Cseri Miklós, Füzes Endre (szerk.): Ház és ember, A Szabadtéri Néprajzi Múzeum évkönyve 20. (Szentendre, Szabadtéri Néprajzi Múzeum, 2007)

BALASSA M. IVÁN: Erdély a magyar szabadtéri muzeológiában

TRANSYLVANIA WITHIN THE HUNGARIAN OPEN-AIR MUSEOLOGY The Hungarian Open Air Museum in Szentendre advocated the principle of "locality" during the first forty years of its functioning. This means that it intended to present a certain geographical unit: Hungary. It is a speciality of Hungary's history that the peace treaty closing WW I let keep Hungary only a third of its historic territory. The other two thirds increased the territory of (then) newly founded neighbour states, however, a considerable amount of ethnic Hungarians live there. Most of them live in Transylvania, which Romania incorporated. Since the presentation of this significant population is rather inadequate with the implementation of the 'openair museum method' based on the principle of locality in the presently competent Romanian institutions (Muzeul Satului - Bucuretti, Muzeul etnografic al Transilvaniei Scctia ín aer liber - Cluj-Napoca stb.), the Museum in Szentendre decided to start with the planning of a building complex with the purpose of presenting Transylvania's Hungarian population. A plan made in 1910 was the first with the aim of presenting Transylvania's Hungarian population. The leading architect of the time, the excellent Hungarian architect of the secession, Ede Toroezkai Wigand raised the issue of a "Sekler folklore museum" in Marosvásárhely. Unfortunately, the extremely modem plan was not carried out. Earlier, in the "world exhibition period" of the open air museums, buildings from Transylvania were always present: so they represented a region of the Hungarian Kingdom at the World Exhibition in Vienna in 1873 and at the Millennium Exhibition organised for the celebration of the Hungarian state's 1000th anniversary in 1896. Hungarian museology attaches great importance to an exhibition in Budapest in 1885, where - so to say like a forerunner of the open air museums - 15 peasant interiors were furnished. It turned out that even a real peasant house was set up at the exhibition: it was made in Marosvásárhely in Seklerland and was transported to Budapest in a dismounted condition. There was another initiative at the beginning of the 20th century besides that of Toroezkai Wigand: an open air museum in Sepsiszentgyörgy should have been created with translocated buildings but the war broke out and the plans were not carried out. The foundation of the first open air museum in Transylvania, which was incorporated by Romania due to the peace treaties closing WWI, was planned in Kolozsvár. But its execution was drawn out till 1940 when Transylvania's northern part was joined again to Hungary, and only two dwelling houses and some farm buildings were erected. The idea of setting up an open air museum was raised also in Sepsiszentgyörgy. But due to the short time only one of the planned three fanns could be translocated and the museum was officially opened in 1937. Károly Kós, the excellent architect of the time engaged himself to carry out the planning of the building from Csíkmenaság. After WWII a complete Hungarian farm was set up in the mentioned open-air museum in Kolozsvár, with one of the oldest remained dwelling houses (1678 Kászonimpér), and a building complex represents the Hungarians in Transylvania in Bucharest too. In Nagyszeben, in the institution where folk technologies are exhibited, stands the house of a Hungarian potter. In areas with Hungarian population small local enterprises cared for translocating buildings into the gardens in or parks around museums (Székelykeresztúr, Csíkszereda), the most important among them is the open-air collection in Csernáton.