Museum of Ethnography
H-1146, Budapest, Dózsa György út 35.
Phone: +36 1 474 2100
Email: info@neprajz.hu
Following its relocation in 2022, the Museum of Ethnography has now completed the renewal of its collection database too. The museum’s large-scale analogue and digital relocation represents not only an institutional development but also a sector-wide milestone. The internationally recognised and widely used MuseumPlus system offers both external and internal users a collection management and documentation platform suited to the challenges of the 21st century. In the long term, the completed project may shape national museum digitisation strategies and help ensure that Hungarian heritage management becomes an active and visible participant in international professional networks.
In recent years, the Museum of Ethnography has carried out two relocation processes of historical scale. First, in physical space, the entire collection was transferred to a new collection centre; then, in its new main building, the museum opened a series of temporary and permanent exhibitions. After this came the digital phase: the transfer of the entire collection database to a modern, user-friendly platform.
The digital transformation, completed in 2025, culminated in the full implementation of MuseumPlus, an internationally recognised integrated collection management system. This undertaking was unprecedented in both scale and complexity within the Hungarian museum sector.
The Museum of Ethnography developed its own methodology to address questions for which there had previously been no domestic precedent. The project was the result of several years of preparation, 15 months of market research and analysis, followed by institution-wide implementation. The goal was to establish an integrated, modular system based on international standards, one that supports record-keeping, everyday collection management processes and user accessibility alike.
This was essential because museums today function not only as custodians but also as knowledge hubs and digital service providers. Changing research practices and visitor expectations demand the development of digital platforms. The museum’s new system makes collection data more searchable, transparent and interconnected, while also providing safer and more legally compliant operational frameworks.
The complete Hungarian localisation of MuseumPlus was not a simple translation but a process of professional linguistic harmonisation: field names, labels, tooltips and system messages were produced through multiple rounds of translation, loading and testing. Terminological decisions were guided by a balance between Hungarian museum practice, international standards and the system’s internal logic. This work is of sectoral significance: for the first time, a fully integrated collection management system is available in Hungarian, potentially generating market competition and encouraging innovation across the national museum landscape.
Explore the database! Online gyűjtemény | Néprajzi Múzeum
The Museum of Ethnography began its gradual transition to computerised record-keeping in 2015. In 2019, a strategic decision was made: a new, internationally standardised integrated system was required. The main pillars of implementation were:
In Numbers