Iron Forging Museum
Kovaški muzej Kropa
The museum is located in the central part of the old square, in Klinar house, which is an example of better-off iron master's architecture with building elements from 18th and 19thcentury. The first floor, which used to serve as an apartment of iron master's family, preserved its typical central room, a saloon which features cassette ceiling that is completed by three baroque canvases.
The Iron forging museum was opened in 1952 as the first Technical museum in Slovenia. It shows technical and historical development of iron handling from ore to spike, economic, social and cultural conditions in Kropa and nearby iron working location since 15thcentury until decline of iron works in 19th century and spike-making handicraft in 20th century. Documents represent historic foundations of iron works in Kropa and the models show the image of the settlement in the 19th century, working of iron foundries, forges and bellows.
The museum became richer for 42 artistically forged works by the master Joža Bertoncelj in 1974. They are displayed in a special room within the museum.
The ethnological room shows the life of smiths from Kropa, exposing their co-existence with iron foundry masters in big iron foundry houses.
The collection of spikes has 94 types of preserved spikes, from the smallest, used in shoemaking, to those that are 70 cm long and were used in dam building.
The exhibition also features specimen of special shoemaking spikes for manufacture of mountain footwear that were forged manually in Kropa until the middle of fifties of the 20th century.
The projection room on the ground floor (accessible also to disabled persons) shows two Slovenian films by Milka and Metod Badjura, The blacksmiths of Kropa from year 1954 and Carol-singers from 1963.
The first one shows the work and life of blacksmiths and the other one shows the custom of Carol singing. Both films feature numerous residents of Kropa as actors.
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