About the museum

Museum Mission and History

Mission

The SNM – Červený Kameň Castle Museum is a specialized museum that presents the development of the housing culture of the nobility and bourgeoisie in Slovakia, with an emphasis on the artistic and historical character of collection items and Červený Kameň Castle. Its main functions are to acquire, protect, professionally process, use and present collection items.

History 

Červený Kameň Castle was recognized as a structure of huge historical value as far back as the first Czechoslovak Republic, and certain spaces were open to the general public on Saturdays and Sundays in the early 20th century by its owners, the Pálffy family. The history of the museum began shortly after Károly Pálffy, the last owner, and his mother fled to Austria in March 1945 before the onrushing Red Army arrived.  

The National Cultural Commission assumed responsibility for historical monuments after WW2. In 1946, confiscated interior furnishings from former aristocratic estates in western Slovakia were stored in the castle and necessary repairs began. In 1949, the castle along with 13 other structures were declared national cultural property and were opened for the general public. Valuable artistic objects from 31 castles and manor houses and two monasteries were collected here and thus the foundation of the present-day museum collections was created. Due to its deteriorating structural stability, the general reconstruction of the palace building and the adjacent grounds as well as other renovations were carried out from 1970 to 1988.

Since 1979, the Červený Kameň Castle Museum has been part of the Slovak National Museum. The orientation of the museum has not changed and the permanent exposition (its most recent section was opened in 1997) presents the housing culture of the nobility. In addition to administering its precious collections, the museum organizes exhibitions, events and popular staged tours. Minor reconstructions and restorations of the palace and front fortress walls are ongoing.