The museum and its surroundings, protected by the cultural heritage conservation acts, have formed an organic whole with the church building erected next to it since 1490, as the latter used to be a Minorite monastery originally.
At the beginning of the 18th century, the settlement named Bátor came into the possession of the Károlyi family. Under their patronage, monk Kelemen Didák settled members of the Minorite order in the town in 1717 and began building a new monastery on the ruins of the damaged church building and former monastery between 1725 and 1745. The Baroque-style monastery wings have undergone several minor and major renovations over the centuries.
Following the 1950 dissolution of the monastic orders in Hungary, the museum, which was established in 1955, has been housed by the former Baroque-style monastery building since 1961.
Thanks to the work of Barnabás Szalontai, the museum’s founding director, collector, organizer, and scientific researcher, significant collections of archaeological, ethnographic and historical exhibits as well as weaponry, fine and applied arts, and photographs have been assembled. The permanent and temporary exhibitions are now located in the space created from the former row of monastic cells.
Exhibitions:
- Dragon Teeth
- The Century of Hussars
- Fine Arts Exhibition
- Local History Exhibition
Collections:
- Weaponry Collection
- Archeological Collection
- Local History Collection