Cseri Miklós, Füzes Endre (szerk.): Ház és ember, A Szabadtéri Néprajzi Múzeum évkönyve 7. (Szentendre, Szabadtéri Néprajzi Múzeum, 1991)

VARGA GYULA: Magtárak a bihari síkság népi építészetében

GRANARIES IN THE VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE OF THE BIHAR PLAIN During the 18th century the mediaeval order of settlements in the Bihar Plain, i. e. the flat part of historical Bihar county, and within this the structure of peasant homesteads, underwent a transformation, partly in the course of its natural development and partly on account of interference by the state. One of the phenomena of this transformation was the appearance of granaries built of burnt bricks, covered by tiled roof and fitted out with grooved post and board deal drawers, that could be taken to pieces, to hold the corn. The oldest of such granaries still standing is the one in Kismarja which was erected in 1770 (111. 16). In the earlier half of the 19th century several manorial granaries were constructed. Probably it was these on which the well-to-do peasants modelled their solid granaries of character, which still exist and which gradually sqeezed out, mainly from the latter half of the 19th century, earlier storage structures, first of all pits and the stack-shaped grain stores set up aboveground. From this time on the importance of the huge grain chests brought from the Bihar mountains and called hombár in this region, also decreased. However not every farmer erected a new granary during the 19th century; many of them turned old constructions into granaries. From certain respects the store chamber, that was under the same roof with the farmhouse, can be considered a predecessor of the granary, especially as regards its furniture. The forerunners of the detached granary building were however the soldiers' houses, erected in the 18th century and the onetime baking houses. The former were built at the orders of the authorities to house the imperial troops that where stationed in the region whereas the latter's original purpose was the protection of the oven. Both were stable buildings of two rooms. When, by the middle of the 19th century, they lost their original function, they could be used, after some reconstruction, for the purpose of storing grain. Newly erected granaries were situated either opposite the dwelling house or at the street front, or a bit back from the street line (Fig. 2.a, b, and c). Often there was a cellar underneath them. The majority of granaries on the peasant homesteads had groundfloor only, but on rare occasions a two-storied one, too. can be come across. Summer kitchens became fashionable in the 20th century in the Bihar plain. Many people build new ones, but often old structures are rebuilt and turned into summer kitchens. Many baking houses and even granaries are converted into summer kitchens, especially when they consist of two rooms. The importance of granaries has decreased after 1950, so today we often see a mixing of the various types of buildings. Regrettably the most beautiful granaries are in a state of rapidly progressing decay.