Cseri Miklós, Füzes Endre (szerk.): Ház és ember, A Szabadtéri Néprajzi Múzeum évkönyve 16. (Szentendre, Szabadtéri Néprajzi Múzeum, 2003)
LUKÁCS LÁSZLÓ: Falazatok a Káli-medencében
WALLINGS IN THE KÁLI-BASIN The stone architecture in the Bakony, BalatonHighland is unique in the Carpathian-Basin, since no other region is known with such a multitude of stone buildings. Wattle-walls and mud-walls play only a negligible role beside the vernacular stone architecture in our examined area, in the Káli-Basin (Veszprém county). Stone is here the dominant building material in the 19—20 th century. Archives reveal that manors were built of stone in the Káli-Basin much earlier than the 19 th century. Walls, gables, cellars under the houses, as well as arched ceilings of free chimneys, rooms, pantries and stables were made of stone. The census in 1910 counted only 2 mud-houses in the 8 villages of the Káli-Basin. The statistics called the other houses as stone or brick houses, which means for our region 100% stone walls. The question is asked rightfully, why other regions, as rich in stone as the Bakony, Balaton-Highland never used stone architecture, unlike to Italy, France and even the Balkans. The reason is that stone buildings required a royal permit even in the 17"' century and even for the houses of the nobility. The nobles living in Transdanubia took the effort to obtain the necessary permit because they considered wooden houses as only suitable for servants. Three conditions promoted the erection of stone buildings: the expressed need of the builders together with their financial background, which was available among the Hungarian gentry villages of the Bakony, Balaton-Highland and of the Káli-Basin, but also in the German settlers in the 19 lh century, due to the blooming viniculture. Further, the availability of appropriate stone in the neighbourhood, which, as a consequence, was cheap enough. The third condition was the presence of masons living nearby. These conditions were fulfilled in our area, but in other regions, although rich in stone, one of the prerequisites was probably missing. Stone architecture is present in the Vértes and Pilis hills, however much less important. A small zone of stone architecture is identified in the Mecsek, Villány and Mórágy hills. The Hungarian Open Air Museum in Szentendre opened in 2000 its regional unit of the Bakony, BalatonHighland. The dwelling houses of Kádárta, Mindszentkálla, Szentgál, Nyirád, the fire station of Köveskál with the community well and wash-house, the unplastered stone fences represent the different varieties of stone architecture, which became dominant, and in certain places exclusive from the mid I8 lh century in these two regions.
