Zprávy památkové péče 2016, 76(1):9-17

Photographic estate of the nobility preserved in Slovak institutions, taking into account the fund of Betliar castle. Experiences in seeking out historical photos of nobility

Katarína Takácsová

Through work on the topic of historical photographs in the Slovak Republic, work by historians and professional student efforts is producing increasing results, largely thanks to the popularity and current state of technology (digitization) of photography. Support is increasing for many projects and workshops seeking to protect this fund, particularly those striving for public access to historical photographs (most commonly through studies and digitized documents). Photography is able to capture such a wide range of areas that it can be found in almost every exhibition project. It no longer fulfills merely a secondary, complementary role, but itself is subject to exposure and criticism (as to both quality and content). As a unique source of documentation for a period or a specific event, photography is becoming a necessary part of differently oriented monographs.
There are numerous historical photographs in the Slovak Republic in the archive collections of families, estates, in personal funds, etc. A century of ancestral archives, collected and guarded, were delimited and relocated from 1954 so as to be included in the newly created archival structure. In Slovak archives, photographs are organized and arranged as part of photographic collections or as supporting material of a (small) part of a larger range of funds. In museums, these may be photographic collections of families, or they may have formed by the collecting activities of photographers and studios. If we wish to seek out photographs of nobility, a knowledge of the funds and collections of both types of institutions is essential. The status of processing historical photographs, however, is strikingly low.
Examining historical photographs that depict the life of the nobility in Slovakia would be unsatisfactory (even impossible) without a familiarity with the funds of Hungarian, Czech, and Polish institutions that store the estates of noble families who owned properties within their territory and elsewhere. Historical photos relating to the Andrássy family are kept in Hungarian institutions like e.g. the Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum, Országos Széchenyi Könyvtár, Iparművészeti Múzeum in Budapest, and the Magyar Fotográfiai Múzeum in Kecskemét.
Even though the confiscation of residences and property of "inconvenient" nobility took place in the Slovak Republic as it did in the Czech Republic, the number of preserved ancestral museums, castles, and mansions in today's Slovakia is, compared to the Czech Republic, alarmingly low. We may note that the inventory of Betliar castle and Krásna Hôrka castle, both belonging to the Andrássy family, is the only one to be preserved in nearly pristine condition. It did not become part of state collections, nor was it stolen or damaged by the war. The interior of the castle was preserved thanks to the intervention of Dr. Alžběta Güntherová-Mayerová, the Count's former employees, and because the concept of using the residence as a museum was successfully pursued, preventing the aristocratic mansion from being used for other purposes. As a result, the original interior, furniture, and all equipment and valuable collections have all been retained. Perhaps the only serious shortcomings may be considered the insensitive interventions of the reinstallation of the interiors of both buildings and the transfers of individual exhibits (the outbuildings of the Betliar dominion also lost their original functions). Historical photographs were completely removed from the castle exhibition and kept in inaccessible rooms and in the original furniture. This is likely what also helped preserve the photographic collection of the museum almost intact. This is why we now have the unusual opportunity to study the original estate of the noble family, including amateur photographs that the Andrássy themselves took - reflecting the interests and activities of the last four generations of the Betliar branch of the family. The collection of historical photographs of the Slovak National Museum - Betliar Museum still do not belong to the museum fund, because the photo albums and negatives are still "merely" new discoveries. Pending the approval of the Commission for the creation of collections, and after processing them, it will be possible to make them available to researchers.

Keywords: Historical photos; nobility; Andrássy; Betliar castle; confiscation; Slovak National Museum

Published: March 1, 2016  Show citation