Museum - Ferenc Zajti Region Historical Collection

Most museums' number 1 monument is the museum building itself, where exhibitions are held and collections are protected. The former dwelling house in the centre of the settlement was built by the Grünberger family in the 1860'ies. It is a mansion house bearing the characteristics of the local popular architecture. The walls are made of mude bricks, the roof was covered by wooden shingles.

Its owner owned about 60% of the land bordering Újfehértó.

After the dragging away of the Jews from Újfehértó, the building was shifted into the ownership of the government. During the decades the building was completely destroyed. The gigantic garden lost its beautiful flower beds and its extremely old trees.

In this state the building was offered to the institute by the government for the establishment of a museological collection. So, besides the setting up of the collection, the building had to be reconstructed as well (according to the original sketches and the museum's demands).

The original design of the house reflects the structure of the peasant houses with three divisions. Its rooms were heated from the porch. The former structuring of the porch shows how accurately the traditional building methods were carried out. In the wall in facing the entrance door there was found an arch that had been upholding the open chimney placed on the top. We reconstructured the arch and built a tile stove that had been made in Vienna in the 1870'ies.

Renovation works took one year and a half. The Újfehértói Town Museum opened its gates before the general public on 27th October 1995.

Most of the items of the present collection were coming to the collection via the inhabitants of the town or purchasing. The founding of our museum proves that a collection which well represents the history of a settlement can be arranged even at the end of the 20th century.

József Buczkó

Permanent exhibitions

Peasant enteriour (1920'ies)

The house furnished for the exhibition consists of a porch-kitchen and a room alongside the street. Its roofing was transferred here from an old peasant house judged to be pulled down. We bisected the inside of the house, so that visitors can see the roofing system that consists of mud, planks and the cross beams.

Zoltán Koncz exhibition

"I was born in Büdszentmihály in April 1915. My mother liked needleworks and pictures, and my father - who was a teacher - liked the trees, waters and mountains. I used to like sitting quietly in the old house of my great grandmother." -said Zoltán Koncz in his memoirs. His dual profession started off at the university of Debrecen, where he studied theology, geography, history and arts. He had been attracted to painting since his childhood, the basic courses of which he acquirred as a pastor

History of Újfehértó

The current settlement of Újfehértó was formed in the 16th-17th centuries from the inhabitants of the medieval Bolt, Micske and Szegegyháza. The fundaments of the Árpádian church were dug out by Lajos Kiss in 1923. Some part of a medieval silver coin collection can also be seen at the exhibition.

Animal husbandry and farming in Újfehértó

The permanent exhibition represents the courtyard of a former peasant household. The outhouse used to function as a stable for the animals throughout the winter. The people had used to build it both in the town and in their farms. However, in the 19th century they were exclusively built in the farms. Some part of it was used as a stable, and the rest of it was used for storing the instruments.

further exhibitions