Cseri Miklós, Füzes Endre (szerk.): Ház és ember, A Szabadtéri Néprajzi Múzeum évkönyve 18. (Szentendre, Szabadtéri Néprajzi Múzeum, 2005)
VASS ERIKA-VALKONY KÁROLY: Napsugaras házak a Dél-Alföldön
THE PAST AND PRESENT OF HOUSES WITH SUNBEAM-DECORATION In our essay, we presented the origin of this motive and the permeation of the houses with sunray decoration, characteristic of Szeged and its surroundings. We touched upon the issue of the influence of the conscious planning after the flood of 1879 and the reasons for the decay in the 20 th century. After this, we mentioned the different initiations and suggestions made to save the gables with sunbeammotives. We detailed the connection between the sun-ray motive and the local identity. In Szeged and its vicinity, but mainly in the Lower-Town the spread of this motive can be traced nowadays. It shows the nostalgy, felt both because of a growing distance from the past and the search for roots. Its original religious content is less known, it was not a driving force in the revival of the new applications. The use of this decorative motive contributes to the fact, that the newcomers feel to be members of the community with the construction of their home. At the same time, this is the outer, symbolic sign of their identification. There are solutions which try to maintain the unchangingness and solutions which apply the original form in a new way. The sunbeam motive survives not only on dwelling houses. As it appears as touristic product both in guide books and on websites of Szeged and Kistelek, several buildings have become hotels or restaurants. In Szeged Lower-Town we can face a peculiar phenomenon, concerning the spread of houses with sunbeam motives, which is in contrast to the national tendencies. At other places, the newcomers import their taste and culture or apply the modern, fashionable forms on their buildings (Mediterranean, "hightech" buildings). With this, they change the image of a region. In contrast to this, in different parts of Szeged (Lower-Town, Móratown) the houses of those, who move into the district, try to resemble in their appearance to the characteristic architecture of the given area with their reconstructed or renovated gables, decorated with the sunbeam motive.
