Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum
The Smith Institute first opened to the public on 11 August 1874. It was an occasion for great celebration in Stirling, and the shops in the town closed at 12 noon to allow people to attend the opening. Nevertheless, there were some mixed feelings, for Thomas Stuart Smith, had died in 1869 and the location of the building was felt by many people to be too far away from the old town.
Ernest Zmeták Art Gallery
The museum was established on 1 January 1979 by a local painter, Ernest Zmeták, who was the most significant collector of artworks in Slovakia in the 2nd half of the 20th century, and his wife, art historian Danica Zmetákova. At first it was housed temporarily on the second floor of the City Hall where the first permanent exhibition was opened on November 21 1980. It was moved in 2003 into the former Craftsmen Association Building on 1 Björnsonova Street where the new permanent exhibitions were opened in March and June 2004.