Viliam Matuška: A story of an adopted railway station and building a museum

O tomto videu

Fascinated by the history of bulding a railway in his home region, Viliam founded a small railway musem in Stará Turá. When the historical buildings of the local railway station were to be demolished and rebuilt, he embarked on an extremely difficult task – to persuade all stakeholders that this derelict yet pictoresque piece of history and its genius loci is worth saving and renovating. A beautiful story of how personal involvement can help save our cultural heritage.

About speaker

After completing his studies at the SOU Železničné, Viliam began working at the Slovak Railways as the switch supervisor and later on as a railroad dispatcher. In 2006, he founded Stará Turá Railway Museum and began working at the Railway Museum of the Slovak Republic in Bratislava, where he renovated several historic railway facilities. He then returned to the profession of the dispatcher and, in his spare time, he intensively dedicates himself to the management of the Railway Museum in Stará Turá, saving and restoring the exhibits, documenting the history of the local railway Veselí nad Moravou – Nové Mesto nad Váhom and guiding the visitors. During the reconstruction of Stará Turá station, he managed to save the historic building from being destroyed. He was twice awarded by the Life in Stará Turá Foundation for the preservation of history in the region.