Museum of Baranxtuan Culture (Miervatia City)
The Museum of Baranxtuan Culture (German: Museum für Baranxtuische Kultur) is a large museum in Miervatia City and contains the largest collection of Baranxtuan artefacts outside of Baranxtu itself.
Located in a neoclassical building dating from the early 20th century, the museum was founded to strengthen the ties between Mikitivity and Baranxtu dating back a few centuries, starting with the establishment of the Spice Trade that brought the tnani to Mikitivity.
Due to the trade route's importance for both countries, a whole section of the museum is devoted to the tnani trade, detailing its development and significance. It also houses original copies of all those treaties which are known as the Tnani Treaties, and in fact is the only museum to do so.
The museum is visited by approximately 1.1 million people a year with numbers steadily growing.
As a matter of interest, all labels are trilingual - in English, German and Baranxeï.
Contents
Exhibitions
Welcome to Baranxtu
The largest exhibition of the museum is to be found in the tract devoted to Welcome to Baranxtu. It covers a wide range of topics, including Baranxtuan cuisine, music and also history.
In 1986, a projection room accomodating about 80 people was built where Baranxtuan movies have been shown on a regular basis ever since. They are all subtitled in German and English, and both versions are shown alternatingly.
Baranxtuan Religion
This tract of the museum presents Ēmandē to its visitors and explains the impact it has on Baranxtuan culture, for example why equal marriage is deeply embeddened in Baranxtuan history.
Some of the most valuable exhibits of the whole museum can be found here, including an exemplar of the Five Golden Books, a very rare version of the Holy Scriptures of Baranxtuan Religion of which only six exist in total.
Another important exhibit is a statue termed Baranxi Crashes The Burning Cage, depicting a pivotal moment in Baranxtuan mythology. This statue dates from 104 CE and was made from white marble.
All in all, more than 450 exhibits can be found in this tract.
Baranxtuan Traditions
Originally, this tract was part of the Welcome to Baranxtu section, but as the collection grew, it was decided to give it an own tract.
For example, this part explains the color symbolism found extensively in Baranxtu up to this day. Here, traditional rites for weddings, funerals et al. are shown in detail, as well - including a small movie theater that screen such proceedings.
The most priced exhibits are three traditional wedding dresses, dating from 1100 CE, 1700 CE and 1960 CE, respectively.
The Tnani Trade
This tract is dedicated to the foundation stone of the friendship between Baranxtu and Mikitivity, the Tnani Trade.
A greenhouse was added to this tract in which several tnani specimens are shown.
The regular exhibition is dominated by maps detailing the development and changes of the trade routes that brough tnani from Baranxtu to Mikitivity, but also various tools used in the cultivation of tnani.
Two exhibits are of particular interest: the remnants of the Golden Bark Barge, a vessel that was mainly used for shipping tnani across the sea. It was lost in 1756, but was recovered in 1967. Baranxtuan Foreign Minister Sabara Lipatatu Semegna and Queen Meinara then decided it should be exhibited here.
Another important part are original copies of all Tnani Treaties which detail the growing complexity of the relationship between Mikitivity and Baranxtu.
