A visit to the new Sinj Alka museum, a month after opening.
When there is no Alka competition, official protocol, politicians, organizers and security, Sinj is a small town outside of the interest of the public. On Wednesday morning, there were no crowds in Sinj when the Slobodna Dalmacija reporters came to the Alka museum, one month after its official opening.
The museum was opened on August 8 this year. People who come here from Split or some other remote areas do not have to know where it is located, but, unfortunately, GPS will not help them. They will have to lower the car windows and yell: “Where is the museum?” Unbelievably, the museum is equipped with 21st century technology, but still does not have a website. The evening before the trip to Sinj we have searched the internet hoping for an interactive presentation that will prepare us for what lies ahead, but we did not find anything.
“The website is our priority. We have not launched it yet, but plan to do it very soon.We do have a page on Facebook”, said Boris Filipović-Grčić, who runs the museum.
We managed to find the museum because we know our way around Sinj. If we had to rely on the road signs, we would never make it, because there aren’t any, just like there aren’t any museum catalogues. “We will have them soon”, said Filipovic-Grčić.
Some visitors still manage to come to the museum. Two and a half thousand of them since the opening. “It is hard to find it”, confirmed the Bistrović family from Zagreb. They were on vacation and decided to drop in. “The road signs lead you to another museum. And it is difficult if you have with you a baby carriage. I do not know how disabled people come upstairs”, said Josipa. “We do have a lift for the disabled”, explains Boris. However, there are no signs, so only he and the employees of the museum know about it.
The museum itself is another story. You could be perfectly indifferent to the Alka, but you will not be bored in the museum. Tradition is presented using all the latest technology. In front of the exhibits there are tablets which you can use to display the additional information. Visitors are particularly attracted to a game they can play on tablets. On the screen there are two camps – the defenders of Sinj and the Ottomans. You can pick a side, and shoot at the opponents.
The museum is not too large, you can visit it in half an hour. On the lower floor, you have to buy tickets – 30 kuna for adults, 15 kuna for children, 25 kuna for larger groups – and souvenirs as well. There is also a theatre with shows a fifteen-minute-long version of the film on the history of Alka, as well as a large hall with a life-size Alka procession made out of wood.
There is also a huge touch-screen. If you press a year, the portrait of that year’s winner appears in front of you. The first is Stjepan Vuletić from 1798, and the last one is this year’s winner Frano Ivković. Staring from 1962, you can see them on television footage, while the older ones are shown on photos and drawings.
There aren’t too many visitors. Sometimes they come early in the morning, sometimes later, there are no rules. And finally, one exclusive and important information which, of course, is impossible to find on the internet. The museum is open from 9 am to 7 pm every day, except Mondays.
