History of the Museum
 Although the idea of a museum in Bela Krajina had been alive from 1910 on, the realisation of the idea encountered difficulties time and time again. It was not until 1949, when the Museum Society was founded in Metlika, that the real possibility for a museum to come into being arose. In reality, that did not happen until two years later, when in 1951 the Bela Krajina Museum was formally opened on 1 May. In the three rooms of the former provost's house visitors could see the first beginnings of the archaeological, cultural-historical and ethnological collections, while in the room of the city hall objects from the War of National Liberation were put on display.
During the first thirty years, the director of the museum was Joe Dular, who ensured that the Bela Krajina Museum developed from its humble beginnings into an important cultural institution with an extensive permanent exhibition, rich archives, full depositories, and a library.
In 1981, when Zvonko Rus became the director of the museum, the Gangl Exhibition Gallery was opened in the castle for temporary exhibitions, which was an important new asset. In 1991, the permanent exhibition was expanded to the castle keep with a vinicultural collection, and in 1998, to part of the ground floor arcades with the setting up of a lapidarium (a stone monument collection).
After the great restoration of Metlika Castle, in its fiftieth jubilee year the Bela Krajina Museum opened a new chapter in its history predominantly marked by a new arrangement of the permanent exhibition, an increased number of visitors, and an expansion of the extramural units.
Metlika Castle
Metlika Castle was first mentioned in 1456, but it is probably far older. Together with the surrounding town it played a key role in defending Carniola from the bloody Turkish raids mainly in the 15th and 16th centuries. The castle, which survived the Second World War without sustaining any great damage, had not been so fortunate in its earlier past. After the fires in 1705 and 1790, restoration work was carried out and the castle building, which in Valvasor's copper engraving still looked very much like a fortress, acquired the look of a comfortable town residence.
The first owners of Metlika Castle are not known. In the 16th century, it was owned first by the Alapi counts, then the Frankopans (a Croatian noble family), and subsequently by the Zagreb Cathedral Chapter. In 1792, it was bought by Joef Savinšek, a Ljubljana publican, but his ennobled successors sold it in 1899. Several more owners and occupants followed, and after 1951 the Bela Krajina Museum gradually began to move into it. Much the staff’s time has always been occupied with the restoration of Metlika Castle, which is still ongoing. The restoration reached its broadest scope in 1999 and 2000, when the whole roof construction and roofing, the ceilings on the first floor, and the windows and doors were replaced.
Purpose of the Museum
The purpose of the Bela Krajina Museum is to take care of the movable cultural heritage of Bela Krajina, represented by archaeological, ethnological, cultural-historical, recent historical, and art historical objects and collections. The museum has continuously performed the public service of recording, collecting, documenting, researching, protecting, housing, presenting and popularising the movable cultural heritage within the area determined by the government decree Uredba Vlade RS o vzpostavitvi mree muzejev (Ur.l. RS, št. 97/00). The museum collection policy is based on the principle that the collected items are of Bela Krajina origin or have some other connection with Bela Krajina that is unique from a geographical, ethnic and cultural point of view. The Bela Krajina Museum is a link between past and present, especially in educational processes. Its permanent and temporary exhibitions, publishing, education, adult education and popularisation programmes contribute to a strengthening of the national consciousness and regional identity. Its care for heritage is immensely important because it is situated in a frontier region.
Bela Krajina Museum, Metlika
Trg svobode 4
8330 Metlika
Phone: +386 (0) 7 306 33 70, +386 (0) 7 306 33 71
Fax: + 386 (0) 7 305 81 77
Mobile phone: +306 (0) 51 684944
Website: www.belokranjski-muzej.si
E-mail:
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