The Ethnographic Museum

When we were in Budapest last, the Ethnographic Museum was closed. It was in the process of packing up everything and preparing to move it to the modern new digs across town in the park near Heros Square. It is not finally open. There is a large building filled with meeting spaces and presumably rooms filled with items and places to restore them. while what we saw was pretty amazing, it seemed like a small display considering the size of the building.

Above is a traditional Hungarian coat made of thick, fulled material and wonderfully decorated. This coat was displayed at the 1873 Vienna World's Fair. It was commonly worn over the shoulders with the sleeves empty.

This coat is much more interesting. It is made of fish skin. It comes from regions like Siberia, Canada, Alaska, Iceland, and Hokkaido where winters are very harsh.

One of my favorite items on display was the matchstick viola. As you can see, this is made from wooden matches...about 300 boxes of them. there was even a video playing so you could hear the instrument being played.

One of the most fascinating items were these scenes constructed in a bottle. The Selmecbanya miners, among others in northern Hungary made these. This idea originated with an injured miner with time on his hands. He would get a bottle that was used for bringing the hydrochloric acid to the mine (used to refine the ores), cleaning it out and building a small model showing everyday life inside. Lots of patience and glue needed to make one of these.