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

1. BLACKSMITH'S WORKSHOP The blacksmith's workshop from Hottó, the only building in the exhibition which was built of mud with a beating technique, is right beside the entrance, at the very edge of the museum village. This is where this extremely flammable activity was usually placed in the villages. The workshop has only one room. In front of it there is a half-shelter supported with strong oak beams where the blacksmith kept the things that needed to be repaired and here he also shod the horses. According to some reports those whose livelihood involved independent business were mostly cobblers, boot-makers and blacksmiths. The work of a blacksmith was often needed in farming for there were always some blunt or broken tools or wheels that needed repairing urgently. A man possessing only a small piece of land and having many children would willingly send one of his sons to be a blacksmith or a cooper. Thus the son with a profession did not have to live and rely on the land. People gladly visited the blacksmith because he was always very well informed, since everybody who went there brought some news from different parts of the world. People got news about the neighbouring villages from the blacksmith while waiting for their horse to be shod or tools to be repaired. Many blacksmiths were good at curing too, so anybody with a tooth or bone problem could turn to them. This workshop and all the tools here belonged to Antal Soós, a blacksmith from Hottó, before they were brought here to the museum. The 75 year-old master worked in his workshop, which was used by his family for 100 years, until he sold it to this exhibition.