Nova Gorica adopts new founding decree for Goriški muzej Kromberk

The City Council of the Municipality of Nova Gorica adopted a new founding decree for the public institute Goriški muzej Kromberk – Nova Gorica at its session on 18 June 2026. The decree is published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, issue 1429/2026, dated 15 September 2026, under document number 007-5/2026-3 (EDA 2026-5881773000-0012), and enters into force fifteen days after publication.

Legal basis and purpose

The decree is grounded in the Zakon o zavodih (Institutes Act), the Zakon o uresničevanju javnega interesa za kulturo (ZUJIK), the Zakon o varstvu kulturne dediščine (Cultural Heritage Protection Act) and the Statut Mestne občine Nova Gorica. Its purpose is to bring the institute’s operation into line with the legislation governing public interest in culture, cultural-heritage protection, public finance and the standard classification of activities, and to regulate its status, the relationship between founder and institute, and the fundamentals of its organisation, activities and financing.

The sole founder is the Municipality of Nova Gorica (Trg Edvarda Kardelja 1, 5000 Nova Gorica), which exercises its founding rights through the City Council. The institute is the legal successor of the Okrajni muzej v Solkanu, established on 5 September 1952, and took over the founding rights and assets of the former Goriški muzej under a transfer agreement of 14 December 2004.

Mission and seat

The institute’s mission is to provide permanent, quality and uninterrupted museum services as a public service across the Municipality of Nova Gorica and the municipalities of Ajdovščina, Vipava, Šempeter-Vrtojba, Brda, Kanal, Miren-Kostanjevica, Sežana, Komen, Divača and Renče-Vogrsko, working in cooperation with the Mestni muzej Idrija, the Tolminski muzej and the Pilonova galerija in Ajdovščina.

• Full name: Goriški muzej Kromberk – Nova Gorica; short name Goriški muzej
• Seat: Grajska cesta 1, Kromberk, 5002 Nova Gorica
• Activities cover history, ethnology, archaeology, art history, natural science, conservation and restoration
• The institute manages the Kromberk castle building, the Vila Bartolomei with its park in Solkan, and the former Pristava border-crossing facility

Governing bodies

The institute is governed by three bodies: the director, the svet zavoda (institute council) and the strokovni svet (expert council).

• The director is appointed by the founder through a public call, for a five-year renewable mandate, and must hold a second-cycle (level 8) qualification, at least three years of managerial experience, and knowledge of Slovenian at an advanced level and Italian at a basic level.
• The svet zavoda has five members: three representatives of the founder, one representative of the workers and one representative of the majority financer of general operating costs.
• The strokovni svet has six members: two elected by the staff, two appointed by the Kulturniška zbornica Slovenije, and one each by the Slovensko muzejsko društvo and the Skupnost muzejev Slovenije.

Financing and transition

The institute is financed from the founder’s budget, state-budget funds, other public sources, grants, ticket sales, market sales of goods and services, and donations and sponsorships. The founder guarantees funds for the public service through an annual financing agreement, and answers subsidiarily for the institute’s obligations up to the amount of the current-year budget allocation.

The new decree repeals the previous founding decree of the Goriški muzej Kromberk – Nova Gorica (Official Gazette RS, nos. 142/04, 33/09 and 8/16). The institute council must adopt a new rules of procedure within two months, and the institute must align its general acts with the decree within six months of its entry into force. The decree was signed by the Mayor of the Municipality of Nova Gorica, Samo Turel.

For the public, the decree secures the legal and financial stability of one of western Slovenia’s key regional museums, guaranteeing the continued preservation, research and presentation of movable cultural heritage across the Goriška region.

Source: Uradni list Republike Slovenije, issue 1429/2026, 15 September 2026, section I (official reference: 007-5/2026-3, EDA 2026-5881773000-0012).