About the museum:
Pazin Town Museum was founded in 1996, when the Cultural and Historical Collection was separated from the holdings of the Ethnographic Museum of Istria. The museum is located in the Castle of Pazin, a medieval fortress built above Pazinska jama (the Gorge of Pazin), a karst chasm where the river Pazinčica disappears underground and which was described in the novel Mathias Sandorf by Jules Verne. The fortress, massively built and well preserved, has a long and stratified architectural history (from the 10th to the 19th centuries AD). It was mentioned for the first time as Castrum Pisinum in a 983 deed by the German Emperor Otto II. The Castle represents a unique example of feudal fortification architecture. Apart from its defensive role, the Castle was also the seat of the County of Pazin.
The museum's permanent exhibition consists of three sections:
Pazin and its Surroundings from Prehistory to the Early Middle Agesdisplays prehistoric, Antique, and early medieval archaeological pottery and metal finds, along with stone monuments.
Through the several thematic units of the exhibition The Castle of Pazin and the Serf's Uprisings of the 15th and 16th Centuries, visitors are informed about the history of the Castle, the County of Pazin, and the two serf's uprisings (the revolt which occurred in 1407 and 1408 when the peasants revolted against the tyranny of aristocrats, and the revolt which took place in 1571 and 1572 when the peasants reacted in protection of their rights).
Reconstructions of serfs' tools (scythes, pitchforks, sickles, axes, small sickles - rankuns, flails, and clubs), medieval weapons (knives, halberds and similar), and torture devices are also exhibited.
The Collection of Church Bells displays 23 bells from Istrian churches dating from the 14th to the 19th centuries (the Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and Austro-Hungarian periods). Of particular importance are the Gothic bells with Glagolitic inscriptions.
The Castle also houses a permanent exhibition of the life and work of Juraj (Giorgio) Dobrila, a bishop and reformer. The permanent exhibition Juraj Dobrila/ Life and Work is located in Dobrila's native house in the village of Veli Ježenj.
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