Metallurgical Museum

The Metallurgical Museum was established at 22 Palota Street in the Felsőhámor district of Miskolc. It can also be reached from Lillafüred: it is close to the foot of the Lillafüred waterfall and to the Anna Cave. Its task is to present domestic ironworking, metal art, especially the history of local (Massa, Diósgyőr) metallurgy. In addition to the material collection, models, and dioramas, the museum also has a significant photo collection, as well as a collection of specialist books and journals. It is an institution of the Hungarian Museum of Technology and Transport.

History

The Central Metallurgical Museum, which dealt with the collection of metallurgical memorabilia, was founded in 1949, and its founding director was Viktor Győző Korompai. Its first public exhibition in 1958 was titled “90 Years of the Diósgyőr Ironworks”. The permanent exhibition was set up in the guest house of the Lenin Metallurgical Works Diósgyőr ironworks, and, commemorating the 190th anniversary of the founding of the ironworks, it was opened on September 25, 1960 by János Csergő, Minister of Iron and Machine Industry.

The Massa Museum was founded in 1963 near the Őskohó, and initially both were maintained by the Diósgyőr metallurgy. The continuously growing material outgrew the temporary location, and the museum moved to its present site in 1968–69; this exhibition was opened on July 28, 1970. Its director at that time was Oszkár Szinvavölgyi.

Its external facilities are the Őskohó, the waterwheel furnace built in 1979, and the technical open-air museum (since 1982).

At the Őskohó, once a year, within the Fazola Days, a spectacular show demonstrates the operation of the former furnace.

Since 1994 it has been a co‑institution of the Hungarian Museum of Technology and Transport (until 2009 the National Technical Museum).

The building

It was built in 1778–79 in Baroque style according to the plans of Johann Nepomuk Frieser, engineer and mining foreman of the Kőröm copper mines, still during the time of Henrik Fazola. The “Chancellery” building was originally used as an office, residence, and warehouse. In the mid‑19th century it was altered, adding another level to the then single‑storey building. It was renovated again in 1940, losing its original façade at that time. It has been a protected monument since 1985; it was renovated in 2010.

Next to the house stands the iron memorial column of Frigyes Fazola. On its pedestal the inscription: Fazola / Frigyes / 1774–1849 / The / Diósgyőr- / Hámori / ironworks / developer / mining researcher.

On the wall of the building facing the memorial column, a wrought‑iron decoration shows the forge‑workers’ tongs and two crossed hammers of the miners, with a bilingual circular inscription commemorating the German‑settled master‑builders (above: Good luck, below: Glückauf). The street façade’s wrought‑iron inscription reads: Kohászati Museum. The two cast‑iron commemorative plaques beside the entrance contain inscriptions that tell the history of the building.

The exhibition

On the museum’s first floor the first exhibits are documents related to Henrik Fazola. In the room presenting raw‑iron production, slide shows illustrating the history of ironmaking are displayed, and here the notable Imola blast furnace from the 10th–12th centuries and the Bucak furnace of Kőszegfalva can be seen – placed according to their archaeological condition. One can also follow the development history of large furnaces here, as well as learn about the processes occurring in a large furnace. The next room is devoted to steel production. Here the various steel‑making processes can be viewed (converter process, crucible steel production, steel production in a Siemens‑Martin furnace, electric steel production, converter processes). The development of material testing of metals can also be illustrated here, and there is a small collection of products from iron casting.

In the first room on the second floor one can become acquainted with the history, technique, and technological development of forging. Among other things, it shows how forging was done in ancient Egypt, how medieval weapons were made, and characteristic forged products can also be viewed. Modern forging machines are presented by models. In the rolling room one can get an impression of the development of rolling technologies and machine equipment, and here the material concerning the history of wire and screw production can also be seen. The museum exhibits here the various rails used on Hungarian railways from the middle of the 19th century. In a subsequent room the material of the current seasonal exhibition can be viewed.