Zsélyi Museum of Local History and Ethnography

“The idea of establishing a local museum first appeared in connection with the excavation of the Avar-era cemetery. The many excavated materials and the promises of the employees of the Nitra Archaeological Institute encouraged the enthusiastic people of Zsély in the 1970s. However, by the time the two suitable rooms were completed, the local leaders realized that they would rather arrange a room of revolutionary traditions there, because the village could not exist without it. The remaining part of the collected ethnographic material was put in the attic. This material then became the basis of today's museum. The museum's material can be broadly divided into four themes: ; - Local history ; - Ethnography ; - Handicrafts ; - Games of the past ; The larger group of the ethnographic collection presents a household in Zsély at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, which could have belonged to a farmer-industrial family, because this was typical here. Most of the material in the historical part comes from the Avar-era cemetery excavated on the outskirts of the village. and comes from amateur surface collection in and around the village. Weapons, jewelry, everyday objects, evidence of geological ages, cracked stone tools, but also coins, which significantly prove the presence of people living in the area and the historical events of certain periods of the village. ; Now we can only see, when the beginning is behind us, how much material and information still needs to be collected, saved, cleaned, repaired, conserved, and exhibited. The limiting factor in this is the time and money available, but also the lack of expertise. We do it despite this, because in a few years there will be less of what can still be saved. Things are lost on garbage heaps and in shops, and the old people who still remember important old things are dying out. ; The museum is located in the Zichy Castle in Zsély, owned by the Banat Municipality Office, which is grateful to us for the fact that we can now rent four rooms for only For 1 Slovak crown per year.”* ; ; “In Zsély, in the Zichy Castle, the Victoria Cultural Association’s Museum of Local History and Ethnography has been housed. Part of this is the Zs. Nagy Lajos memorial exhibition in one of the rooms. Some valuable relics, photos, publications, letter fragments, documents can be seen here. Among them are the poet’s small desk, the Consul typewriter (which he received from his friend Endre Szabó in Balassagyarmat), his radio, his glasses, pens, pencils, crooked stick, etc. The photos on the wall are also of documentary value, as they show the most important stages of his life. The pictures from his last years, the shots showing the poet with his mother, are especially touching. They also preserve some of his handwriting and one of his last letters. And there are copies of the poet-writer’s volumes, fragments of family documents, a crucifix from the house, Zs.’s membership card in the Writers’ Association, etc. However, it is feared that this the material could also be lost if the association's collection is moved out of the castle, which is already owned by someone else. All of this – and the association's rich material – deserves a permanent place where the literary legacy could also be expanded.”**