Before your eyes get to see something in twilight, before you could be able to distinguish shapes of things hidden in the darkness, the smells is your guide in this kingdom of lost stuff. At first you smell dust mixed with ground after the raining and old basement, reminding a very old things or books. Then your eyes start to recognize single shapes which appear step by step next to you – in your left and right sight, in front of you, on the back. And suddenly you feel surrounded by things! They are everywhere! On each wall, on the floor, in the small windows, hanging from the ceilling. You are attacked by army of forgotten objects – parrafin lamp, old maps, postcards, pictures, coins, irons, coffee mills, wooden skis, all kinds of weapon – from knifes and dagger through halberd, first models of guns to elements of armour like helmets. They are from different times, they used to be use in different areas of people’s life. They are bigger, smaller, older, younger, made from wood, paper, iron, silver, wool, in good condition and almost totally destroyed – connected each other by collecting passion and love to history. Accidentally and mixed collections conveys atmosphere of this place – full of stones, half-rebuilt houses and memory of past glory. It corresponds good with the citadel and remains me beginning of modern museums.

In Renaissance Europe, this kind of places, called “cabinets of curiosities” or Kunstkammer (art-room) were the first step to public museums.  In typical cabinets of curiosities you could find very different things – shells, microscopes, paints, sculpture, exotic animals and plants or curiosity object related with mythology like horn of unicorn. They gathered together in one place science, legends and art. The most famous collection in that time belonged to Rudolf the Second from Prague. In  his collection he had paintings of Durer and Tizzian. From the XVI century they started to be open to the public.

In past kunstkammera was mainly a domain of  Italian aristocrats or European kings. Who is owner of this in Rasnov? Where is he?

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Here! In the middle of his kingdom!

The slim, tall man with beard and moustache which he twists from time to time telling you amazing stories. In his crimson velvet hat, in his white linen shirt and striped pants he looks like Saxons citizen from the past. The real defender of Rasnov citadel.  But as he admits – now is a peaceful time, the citadel doesn’t has enemies any more, so he doesn’t have to fight with anybody. He can rest and give himself to his passion – collecting things. He started to do that 20 years ego. Some of object he got from people, some found, some bought. All of them are from the Rasnov neighborhood. The oldest is wooden elongated bowl to make a bread.

– It has almost 300 years! It took my grand grand grand grand grand mother all day to make one bread in it! – he said, gesticulating a lot. His voice is loudly but he can whisper, when he is telling rumors and secrets from passed life of citadel or amazing stories about his treasures:

– This broken vase I found in romans castle, 4 km far away from Rasnov. It was laying in the ground 2000 years and still has had inside itself a lot of positive energy. Few years ago we hosted in Rasnov special scientific expedition from America. They came here to study this positive energy and they discovered that only woman can feel it!

You can believe him or not. One is certain – he is a perfect story teller!