Why not go on a fascinating journey through the history and culture of Liptov? With the Liptov Region Card, you can take advantage of the benefits and get a 30% discount on admission to the Liptov Museum.

In this blog, we will explore together the new interactive exhibition of John Corvín and also discover the treasure originally hidden under Likava Castle. And if you read carefully, you will learn what you can experience and what you can look forward to in the museum. If you are in Ružomberok with your family and the weather is not on your side, know that in the Liptov Museum you will find a place where you can spend time with your children to the fullest. With the Liptov Region Card in hand, historical secrets are now available throughout the year for every member of your family.

Where can you find the Liptovsky Museum

It’s impossible to get lost in Ružomberok, that’s a fact. It is crossed by “two” streets and has “two” squares. Well, our museum is also located on one of them (Š. N Hýroš square) in the very center of the city. That’s why you can find the museum very easily, that’s fact No. 2.

It was founded in 1912 by a group of enthusiasts around Artúr and Július Kűrthi and since 1937 it has been housed in a representative building. This impressive building with its architectural appearance immediately catches the eye of every visitor. All the locals know it intimately, so just ask and they will gladly direct you to the museum. However, this time I am heading towards him “disguised” as a tourist with a Liptov Region Card in my hand.

The expositions are located on several floors and each of them offers unique insights into the past of Liptov. Here you will find expositions dedicated to the living and non-living nature of Liptov, important archaeological finds and localities, or history from the earliest times to the present. Special attention is paid to the history of paper production in Slovakia and the personality of Andrej Hlinka.

To the museum with a 30 percent discount!

But let’s get things in order. After entering the museum, scan the QR code at the checkout, select the type of discount, show it and the 30 percent discount is yours!

You can start the tour right on the ground floor, where the main exhibition hall is located, where you can currently (February – July 2024) find the Art Nouveau exhibition in Liptov.

But let’s move to the first floor. In addition to the classic expositions of the Liptovský Museum, you will find a gallery in which the photographers from Ružomberí associated with the civic association Fotoklub RK 1924 exhibit. They are celebrating their 100th birthday this year. During the entire year 2024, you can look forward to numerous exhibitions by members of one of the oldest Slovak and European photo clubs.

In addition to the aforementioned gallery, there is also a Natural History Exhibition, the Medieval and Modern History of Liptov, an Exhibition of Guilds and Crafts and an Exhibition of Liptov in Prehistory and Early History, which we will discuss in more detail together with archaeologist Simona Sliacka.

Liptov in prehistoric times and early historical times

“The archeology exhibition captures the oldest settlement here in Liptov from the Young Paleolithic period,” the archaeologist of the Liptovský Museum begins her short lecture.

“The oldest settlement in Lower Liptov was identified during the research of the Castle of St. Žofie in Ružomberok, from which the Liptovsky Museum exhibits small microlithic blades. This is no longer the era of large fist wedges, because this is already a high-quality split tool that splits. The material for production was mostly imported, it is not original, which already indicates active trade relations”, adds the archaeologist.

 “The entire exhibition is arranged chronologically from the young Paleolithic, Neolithic (the first farmers in Bešeňová) to the Eneolithic (late Stone Age and early historical period),” explains Simona Sliacka. “As for important locations, we have here a digital reconstruction of the find from the Liskovská cave. In Liptov, and in northern Slovakia in general, we have very few graves. The interesting thing is that the number of burials does not correspond to the population that was here at that time. People in the cave were buried secondary – their remains were taken from the original graves and ritually deposited in the Liskovská cave,” reveals the secret of Sliac.

“With the arrival of the first metal, we reach the threshold of the Bronze Age. Liptov somehow does not cover the oldest Bronze Age here – it seems that the climate was very unfavorable at that time. Either the minimum population lived here, or Liptov was a kind of “transfer zone”. From the period of the Young and Late Bronze Age (the people of the ashtray fields – people who buried people by burning them in a large container and putting them in the ashtray), you will find a beautiful collection of Liptov-type swords with a full cast handle in the museum,” adds the museum’s archaeologist.

However, in order not to reveal all the secrets hidden in the museum, it will be better if you visit the individual exhibits yourself and learn interesting things about, for example, the three mounds near Ivachnová discovered on the route of the new highway, the treasure from Liptovská Ondrašová, the collection of bronze diadems found in Liptovský Sliač, the refuge forts in Demänová Hora, why the Celts introduced men’s trousers and many other interesting facts.

After a very interesting lecture, the newest attractions of the Liptovský Museum await us, towards which our steps are heading.

Interactive portrait of Prince Ján Korvín of Liptov

“Liptov gained an exceptional position during the reign of King Matej I. Corvín, who made his only descendant, the illegitimate son of John Corvín, the richest nobleman in the kingdom. In 1479, he elevated Liptov to a principality, which also included the Orava See. Ján Korvín owned castles and castle estates in Liptov and its immediate surroundings, including Likava, Orava and Sklabina,” we read on the information panel next to the digitized and interactive portrait of Ján Korvín. He himself will tell you his life story and also allows you to start an audiovisual guide through the entire exhibition, which will be guided by the voice of the Slovak actor Ivo Gogál.

The interactive portrait was added to the exhibition in 2023 and since its launch has become one of the attractions of the medieval and modern history exhibition. Become a part of the story of Ján Korvín, who left an indelible mark in the history of Liptov. An interactive portrait in the Liptovský Museum will allow you to immerse yourself in his era and experience the atmosphere of the Middle Ages. And what’s best, with the Liptov Region Card with a 30% discount 😊

Another novelty of this exhibition is a technological element that will allow a presentation about the collection object located behind the glass – in this case about the hook box – to be projected onto the transparent glass of the display case. The visitor thus has the opportunity to compare the virtual presentation with the real exhibit (hook box) in one place.

As our museum time is slowly coming to an end, we move on and head straight for the third floor. On the way, we pass the Paper Production Exhibition, the Life and Works of Andrej Hlinka Exhibition, the Ethnographic Exhibition and the Ružomberok History Exhibition. However, we are already familiar with these exhibits, so our steps are directed further, directly to the treasure under Likava Castle.

Treasure from under Likava Castle

In 2022, the museum launched a new exhibition – Treasures from Likavy. The story of the treasure was told again by archaeologist Simona Sliacka: “Treasures from under Likava basically map the storage of depots (special coin hoards). Since we found the coins, it means no one came back for them. We have two treasures here: “some Celt” did not return and “some warrior” did not return from the period of the civil war that occurred after the Battle of Mohács in 1526. Liptov was an unpleasant transit zone during this period, because two Hungarian adepts were fighting here throne. And one of them, or his person (let’s assume that he was rather a follower of Ján Zápolský, because there are more of his coins in this depot and only three coins of Ferdinand Habsburg) ran away with ordinary cash for the conditions of the time, and so that it wouldn’t be taken from him, he simply buried it.”

And it was this treasure that was discovered in 2019 by a married couple while wandering through the forest near Likava Castle. Currently, it is one of the attractions of the Liptovsky Museum. A tour of this Slovak historical unique with the Liptov Region Card is a valuable experience that will take you back to the past.

And here our visit to the museum slowly ends. I admit that I was a little skeptical when I entered the museum – as a resident of Rosomber, I have fixed it through the animal exhibits that are practically “always” in the museum and I have seen them perhaps a million times. However, the new interactive smart elements, the treasure from under Likava and the expert interpretation of archaeologist Simona Sliacká enhanced the experience of visiting the museum and raised its level in my eyes several levels higher. However, our blog is just a small taste of what really awaits you in the Liptovský Museum. Go on an adventurous journey through history and take advantage of all the benefits that the Liptov Region Card offers you. Ružomberok and the expositions of the Liptovský Museum are ready to reveal their treasures to you, which #TrebaZazit. Don’t forget to tag us @visitliptov in your social media posts from your visit to the museum.

A few tips for the Liptov Region Card at the end:

• When entering the Liptov Museum, use your Liptov Region Card and enjoy a 30% discount on the entrance fee. This means that not only will you discover fascinating exhibits, but you will also do so at a bargain price. The discount applies not only to the expositions of the museum in Ružomberok, but also to its other expositions throughout Liptov.
• Other attractions in the region for which you can get fantastic discounts can be found on our Liptov Region Card subpage.
• You can always have your Liptov Region Card with you. All you have to do is download the Liptov – Low Tatras app, enter your card number, and you always have your discounts with you!

All places #TrebaZazit, don’t hesitate to use them with discounts with the Liptov Region Card and don’t forget to tag us @visitliptov when you visit them.

author: Ing. Jaroslav Moravčík