Where the attic is also full of bones
Dr Zsófia Demeter, chief counsellor, director of Fejér County Museums
MúzeumCafé 10.
Dr Zsófia Demeter, appointed last May after a 34-year career in modern history, would like to initiate a new museum “golden age” in Fejér County. “We are going through times when it would be nice to lock yourself in and open the gates wide at the same time. We not only have to display the collections but also demonstrate how we work and reveal what hidden treasures we have. When I began, work of a high standard was being already done. In Gorsium at the former Roman Forum we have organised Floralia and theatre performances, there have been concerts in the museum and the folk dance movement practically started here. As a young girl Márta Sebestyén was already singing with the Sebő band at ethnographic exhibitions. There is public demand for this, but the counties maintaining the museums are in a serious crisis, both financially and regarding activities. For example, we didn’t have an anthropologist but now we are able to employ one. That’s fortunate as the attic is full of bones. Every year the museum receives an increasing amount of human remains.” Concerning exploration of the coronation church ruins in Székesfehérvár and the construction of a highly disputed fictitious church section she says: “What you see now where the former coronation church used to be is only a small part of the original. No one took away stones in suitcases, but nevertheless the site was filled up. Now we are opening it up, and revealing and conserving the remains using the best means currently available. In addition a memorial space would also be erected and that is most disputed. Whether you like it or not is a matter of opinion. Everyone can make up their own mind.”