Culture Minister: Free-of-charge entrance to museums proves to be good move

The positive feedback from people as well as increased visitor numbers to museums and galleries, administrated by the Culture Ministry, serve as evidence that scrapping charges for entrance fees on first Sunday of every month was a good move. "Concerns about this being abused have been proven wrong. Abroad, it's quite common that museums and galleries can be visited either partially or fully free-of-charge," said Culture Minister Marek Maďarič. "I consider this to be a certain form of public service aimed to bring people closer to culture." Maďarič claimed that any drops in income from entrance fees suffered by cultural institutions have been manageable so far. Therefore, 37 museums and galleries across Slovakia - under the remit of the Culture Ministry - will continue to offer free-of-charge entrance on first Sunday of every month also in 2015.