Collections - Kauno IX forto muziejus

About Collections

The collections of Kaunas Ninth Fort Museum started to be collected in 1958. The main focus areas are the history of the First World War and Kaunas Fortress, the history of the Nazi occupation, the history of the Soviet occupations, the history of statehood restoration and the history of Kaunas Ninth Fort Museum. The registered and preserved collections are identified by the codes of the main (KDFM GEK) and auxiliary (KDFM PF) collections, as well as by the code of a specific collection:

the collection of photographs and negatives – F;
the collection of press (documents, manuscripts, proclamations, etc.) – S;
collection of objects (textiles, metal, wood, leather goods, paintings, sculpture and memorial objects) – DE.

In total, more than 50 thousand museum values are stored in the museum’s collections today.

Collections

Press Collection

The press collection, which began in 1958, contains various types of museum objects: documents, letters, periodicals, books, and other printed materials (maps, posters, leaflets, postcards, etc.). The collection’s museum objects can be divided into several main themes and periods. The realities of Kaunas Hard Labour Prison branch (which operated in Kaunas Ninth Fort in 1924-1940) are recalled by the letters of Janina Čižinauskaitė, which are preserved in the museum. In 2007, they were recognised as a documentary heritage object of national importance and included in the Lithuanian National Register of the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. The theme of deportations is most characteristically represented by handmade postcards and the personal belongings of resistance fighter Romas Kalanta (his birth certificate, school notebooks, etc.).

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Collections

Collection of Photographs and Negatives

The museum’s collection of photographs and negatives contains more than 30,000 photographs, negatives and photo albums. The objects of this collection is organised the following: the history of the First World War and Kaunas Fortress, the history of the Nazi occupation, the history of the Soviet occupations, the history of the restoration of statehood and the history of Kaunas Ninth Fort Museum. The collection of photographs from the places of exile and imprisonment in Siberia is particularly rich: they account for approximately 29% (or more than 9,000) of the museum’s collection. The photographs record the life of exiles, their everyday life, work, leisure time and traditions.

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Collections

Collection of Objects Values

The collection of museum objects consists of textiles, metal, wood and leather goods, paintings, sculptures, graphic works and memorial objects of former political prisoners, exiles and Soviet activists imprisoned in Kaunas Ninth Fort prison between the world wars, as well as museum objects of phaleristics and numismatics. The museum’s collections contain uniforms and equipment of the Russian Empire from WWI, Kaiser’s Germany army, Soviet army soldiers and officers and the uniforms of retired Lithuanian Army officers. The Museum’s collections include an important part of artefacts found during archaeological research works in the 1960s and 1970s in the mass murder field of Kaunas Ninth Fort.

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Restoration and Conservation

In the restoration workshop of Kaunas Ninth Fort Museum, museum objects are conserved, restored and researched, and preventive conservation is carried out. The microclimate of the storage rooms and exhibitions is constantly monitored, and the condition of the museum objects is checked. The main direction of restoration is the museum’s valuables made of metal, metal and wood, artefacts found during archaeological excavations in the territory of the museum, and historical elements of various periods preserved in the Ninth Fort of Kaunas Fortress.

More than 100 museum objects are conserved and restored at the museum every year. Museum objects from other Lithuanian museums are restored and conserved as well. The work is carried out by a restorer certified by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania. The restorer’s qualifications and professional knowledge are continuously improved. Articles are written about the museum objects being restored.

At the museum, students carry out their internships. Future restorers of various fields learn about the conservation and restoration of historic metal and put their acquired knowledge into practice. Advice is provided on the storage, transport, appropriate display conditions, conservation and restoration of museum objects. The museum also provides restoration and conservation services for historical objects.

Last page update: 2024-12-18 08:25:04