Colourful Folk Art in Hungary

Most folk traditions are connected to religious feasts such as Easter, Pentecost and Christmas, but the end of the winter, the arrival of the spring, the summer harvests and the autumn vintage were also seen as occassions to celebrate.

In some villages those traditions are still kept alive, and people put on their best folk costumes to mark the occassion. The patterns and colours, however, vary greatly from region to region.

Perhaps the most famous patterns are from the town of Kalocsa . These decorations are not only worn on clothes or used in embrioderies but local women also paint them on the walls of their rooms.

"Matyó" folk art is very colourful, and its best examples are to be seen in the Museum of Mezőkövesd.

The most beautiful pieces of folk architecture are exhibited in open-air museums and skansens at several locations around Hungary.