Last updated on .
The Edirne City Museum (Edirne Kent Müzesi) is an excellent museum with a wealth of information about the city of Edirne, Turkey.
The museum opened on May 5, 2017 and is housed in the Hafızağa Mansion (Hafızağa Konağı), a historic 19th century Ottoman home.
Visiting
The Edirne City Museum is open daily from 9am to 6pm daily. Adult admission is 5₺ (as of August 2023) and includes an audio application in five different languages. Only credit card is accepted. The museum is located in the historic city center, just steps from the Selimiye Mosque.
Unfortunately, when we visited, all of the information was in Turkish. The person at the front desk told me they were working on accommodating non-Turkish speakers at that time. Thankfully, I knew enough Turkish to understand most of the exhibits and translate for my wife.
Geography
The museum is spread out over three floors, starting in the basement. The first exhibits are about the geography of Edirne as well as flora and fauna. There are sections providing information about the city’s transportation history and the major rivers that pass through.
History
The ground floor is all about the history of Edirne. It starts with a timeline of the history of the city from prehistoric times until the Ottoman era, then continues with information about Ottoman Edirne.
There are wax figures of the Ottoman sultans who ruled from Edirne while it was the capital of the Ottoman Empire. They start with Sultan Murad I, who conquered Adrianople and renamed it Edirne. In 1363 he moved the Ottoman capital from Bursa to Edirne.
The next section includes information about important architecture in the city, including the Selimiye Mosque designed by Mimar Sinan (1490-1588). One room is dedicated to historic buildings in Edirne, complete with an interactive display where visitors can look up details or see photos of different types of buildings.
The ground floor exhibits of the Edirne City Museum end with information about the different occupations of Edirne by Russia, Bulgaria, and Greece.
Culture
The top floor is the most interesting section of the museum for me. It includes several different cultural exhibits, starting with migration to Edirne and demographics. Next is a section about the city government with photos of past mayors.
An exhibit on the economy of Edirne follows, focusing mostly on agriculture. There’s also a special display about local crafts, including saddles, brooms, tiles, marbling, and fruit soaps as well as Edirnekârî arts.
An entire room is dedicated to local sports, with an emphasis on the Kırkpınar wrestling tournament that has taken place in Edirne since 1360. One display talks about Edirnespor, the local football team founded in 1966.
The next sections focus on health, education, and the press in Edirne. The city has been an important health center since the 15th century with the foundation of the Bayezid II Complex.
The final exhibits are about culture, including traditions with weddings and children, local cuisine, folk dances, and more. One room allows visitors to listen to the oral histories of local citizens.
Conclusion
Overall, the Edirne City Museum is a fantastic place to learn about the history and culture of Edirne. I hope in the future there’s more content in English and other languages because it would be a shame for non-Turkish speakers to miss out on such a good museum.
