Open Air Museum of Sóstó

Sóstói Múzeumfalu

Sóstógyógyfüdő, a fashionable and po­pu­­lar spa and leisure center since the nineteenth cen­tury, is only five kilometers from the cen­ter of Nyíregyháza. Built in 1971, the Sóstó Vil­lage Museum, located near the spa in the north-western corner of the country is the on­ly open air ethnographic museum in Eas­tern Hungary. The decision to create this museum saved numerous local buildings which would certainly have disappeared had they remained on their oroginal sites. Proving the decision right, the museum has had 100,000 visitors flocking here every year, a great variety of arts and craft workshops, numerous folk art displays, and a growing number of private events held by companies, institutions, and private individuals. In 1997, it was named "Museum of the Year," a tribute to its status nor only in Hungary but abroad as well.

As the norther part of Tiszántúl region is a place where various cultural influences from different directions have always met, folk architecture here has blended numerous features, resulting in a characteristic style that cannot be found anywhere else in the country. Exploring an area of 2300 sq. mi. (6000 sq. km.), visitors can enjoy buildings and fireplaces designed in the distinctive styles of Transylvania, Upper Hungary, and the Great Plain. In the museum area itself, the farmyards and houses are grouped according to their region of origin. As the purpose was to display a real village, the communical buildings, like the houses, have been located in the most frequented spot, the center of the village.

 

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