Facsimile of Detva's charter

The charter issued by Francis I of Habsburg on 13 December 1811 granted Detva market and fair rights and the status of a market town. The museum displays a facsimile, a faithful reproduction rather than the original issued by the ruler's chancery. The copy reproduces both sides on parchment and includes a pendant wax seal in a wooden case.

The privilege allowed four fairs a year and weekly markets. It changed the status of a settlement belonging to the Vígľaš estate, whose first documented mention dates to 1638. The settlement arose on the site of an estate farm with the consent of landowner Ladislav Csáky. The early-nineteenth-century document therefore represents a later stage of its development, associated with regular trade.

The historical exhibition places written records alongside pictures, photographs and archaeological finds from Kalamárka and Vígľaš Castle. The parchment and protected seal also make the charter a physical object with a particular form, not simply a text about municipal rights. Reproducing both sides distinguishes this facsimile from a single-sided illustration.