Statutes of the Sorbian Museum
The Administrative District of Bautzen, on the grounds of the applicable “Kreisordnung” (ordinance governing the powers and duties of the administrative districts) for the Free State of Saxony of 19.07.1993 (SächsGVBl. 1993 p. 577), as amended by the law of 04.03.2003 (SächsGVBl. p. 49.53); and the act on cultural regions in Saxony (SächsKRG) of 20.01.1994 (GVBl. p.175), as amended by the law of 13 December 2002 (GVBl. p. 353) in conjunction with §10 of the statutes of the cultural region Upper Lusatia/Lower Silesia pursuant to the county council resolution of 1 June 2004, enacts the following statutes:
§ 1
(1) The Sorbian Museum is the national museum of the Sorbs.
(2) It bears the name
Serbski muzej – Sorbisches Museum
Logo: linden leaf
(3) The supporting agency of the Sorbian Museum is the Administrative District of Bautzen.
(4) The seat of the Sorbian Museum is the “Salzhaus” on the Ortenburg 3-5, 02625
Bautzen.
§ 2
(1) The Sorbian Museum is an institution to serve society.
The Sorbian Museum is a non-profit, tax-exempt organisation within the meaning of 68 No: 7 of the
German Tax Code (AO) and pursues exclusively and directly non-profit
purposes within the meaning of §§ 51 ff AO, i.e. it does not act to make a profit and does not primarily pursue
it own economic purposes.
(2) The Sorbian Museum makes an indispensible contribution to maintaining and
strengthening the national identity of the Sorbs and for the purpose of an understanding between peoples to providing information about the Sorbs and their traditional homeland, Lusatia.
It contributes to educating broad sections of the population with respect to regional history and aesthetics through various offerings with its own resources.
(3) The Sorbian Museum is an academic/scientific educational establishment whose task
is to
– collect,
– competently preserve
– and academically process factual information and evidence of the history, way of life, art and culture of the Sorbs of Upper and Lower Lusatia
– and to make these available to the general public in exhibitions, educational events and publications.
§ 3
The Sorbian Museum is a member of the Association of Saxon Museums. The work of the Sorbian Museum is based on the Code of Ethics as formulated at the XIV.
General Conference of the ICOM (International Council of Museum) in 1986 in Buenos Aires.
This states that the governing body has the ethical duty to secure and expand all sub-sections of the museum, its collection and its services.
Every museum should have its own statutes and clearly present its non-profit status in
accordance with local laws.
§ 4
(1) The Sorbian Museum is managed by the Director.
(2) The Director is appointed by the county council.
(3) The supervision of the Sorbian Museum is the responsibility of the relevant department in the district administration. The Director is bound by their instructions.
(4) The Director shall appoint a deputy.
The deputy shall represent the Director during their absence.
§ 5
(1) The Director is responsible for representing the museum in public and for its
organisational and professional management.
(2) He/she is responsible for:
– preparing the annual work plan,
– preparing the provisional budget and
complying with the budget,
– taking care of a specialist field,
– coordinating the duties and projects within the specialist fields,
– auditing the expenses of the specialist fields and the administration,
– planning the collecting activities.
§ 6
(1) Planning the collecting activities must contain the following determinations:
1. main directions and priority areas of the collections,
2. all of the modalities connected with the acquisition of objects for the collection,
3. Terms and conditions for lending/borrowing exhibits.
(2) The plan has to be approved by the pertinent department.
§ 7
(1) The Sorbian Museum is funded by the Foundation for the Sorb People and
within the scope of the Act on Cultural Regions in Saxony (Sächs. KRG) in conjunction with § 10 of the statutes of the cultural region Upper Lusatia/Lower Silesia.
(2) The purchase and sale of museum objects is only allowed in accordance with the
supporting agency of the museum and the Foundation for the Sorb People.
(3) The safety of the exhibits must be guaranteed at all times.
§8
(1) Staff
(1a) The supporting agency, in agreement with the Foundation for the Sorb People, ensures
that the staff is able to perform the various tasks associated with the work of the museum with respect to both the quantity and quality of the results. This assumes corresponding academic, technical or professional training as well as a fundamental ethical attitude that is to be constantly improved through their own development.
(1b) All employees wishing to work in the Sorbian Museum must be able to speak the Sorbian language.
(2) The Landratsamt (district office) in Bautzen is responsible for taking on and
dismissing staff as well as for the conclusion, amendment and termination of employment contracts.
(3) The Director is authorised to issue instructions to the staff of the Sorbian Museum.
(4) The academic/scientific staff can be consulted by all citizens and institutions for expert information and advice.
§ 9
A fee will be charged for using the museum. The amount of this fee will be set out in a table of charges.
§ 10
The statutes come into effect on the day of their publication.
At the same time, all former statutory provisions regarding the Sorbian Museum become invalid.
Bautzen, 2 June 2004
(There follows the name of the District Administrator, signature per proxy, official seal)
17.
Conceptual guidelines of the Serbski Muzej – Sorbisches Museum
1. Principles
The Sorbian Museum in Bautzen is the national museum of the Sorbs. In this capacity it is of supraregional importance. It bears the name Serbski muzej – Sorbisches Museum. The supporting agency of the Sorbian Museum is the Administrative District of Bautzen. The Sorbian Museum is a non-profit, tax-exempt organisation within the meaning of § 68 No. 7 of the German Tax Code (AO) and pursues exclusively and directly non-profit purposes. The Sorbian Museum makes an indispensible contribution to maintaining and strengthening the national identity of the Sorbs. The Sorbian Museum is an institution to serve society.
The Sorbian Museum is a communication and information centre, a meeting place for all citizens, irrespective of their national, social and political origins.
The Sorbian Museum feels duty-bound to the guidelines and standards of the International Council of Museums (ICOM), the German Museums Association (DMB) and the Association of Saxon Museums (SMB). Collecting, preserving, researching and imparting the national cultural heritage define the core tasks of the Sorbian Museum. The Sorbian Museum has an ethical duty to secure and expand all sub-sections of the museum, its collection and its services.
2. Budget.
The Sorbian Museum is funded by the Foundation for the Sorb People and within the scope of the Act on Cultural Regions in Saxony (Sächs. KRG) in conjunction with § 10 of the statutes of the cultural region Upper Lusatia/Lower Silesia. A fee will be charged for using the museum. The amount of this fee will be set out in a table of charges and resolved by the county council.
3. Staff
The Administrative District of Bautzen as the supporting agency and in agreement with the Foundation for the Sorb People ensures that the staff is able to perform the various tasks associated with the work of the museum with respect to both the quantity and quality of the results. Apart from the necessary academic and professional qualification, anyone who wishes to work in the Sorbian Museum must have a written and spoken command of the Sorbian language.
3. Research and educate
The Sorbian Museum is an academic educational institution and an important place of extracurricular learning. The Sorbian Museum’s permanent exhibition imparts the history and culture of the indigenous Sorb race.
It contributes to educating broad sections of the population with respect to regional history and aesthetics through various special exhibitions and supporting programs. The Sorbian Museum is committed to extending and expanding specific museum research.Externally-financed research projects are to be expanded. The goal of its work is to enrich the cultural landscape of the city of Bautzen, Upper and Lower Lusatia, Saxony and Germany as well as abroad with its content and its offers. The Sorbian Museum regards itself as a builder of bridges between the West and the East and is founded on centuries of cultural relationships between the Sorbs and the neighbouring Slavic peoples in particular. It is instrumental in preserving the cultural diversity of the Free State of Saxony through its exhibitions and events. The Sorbian Museum represents a practical minority policy in Germany. It makes an important contribution to dismantling prejudices and intolerance.
4. Communication, press and PR work
The Sorbian Museum is involved in a constant dialogue between museums, educational institutions and tourist associations on a regional and supraregional level. Press and PR work, advertising and marketing are indispensible for the educational work of the Sorbian Museum.
The Sorbian Museum sees itself as an attractive destination for cultural and educational tourists and is planning to step up its advertising and marketing both at home and abroad using modern media and sales channels.
5. Cooperation
The cooperation with museums, universities as well as educational and research institutions on a regional, national and international level has to be purposefully continued and expanded. The Sorbian Museum acts in an interdisciplinary way and across all fields. The Sorbian Museum cooperates closely with the Förderverein des Sorbischen Museums e.V. as well as the academic association Maćica Serbska e.V., of which it is a legal member.
Bautzen, 27.05.2014
signed Christina Bogusz, Director of the Sorbian Museum.
Sponsors:
The Serbski muzej – Sorbisches Museums as institution is supported by the foundation: Załožba za Serbski lud – Stiftung für das sorbische Volk, that receives annual contributions from the Federation (FRG), the Free State of Saxony and the Land of Brandenburg as well by the Kulturraum Oberlausitz/Niederschlesien.
