The Balaton Museum in Keszthely
A winner of the 2012 Museum of the Year award
MúzeumCafé 31.
If you are in the mood, instead of sitting idly on a terrace by Lake Balaton you can wander through the rooms of a cultural institute in Keszthely and ‘take in the view’ across the lake. The neo-Baroque building of the Balaton Museum was constructed between 1925 and 1928, though its interior was only finally completed at the end of the 30s. It opened as a museum in 1935. The current permanent exhibition, ‘Golden Bridge’ – Chapters from the History of Lake Balaton, was set up in 2011 and with it the institute has won the Museum of the Year award. Bálint Havasi is in his second term as director, having come to the museum seven years ago at the age of 29. He graduated at Szeged University after studying history and archaeology, and then began working as an archaeologist at the Göcsej Museum in Za-laegerszeg. The Balaton Museum with its new permanent exhibition is now completely up-to-date with a computer room, interactive games, a ‘hands on’ ceramics workshop, café, museum shop, disabled access, a well-kept garden with playground and an attractive and easy to use website. The award is in recognition of the endeavours undertaken. The permanent exhibition presents the Balaton region, but breaking with tradition the display is not arranged in a linear fashion. Rather it guides the visitor through certain themes. Children have been in focus during renewal of the museum. Most visits take place between spring and autumn and include many school groups. The number of family tickets sold is on the rise. In addition to children, the aim is to open up more to elderly people as well. An example occurred around 2006 when a group of pensioners approached the museum offering to do voluntary work. After a little training they began to act as exhibition guides at weekends.