CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2022
| Author | Balogh-Bodor, Tekla |
|---|---|
| Title | The Role and Operation of Museums in Esztergom, Hungary |
| Summary | Esztergom is one of the most important towns in Hungary, both historically and in terms of tangible and intangible cultural heritage. From the tenth century, it was one of centers of the Kingdom of Hungary, and after the administrative changes in the fourteenth century, Esztergom remained an important cultural hub and seat of church governance. After the Ottoman war, Esztergom slowly began to develop again in the eighteenth century as a regional commercial and religious center, which ended in the communist era. As a result of the historical past, there are eight museums in Esztergom today, five of which is in the focus of this research. The aim of this study is to discover what relevance museums can have in the local community, how people engage with the museums and what are the potentials of the museums in the development of the community. The research is based on qualitative and quantitative data collected through the analysis of international, national, municipal, organizational policies related to the operation and social role of museums. I compared the policies to practices through participant observation in the museums. In order to gain an insight into the visitors’ perceptions, I created questionnaires. To understand the perspective of the museums, in Esztergom, I conducted interviews with their employees. For the municipal level, I interviewed private individuals who take an active role in the cultural and community life of the town, as well as a representative of the municipality. The study found that concepts from the international museum discourse such as New Museology, or the social role of the museums in communities are known to the Hungarian museum professionals. However, even if the museums proved to have their relevance in the local community of Esztergom, they still have space to develop in fulfilling their social role. The thesis concludes that Esztergom not only has cultural resources (tangible and intangible heritage) that could be used for the creation of identity and community well-being, but also a relatively large group of people, who are committed to work for the community and the town. |
| Supervisor | Mérai, Dóra |
| Department | Medieval Studies MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2022/balogh-bodor_tekla.pdf |
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