The exhibitions provide an interactive museum experience. In the history exhibition, visitors can hold the weapons of the hajduks and write on a slate, in the retro exhibition they can try out a „Trabant simulator”, and in the local history exhibition they can try on the traditional costumes of the locals. While the art exhibitions feature works by Picasso and Chagall, the Royal Treasury has copies of the Bocskai Crown and Scepter.
In the new building of the Bocskai Museum, called the Royal Treasury, visitors can see noble and authentic copies of the crown and sceptre of the Transylvanian prince István Bocskai, who settled the Hajdú people in Soboszlo. The „Holy Crown of the Hajdúks” is a real mystery: its origin is questionable, its role disputed, its ownership unclear. It could have been made in Byzantine, Turkish or Persian workshops. It is the only crown with which a Transylvanian prince was crowned Hungarian king, although only some historians accept this. The Bocskai crown was a symbol of the power of one of the greatest Hungarian rulers, and the Habsburgs feared it so much that they took it to Vienna after the prince's death. Its original remains there today, although both the Hungarian and Romanian states still claim it as their own. However, a valuable replica of it is now on display in Hajdúszoboszló.
The garden of the Bocskai Museum houses an agricultural history exhibition, showing the continuous technical development since the 1800s. Another unique attraction is the aluminium bells of Edit Oborzil and her husband Tibor Jeney, which were bequeathed to the town of Hajdúszoboszló. The bells of the town's symbolic belfry are also part of this collection.
In the main building of the multi-building Bocskai Museum, the permanent exhibition Hajdúszoboszló history of the city. A unique rarity in the museum is the Bocskai flag, which was donated by the prince to the Hajdú warriors and has been preserved in the Bocskai István Museum. As a reminder of the past, the coat of arms on the flag can also be found on the privilege letter of the „szoboszló” Hajdúszoboszló Hajdú Hajdú Hajdúszoboszló and on the present-day coat of arms of the town of Hajdúszoboszló.
The exhibition is very varied, including a painting of Prince István Bocskai by János Szűts, as well as utensils, war relics and relics of the town's famous natives - Ernő Szép, Ferenc Pávai-Vajna. Other interesting exhibits include a collection of insects and butterflies typical of the Hajdúság region.
For more information on the exhibitions currently on view, visit Bocskai Museum on the website.
