The Gemer-Malohont Museum, Rimavská Sobota, Slovakia
Rimavská Sobota is in the south of Central-Slovakia, not very far from the border with Hungary. This region is called Gemer, a marvellous nature area which is hardly visited by tourists. Here are 3 national reserves: Muránska planina (Plateau of Muran), Slovenský raj (Slovak Paradise) and Slovenský kras (Slovak Karst mountains).
There are many majestic buildings standing in the province town of Rimavská Sobota (24.000 inhabitants). They were mostly built at the beginning of the 20th century, when the town became the most important centre of food industry with the largest cannery of the country. Nowadays in the summer the town attracts many young people who come to visit popular cultural festivals as a theater and music festival in June and a festival of amateur arts and artists in August.
Furthermore there is an observatory, a gallery of modern art and an impressive cemetery for those fallen in the First World War. And there is one of Slovakia’s oldest museums, the Gemer-Malohont Museum, with a surprisingly rich collection, illustrating in detail the region from the Bronze Age until today. Quite peculiar is an unimpaired Egyptian mummy of a woman and her sarcophagus, brought to the museum at the beginning of the 20th century by a traveller of the regio who visited Egypt at the time. The name of the woman is Tasheritnetia and she is from the 22nd till 26th dynasty between the years 945 and 525 before Christ. There is also a vase in which the intestines of the deceased were put.
Also very particular in this museum is the only permament exposition in Slovakia of the history of the Roma. By learning more of each other’s origin and culture, one creates mutual understanding and tolerance. The initiative started a few years ago and the exposition is rapidly growing. A very noble objective.
Rimavská Sobota is not being mentioned too much in tourist guides, still it is one of Slovakia’s most exclusive towns, and really worth a visit.