Kovács Zsuzsa: Göcsej Village Museum. Exhibition Guide (Zalaegerszeg, 2008)

GÖCSEJ VILLAGE MUSEUM did the cooking, had their meals and slept as well. A big family would have used up all the room, so apart from the bed, some of them would have slept on the benches, on the berm or on top of the oven. The interior of the room is presented as archaic according to the time; this is also illustrated by the joiner's chest opposite the door. Chest The 'szökröny', as it is called here, is the antecedent of the painted, decorated tulip chest made by carpenters. This piece of furniture was made of hardwood boards, its decorations were carved and scratched geometrical patterns as we can see on this exhibited item. The writing on it says it was made in 1808. Its last owner's greatgreat-grandmother was given this chest when she got married. According to the family's story, this girl was given a calf as well as the chest, as a dowry. These chests, just like the tulip chests, were used as containers in the pantries after serving their time in their original function. Cradle The long cradle is standing by the side of the bed; it is a split, hollowed out tree trunk with a wooden base. As we were informed, this family had twins, so the father made this long rocking cradle big enough for both of the children. We can see holes on the side of the trunk which means this had been used for something else earlier, so when the twins were born it was transformed into a cradle. Two pantries belong to the house, a bigger and a smaller one, which was turned into a dwelling-pantry. Pantries were essential parts of a house for they were used not only as storerooms but also as dwelling places. In the families living in villages 100 years ago, many generations lived together, the young couples stayed in their parent's house mostly because they had