and varied history. From the thirteenth century until the end of the eighteenth century, it was a charterhouse or Carthusian monastery. In 1826, after remodelling, it became the castle of the Galle family. Since 1951 it has housed the Technical Museum of Slovenia. The TMS was founded to record, collect, arrange, store, safeguard, disseminate and protect technical heritage connected to the development of crafts and industry in Slovenia. This mission will continue unchanged in the future. The first museum collections in Bistra, covering forestry, woodworking and hunting, opened their doors to the public in 1953. Today the museum has permanent collections covering agriculture, transport, forestry, woodworking, hunting, fishing, textiles, printing, electrical engineering and metalworking. In addition to its permanent collections, it organises occasional exhibitions, offers a wide range of educational activities for children and adults, and collaborates with related institutions, schools and industry. The museum also has a number of branches in other locations. Count Blagaj's former manor house in Polhov Gradec houses the Post and Telecommunications Museum, Bogenšperk Castle is home to the national Surveying and Geodesy Collection and the Valvasor Print Collection, and the Tanning and Leatherworking collection is held at the museum in Bohinjska Bistrica. The TMS's repositories in Soteska, Pivka and Dergančevje are also open to the public.&#160; </p><p>&#160;</p><p>Barbara Juršič</p><p>Director of the Technical Museum of Slovenia</p><p>&#160;</p>