Archaeological Museum

Museum Mission and History

The SNM – Archaeological Museum is a specialized museology workplace with nationwide competence. It focuses on the acquisition, registration, restoration, conservation and presentation and publication of archaeological findings in Slovakia from prehistoric times up to the High Middle Ages. Its abundant collections from prehistoric times up to modern times include many precious items primarily obtained from various locations of Slovakia as a result of the museum’s own archaeological research. The seat of this museum is the Renaissance Kamper Mansion on Žižkova Street No. 12 in Bratislava. 

Its exhibition activities are complemented by other forms of cultural activities, such as lectures and discussions organized by museum experts, videos, lessons for all types of schools and guided tours for the general public.    

The museum ensures the implementation of conservation archaeological research resulting from construction and earthworks activities. In the event that you were instructed to arrange for archaeological research, please contact us at archeolog@snm.sk

These findings are mainly the result of the archaeological research of our museum.

History

The Archaeological Museum is part of the Slovak National Museum and the direct successor of institutions in Bratislava and Martin. The Museum of Slovak National Geography and History was founded in 1924 in Bratislava, and after merging with the Agricultural Museum in 1940, it was named the Slovak Museum. The merging of the Slovak Museum and the Slovak National Museum in Martin in 1961 resulted in creation of the joint Slovak National Museum (hereinafter referred to as the “SNM”). 

A department specializing in archaeology was gradually established at the SNM and its predecessors. The Historical-archaeological Department was established at the Museum of Slovak National Geography and History in 1924 and was followed by the creation of the Department of Prehistoric Archaeology in 1932. The Archaeological Institute with 12 expert and scientific workers was also created at the Museum of Natural History and the Historical Institute in 1969. The Archaeological Institute of the SNM became an independent organizational unit in 1989 as the Archaeological Museum and moved to a separate building in 1991. The museum has four departments dedicated to expert, technical, documentation and presentation activities.          

The first specialist at the Museum of Slovak National Geography and History was professor Jan Eisner, the founder of modern archaeology in Slovakia. Professor Eisner worked at the Museum until 1939 as a volunteer, but Ľudmila Kraskovská, who had a degree in archaeology was employed full time at the Museum in 1931. 

Beginning in 1956, the following specialists gradually became employees of the museum in Bratislava: M. Pichlerová, J. Paulík, B. Polla, B. Egyházy-Jurovská, L. Zachar, A. Habovštiak, Z. Drenko, E. Studeníková, Š. Holčík and A. Vallašek. In the early 1990s, the museum had 18 university-educated archaeologists on its staff, representing the highest number to date. In 2017, it had 19 employees, 10 of whom were archaeologists.  Smaller archaeological workplaces within the SNM can also be found at the Museum of Ethnography in Martin and the Spiš Regional Museum in Levoča. The SNM – Archaeological Museum has nationwide competence and the activities of its workers can be divided into the building and protection of collections, science and research and presentation.