Museums, collections, archives, databases, universities

Hungary's main museums all have rich medieval holdings, and there are a number of specialized collections as well. Most of these are public institutions, which means that you can generally do research in their archives and even see items not exhibited after some advance correspondence. Major libraries, archives and photo collections are similarly accessible, but permission is often needed to see special items, or if you want to use smaller collections. To do research on the art of medieval Hungary, you also have to use the museums and collections in the neighboring countries. Slovakia and Transylvania in Romania, as parts of the former Hungarian kingdom, are particularly rich in medieval monuments.

Information on this page is arranged in the following categories:

 

Libraries and Archives

As with anything else, if you are trying to do research on a medieval Hungarian topic, it is possible that your local library will not have all the materials you need. I list a few online catalogues here to libraries with excellent collections in this field.

In the United States, the Library of Congress and major University libraries have good collections on medieval Hungary. Refer to the list of library catalogues compiled by Yale University Library.

A number of University libraries maintain a common online catalogue, Közelkat.

1146 Budapest, Dózsa György út 41. (Hõsök tere)

Hungary's premier art museum has rich medieval holdings, but no artworks from Hungary.

Most important medieval exhibitions: Gothic sculpture, Old Master Paintings (Italian trecento, German, Netherlandish, and Spanish medieval painting)

Hungarian National Gallery - Magyar Nemzeti Galéria

1014 Budapest, Dísz tér 17. (Buda castle, buildings B, C, D)

Includes: Medieval and Renaissance Lapidary, Gothic statues and panel paintings, Late Gothic altarpieces

Hungarian National Museum - Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum

1088 Budapest, Múzeum körút 14-16.

Founded in 1802 as a National Museum.

See an overview of the Medieval exhibition.

The Hungarian National Museum's exhibition at Visegrád

Budapest Historical Museum - Budapesti Történeti Múzeum

1014 Budapest, Szent György tér 2. (Buda castle, building E)

The history of Budapest, includes the remains of the medieval royal castle of Buda.
Most important medieval exhibitions: Gothic statues from the castle of Buda, Budapest in the Middle Ages

Museum of Applied Arts - Magyar Iparmûvészeti Múzeum

1091 Budapest, Üllöi út 33-37.

Medieval furniture, goldsmith works, textiles, etc.

Esztergom - Christian Museum - Keresztény Múzeum

2500 Esztergom, Mindszenthy hercegprímás tere 2.

Based on the private collection of archbishop János Simor, and first opened in 1875, the Christian Museum is one of the most important museums in Hungary housing medieval art. Apart from an excellent Italian trecento collection and other medieval paintings, the museum also houses a rich collection of Hungarian medieval painting and sculpture, including the works of Tamás of Kolozsvár and Master M.S.

Esztergom - Cathedral Treasury - Fõszékesegyházi Kincstár

2500 Esztergom, Szent István tér 1. (inside the Cathedral)

Large treasury, with very important medieval objects (such as a Byzantine staurotheca, the Calvary of King Matthias, the Coronation Cross, etc.)

Esztergom - Balassa Bálint Museum and Castle Museum

2500 Eszterom, Mindszenthy hercegprímás tere 5.

Archaeological finds and other objects are exhibited in a downtown building, whereas the remains of the medieval castle and cathedral of Esztergom can be seen up on the Castle Hill.

Visegrád - King Matthias Museum - Mátyás Király Múzeum

2025 Visegrád, Fõ utca 29.

Medieval and Renaissance architecture and sculpture from the royal castle and palace of Visegrád. The exhibitions are inside the Lower castle (Salamon tower) and the Royal Palace. Also open to visitors is the Upper castle.

 

Pécs - Janus Pannonius Museum

7621 Pécs, Káptalan utca 5.

The museum is in charge of the following exhibition spaces, where medieval art can be found: Early Christian Mausoleum, Roman burial chapel, Archaeological Museum, Renaissance Lapidary.

Pécs - Cathedral Museum - Dómmúzeum

This museum houses the remains of the exceptionally rich sculptural decoration of the medieval cathedral of Pécs.
 
 

Veszprém - Queen Gisella Museum - Gizella Királyné Múzeum

8200 Veszprém, Vár utca 35.

The main building houses a rich collection of ecclesiastical art. The museum is in charge of the medieval Gisella chapel, and the ruins of the Saint George chapel on the north side of the cathedral.

Veszprém - Dezsõ Laczkó Museum - Laczkó Dezsõ Múzeum

8200 Veszprém, Erzsébet sétány 1.

Archaeological exhibition inside the main building of the museum.

Pannonhalma - Collection of the Benedictine Archabbey - Pannonhalmi Fõapátság Gyûjteménye

The thousand year old Benedictine abbey can be visited today. The collections include an exceptionally rich library and a large collection of ecclesiastical art.

Eger - István Dobó Castle Museum - Dobó István Vármúzeum

Archaeological collection in the medieval castle of Eger, with the ruins of the medieval cathedral.

Szeged - Móra Ferenc Museum

6720 Szeged, Roosevelt tér 1-3.

Rich collection of objects from the migration period.

Jászberény - Jász Museum

5100 Jászberény, Táncsics M. utca 5.

The most important medieval object here is the so-called 'Horn of Lehel', a 10th century Byzantine ivory horn.

Tata - Kuny Domokos Museum

2890 Tata, Öregvár

Archaeological collection inside the medieval castle of Tata, including stone carvings from the abbey of Vérteszentkereszt.

Köszeg - Miklós Jurisics Museum and Castle Museum

Exhibition inside the castle of Kõszeg
 
 

A number of other collections are of special value. There are important treasuries at the following places: Kalocsa, Roman Catholic Archiepiscopal Treasury, Gyõr - Roman Catholic Treasury and Library, Sopron - Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Art Collection.

Among many others, the following castles and abbey can be visited without prior notice. Most contain a museum as well.

Castles: Diósgyõr, Gyula, Kisnána, Nagyvázsony, Sárospatak, Siklós, Simontornya, Sümeg, etc.

Abbeys and churches: Kaposszentjakab, Ópusztaszer, Pécsvárad, Somogyvár, Székesfehérvár basilica, Tihany

In addition, Hungary's countless medieval churches and are all open to visitors.

It also needs to be remembered that most of the medieval art of Hungary is in areas which are now outside the borders of Hungary. Thus the collections in Pozsony (Bratislava, Slovakia - Slovakian Natioanl Gallery), Kassa (Kosice, Slovakia), Kolozsvár (Cluj, Romania), Nagyszeben (Sibiu, Romania), etc. need also be visited by those interested in the medieval art of Hungary. In these areas countless churches, abbey and castles await the visitor, the listing of which is beyond the scope of this website.

History and historical maps of Hungary

Map of Hungary at the Fine Arts in Hungary site.

Due to the change of the borders of Hungary after 1920, the names of many places which played an important role in the history of Hungarian art have changed. A concordance of place names is also provided by Fine Arts in Hungary.

A map showing the marriage connections of 11-13th c. Hungarian kings

Transylvania in the 13th century

History:

Brief History of Hungary

Hungarian Cultural Collection

Hungarian Images and Historical Notes

A SHORT HISTORY OF AUSTRIA-HUNGARY

 

Art historical organizations

CD-ROM Image collections

The following is a selection of recently published CD-ROMs that can be acquired from various museums and institutions.

-Encyclopeadia Humana Hungarica series - published by the Enciklopédia Humana Egyesület, Budapest (H-1438 Budapest, Pf. 435 Hungary - enciklopediahumana@extreme.hu)

A series of CD-ROMs with Hungarian, German and English text, images and music - includes history, literature, music, art, etc. 1. Emese Saga. Hungarian Prehistory from the Beginnings to King St. Stephen (+1038) 2. The Vazul-line. Kings of the Árpád Dynasty after St. Stephen (1038-1301) 3. Knight Kings. The Anjou and Sigismund Age in Hungary (1301-1437) 4. Pannonian Renaissance. The Hunyadis and the Jagello Age (1437-1526)
 
 

-Magyar Kódex. Budapest: Kossuth Kiadó, 1999.

Each volume in this new series comes with a CD-ROM containing all the images of the book.

Currently available: Vol. 1. Az Árpádok világa. Magyarország mûvelõdéstörténete a kezdetektõl 1301-ig (Hungarian Cultural History from the Beginnings to 1301)

Vol. 2. Lovagkor és reneszánsz (Hungarian Cultural History in the 14th-15th centuries)
 

-Bibliotheca Hungarica. A magyar könyvtárak egy ezredév tükrében. Hungarian libraries in the mirror of a millennium. Budapest: Neumann, 1999. (In English and Hungarian.)

-Budapest Museums. Budapest: Neumann, 1999. (Multimedia guided tours of the most important museums of Budapest. In 5 languages.)

-Mestermüvek a Szépmüvészeti Múzeumban - Masterpieces in the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts -The first multimedia CD-ROM on the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts. There are no Hungarian artworks in that museum, but there are numerous medieval paintings and statues nevertheless.

-The Hungarian Crown and Regalia - Hungarian National Museum, 1996. In Hungarian and English

-The Illuminated Chronicle (Képes Krónika) was published on a CD-ROM with the full text, images and commentary in 1996 by Cyberstone Entertainment Kiadó, Budapest

-The Hungarian Angevine Legendary was digitized at the Medieval Studies Department of the Central European University. The CD-ROM contains all the images of the manuscript with extensive commentary and full iconographical index.

-Magyarországi Várak V 1.0 - A CD-ROM about the castles of Hungary.

-A Honfoglaló Magyarság - The Conquest of Hungary.

-Kirchenburgen der Sachsen in Siebenbürgen - Monasteries in Romania (2 CDs) - D.O.R. Kunsthandel GmbH, Olsberg - Noi S.R.L., Bucuresti, 1996. No text.
 

Other sites worth visiting

Medieval Art in Other Central European Countries:

Visit medieval towns and museums on the web

Czech Republic

Prague castle

National Gallery in Prague

Plzen (Pilsen) Home Page

Master Theodoric
 
 

Poland

National Museum in Warsaw - Medieval Art

 
 

Slovenia

National Museum of Slovenia-Narodni Muzej

Ptuj

 

Austria

Institut für Realienkunde des Mittelalters und der Frühen Neuzeit - Also available is their Digital Image Database of medieval daily life and material culture, REAL, searchable in numerous ways

Those interested in medieval manuscripts, visit the Kommission für Schrift- und Buchwesen des Mittelalters der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften

For general information, and links, go to the Austrian Tourist Office