Slovak National Museum in Martin

The Slovak National Museum in Martin was opened to the public in 1908. Right from its beginnings it collected national history objects (historical, ethnographical, numismatic, scientific, archival as well art history and library ones) from all over Slovakia and from abroad. On the whole, the different departments of the SNM in Martin own over 500 000 objects. The Slovak National Museum in Martin has the following branches: 

Ethnographic Museum
The museum operating all over Slovakia is specialised in the preservation, research, documentation and presentation of folk culture in Slovakia. It houses over 100 000 objects of ethnographical nature and 31 000 from other social science branches. Traditional folk farming, manufacture, crafts and clothes are documented. The museum is currently located in its second building designed by Milan Michal Harminc and built in 1928–1932 thanks to a national monetary collection.

Andrej Kmeť Museum
The museum studies and documents the nature in the North-West of Slovakia, especially in the regions of Turiec, Orava, Kysuce and Liptov. It also highlights the history of the Slovak Museum Society and its members, emphasing the personality of Andrej Kmeť (1841 – 1908). The museum owns over 500 000 objects and is located in the first building of the SNM dating from 1908 and designed by Milan Michal Harminc. The museum will be closed from June 2010 due to reconstruction. 

Museum of the Slovak Village
The museum housing the largest open air ethnographical exhibition in Slovakia introduces the traditional building and housing culture and the way of life in Slovakia in the second half of the 19th and the first half of the 20th centuries. On the area of 15,5 hectares it displays 129 housing, farming, technological, social and sacral building structures from the regions of Orava, Liptov, Kysuce-Podjavorníky and Turiec. It shows the variety of forms in the traditional building culture and the economic and social population distribution in the North-West of Slovakia.

Karol Plicka Museum
The museum exhibition gives a complete survey of the life and work of the artistic photographer, film-maker, ethnographer, folklore researcher and lecturer Karol Plicka (1884 – 1987) emphasizing his depiction of traditional folk culture in Slovakia. KAROL PLICKA MUSEUM The museum exhibition gives a complete survey of the life and work of the artistic photographer, film-maker, ethnographer, folklore researcher and lecturer Karol Plicka (1884 – 1987) emphasizing his depiction of traditional folk culture in Slovakia.

Martin Benka Museum
The museum documents visual art works by a significant, universally oriented artist, painter and illustrator – national artist Martin Benka (1888 – 1971). The authentic environment – his study, studio and bedroom – has been preserved until today according to the artist’s last will. 

Museum of Czech Culture in Slovakia 
A permanent exhibition showing the life and work of two significant personalities (original owners of the building) who lived up to the idea and traditions of coexistence of the Czech and the Slovak nations. PhDr. Anna Horáková-Gašparíková was one of the first Slovak female historians and she was also manageress of the personal archive of the first president of the common state of the Czechs and the Slovaks Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk. Academician Jiří Horák belonged to the most prominent Czechoslovak folklorists in the second half of the 20th century.

Museum of Roma Culture in Slovakia
The museum is a documentation and research centre that presents the Roma culture and its specific features. It also runs acquisition, methodological, professional, cultural and educational activities.