The Slovak Enterprise Railway Museum (Railway Museum of the Slovak Republic – ŽMSR) was established in 1983 as an organizational component of the former Eastern Railway Administration ČSD in Bratislava (department of the then Center for Technical Development). the center of the Eastern Railway and after the abolition of the Eastern Railway only to the Museum and Documentation Center (MDC). Since 1994, it has been a department of the Railway Research and Development Institute (VVÚŽ). After the division of the railways, MDC remained, together with VVÚŽ, an organizational component of ŽSR. Agreement on cooperation between ZSSK, a. with. and ŽSR, which dealt with the issue of the continuation of the MDC’s collection-making activities, as well as the maintenance and operation of the Slovak collection of operable historical railway vehicles in the conditions of a divided railway, was a party to ZSSK, a. with. terminated. As a result, the protection of Slovak railway technical monuments is currently only a matter for ŽSR. Positive changes in the understanding of the corporate railway museum as a good marketing tool in the relationship between ŽSR and the public and especially a great educational tool led to an organizational change, the result of which was the transformation of the MDC into a special purpose center Railway Museum of the Slovak Republic under the management of the Department of Communication of ŽSR from 1.1.2018.
ŽMSR is registered in the register of museums and galleries at the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic (registration number RM 67/2000), which obliges it to follow Act no. 206/2009 Coll. of 28.4.2009 on museums and galleries and on the protection of objects of cultural value. ŽMSR performs complex documentation activities in the field of railway development in Slovakia, i.e. j. collects, evaluates, expertly manages and presents appropriately selected three-dimensional and flat artefacts from this area. In addition to the creation of a cross-sectional and systematic collection fund, representing all areas of railway work, the results of the ŽMSR’s activity to date are mainly:
- – permanent exhibition of the history of railways in the STM Transport Museum, all-season operation of the regional railway museum “Výhrevňa Vrútky” (this activity is provided by a voluntary civic association; see www.vyhrevna-vrutky.sk for more details) and the Bratislava East study depository
- – annual all-Slovak gathering of operable Slovak and foreign historical railway vehicles in the Bratislava East District
- – publication activity, especially the book “History of railways in the territory of Slovakia”
- – archive and library service for individual researchers.
Among the most important ŽMSR projects implemented or being prepared are:
- – completion of the exposition of railway history in the STM Transport Museum (mainly with railway vehicles) and its gradual animation
- – gradual construction of the national railway park in RD Bratislava East I (old depot) with an emphasis on rolling stock and workshop maintenance of steam traction operation and larger objects that could not be placed in the Transport Museum;
- – introduction of tourist steam operation on the cog railway Pohronská Polhora – Tisovec.
The serviceable historic railway vehicles of the ŽMSR are maintained by voluntary civic associations in the locations of Bratislava, Vrútky, Púchov, Zvolen, Prievidza, Tisovec, Poprad, Haniska pri Košice and Humenné.
The Railway Museum of the Slovak Republic closely cooperates with the Archives of the Slovak Republic, which is a professional workplace responsible for the collection and preservation of archival documents, for the professional processing of archival funds and making them available for research activities on behalf of the organization of the Slovak Railways and its legal predecessors.
The museum is open from 15.4. until 15.10. daily, always from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., while only outdoor exhibits are accessible to visitors. If you are interested in a tour of the museum with a guide, a tour of the internal exhibits or a visit outside of the stated time, you must make an appointment no later than 3 days in advance by calling 02 / 2029 7296.
