Slovak Museum of Nature Protection and Speleology

At the General Assembly of the casino in December 1904, the Liptov Collection was created at the Municipal Casino in Liptovský Mikuláš at the suggestion of Rehor Uram-Podtatranský, Václav Vraný and Ján Volek-Starohorský. Václav Vraný (teacher in Palúdzka) was appointed its administrator. The Museum Commission issued a Request to the inhabitants of Liptov to contribute to the collection. When the casino moved to smaller premises and Václav Vraný left Liptovský Mikuláš in 1909 (as a custodian to the museum in Martin), part of the collection was stored in the house of Father Ján Volek-Starohorský and part in the Martin Museum.

After the First World War, Ján Volko-Starohorský continued the traditions of the Liptov Collection. In 1919 he returned to Liptovský Mikuláš and became a professor at a real grammar school in Liptovský Mikuláš. He was aware of the disintegration of the original collection and sought to revive it, calling for the collection of monuments in Liptov. He exhibited the supplemented collections in the natural history cabinet of the grammar school, where, as the Podkriváň Museum, they were also accessible to extracurricular visitors. The collection grew and Ján Volko-Starohorský had to struggle more and more not only with the lack of space, but also with human iniquity.

J. Volka-Starohorský's efforts to establish a museum did not acquire more realistic contours until 1928. The changes in the county establishment and, above all, the effort to maintain the importance of the town of Liptovský Mikuláš contributed to this. Ján Volko-Starohorský, Ivan Stodola, Alois Lutonský and Oldřich Lužný met at a special meeting in the inn near Trnovské on May 24, 1928 in order to find opportunities to establish a museum and its specific focus with regard to the vast karst areas of Slovakia. In the years 1928 - 1930, a preparatory committee was formed, the first board of trustees was appointed, the first steps related to the location of the museum were taken, and a draft statute was drawn up. On June 2, 1930, the founding general assembly was convened, by the decision of which the Museum of the Slovak Karst was founded. According to the statutes of July 18, 1932, the museum of the collection was to preserve, reproduce and make them accessible to the public in good condition, and its activities were focused on caves and karst areas of Slovakia. The collections were installed in the rented premises of the County House. In August 1932, the Natural Science Choir was established at the museum, which was divided into departments, of which the most active were the beautification, protection, karst and geological departments. After many unsuccessful efforts to secure a suitable own building of the museum (purchase of the Bat Villa), he managed to at least acquire (1938 - 1939) additional premises on the ground floor of the district office. In June 1946, the general assembly of the museum outlined another program for the development of the museum - the planned construction of a new museum building (in Demänovská dolina near Demänovská Cave of Freedom) and the amendment of the statutes, according to which the museum would become a scientific institute. The request to build a museum was enshrined in the Rules of Procedure by the Cave Choir of the Club of Slovak Tourists and Skiers, which was founded in Martin in 1944. J. Volko-Starohorský resigned as administrator and left the museum. Part of the collections was moved to the so-called Mikov House in Vrbice and the remaining part of the collections made them available to the public in the original three rooms.

Other destinies of the museum are connected with the efforts to build a special karst museum from it, in August 1949 Vojtech Benický was employed in the museum as an administrator. This orientation of the museum was also supported by the KSTL Cave Choir, which was transformed into the Slovak Speleological Society on 10 September. The museum became part of the SSS, which at the end of the year leased premises in the district court building on Školská Street and applied to the Commission of Education, Science and the Arts (PŠVaU) for permission to rebuild it into the all-Slovak cave museum. Gradually, all collections were moved here and in July 1951 it was made available to the public. Under the influence of the new Federal Museum and also with regard to its national character, the SSS prepared a proposal for its nationalization. On January 1, 1952, the museum was taken over by the Regional National Committee in Žilina, and Vojtech Benický became its first director. From April 1, 1954, the museum was included among the nationwide centrally administered museums.

The building of the former district court became the property of the state on September 1, 1954, and on January 4, 1955, the Museum of the Slovak Karst became the owner of the building and its surrounding area.