Main Hungarian Museums

Loading...

Loading...

Szentendre

Loading...

Loading...

It was the outstanding Swedish scientist, Arthur Haselius who established the world’s first open air museum in 1891 in Stockholm so that the characteristic buildings of various Swedish regions and ethnic groups should be preserved and presented, collected in one place as a permanent exhibition with the possibility of being visited by masses of people. It was named Skanzen after the part of town of its location and in due time it found its way into many languages, including Hungarian, as an equivalent of open air museum.

The furnishings of one of the open-air houses show that the makers made it very old-fashioned. In 1896, during the Millennium Celebrations, the so-called Ethnographic Village, the first period Hungarian outdoor exhibition, was built in the City Park of Budapest. Then, for decades, the case of the Hungarian Open-Air was formed, with the help of ethnographers, architects, politicians and civilians.

Architect László Vargha, a university professor, was one of the most determined supporters and promoters of the idea of the Hungarian open-air museum. He developed the museum's construction methodology and his collection was the cornerstone of the first installation plans. He first formulated his ideas for the "Hungarian Skansen" in 1937, which he considered a joint venture between ethnographers and architects. The first open-air museum in Stockholm, Skansen in Stockholm, and the Ethnographic Village in the framework of the Millennium Celebrations by ethnographer János Jankó were considered as a model for the museum to be established.

The opening of the Skanzen was helped by the historical situation and the atmosphere of the time. The consolidation of the 1960s, the shockwave-like change that began as a result of economic development, and the tsunami tsunami accelerated the destruction of folk architecture. The cultural opening and the local patriotism of the local intellectuals helped to preserve the traditions and the folk architecture. These factors also contributed to the fact that in 1965 the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party's Agitation and Propaganda Committee approved a plan for the implementation of the Open-Air Ethnographic Museum, thus giving the main political leadership the green light to start construction.
On February 1, 1967, as part of the Ethnographic Museum of Budapest, the Open-Air Ethnographic Museum was established under the name Village Museum Department. The purpose of the museum is to build a single residential, farm and industrial building complex representing the various folk architectural landscapes of Hungary, which can be visited as an open-air museum

MISSION STATEMENT OF THE HUNGARIAN OPEN AIR MUSEUM

The Hungarian Open Air Museum being a non-profit organisation is a permanent institute open to the public. It serves the needs of society and of its development with its main tasks to undertake research into the vernacular architecture and interior furnishings, collection of objects and spiritual relics of Hungarian language area; further, to safeguard this heritage, to publish the collected material as well as to guarantee access to it by a large public. Through its collection activities and research it contributes to the conservation of the cultural heritage of rural Hungary and to the social and cultural progress of the communities. By means of its exhibitions, publications and programs for leisure time, further through the presentation of objects, lifestyle and customs and through conveying theoretical knowledge and practical information to be applied in daily life, it helps a better understanding of vernacular traditions and contributes to the propagation of knowledge about Hungarian culture at domestic and international level.  

Ópusztaszer National Heritage Park