J. M. Petzval Museum in Spišská Belá

The Joseph Maximilian Petzval Museum (Múzeum J. M. Petzvala) in the small town of Spišská Belá is a modest but unique museum of photography and film at the foot of the Belianske Tatras, 6 km from Kežmarok. It occupies the scientist's birthplace as a branch of the Slovak Technical Museum in Košice and has been open to visitors since 1964. A memorial plaque on the façade records that Joseph Petzval was born here on 6 January 1807.

Petzval (1807–1891) was a mathematician, physicist and inventor regarded as one of the founders of geometrical optics, modern photography and cinematography; from 1849 he was a member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. The first daguerreotypes required minutes of keeping still in front of the camera, and a portrait was a real ordeal. In 1840 Petzval became the first in the world to calculate mathematically a fast portrait lens – and photographing people became possible in a matter of seconds. His lens and his opera glasses are still in use today. The museum also tells the story of the scientist's brother, Otto Baltazár Petzval, a mathematician, engineer and astronomer.

Joseph spent his childhood in Spiš: in 1810 the family moved to Kežmarok and in 1819 to Levoča, where his father, a teacher and organist, was also a gifted mechanic. The boy, at first weak in mathematics, was nearly apprenticed to a shoemaker, but became fascinated by a book on the elements of mathematics and turned into one of the best pupils. Later Petzval studied and taught in Pest, and from 1837 to 1877 held the chair of mathematics at the University of Vienna.

What to see

• The exhibition "Photographic and Cinematographic Technology" – the journey from the camera obscura to the first photograph of 1826 and on to mass-produced photo equipment. The display cases hold cameras arranged by type and format, by European, American and Japanese makers.
• An all-metal replica of a Voigtländer & Sohn daguerreotype camera with the portrait lens Petzval calculated in 1840 – the museum's highlight.
• A Krügener "detective" camera disguised as a book – spy technology of the late 19th century.
• A panorama of an early-20th-century photo studio with an antique camera on a stand, drapery and a portrait chair, and a 1970s darkroom – for those who still remember the red light and trays of developer.
• The life and work of the Petzval brothers – documents and objects connected with the scientists.

Practical information

Spišská Belá lies on the road from Kežmarok to Tatranská Kotlina and Ždiar; the museum stands in the town centre next to the church, where you can park. Buses run to the town from Kežmarok and Poprad. The museum is open mainly on weekdays (in summer also on Saturdays), and a standard ticket costs 4 € – see the "At a glance" box for the full schedule and prices. The exhibition takes 45–60 minutes; groups of more than 7 must book in advance, and there is a small fee for taking photographs in the rooms. For teenagers keen on photography or video, it is a great chance to see where it all began.

Nearby: trails and peaks

The museum combines easily with Kežmarok: Kežmarok Castle and the Wooden Articular Church of the Holy Trinity, Kežmarok (UNESCO) are 6 km away. On the way to the Tatras, 12 km off, is Belianska Cave, and in the Belianske Tatras our Včelín – Ihla trail begins.

Official website: stm-ke.sk

Photos: Petr Vilgus, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; Palickap, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; Petr Vilgus, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.