Some thought it better to leave the country, while others stayed to face internment in the Siberia of Hungary (the Hortobágy) for some 3 years. They and their children were marginalized. In spite of harsh treatment because they were industrialists and "enamies of the people" members of the Zsolnay Family stood their own, trying to find work in tangential areas of the silicate industry. They treasured the few precious objects they were able to somehow save, hiding them with honest and loyal workmen.

The "Zsolnay Memorial Room" in Pest contains portraits, memorabilia, furniture, and Zsolnay ceramics, principally those produced by Family Members. It reflects customs and values which have died out in Hungary.

It was the wish of Tamás Mattyasovszky Zsolnay, mechanical engineer and Chief of Operations at the Zugló Zsolnay Factory in Distr. XIV, Pest, that our collection and home be publicly accessible to those interested in XIX c. Hungarian decorative arts, in ceramics, in painting, design and decoration, as well as the lifestyle of tzhe period.

His art-historian wife (Dr. Esther Vécsey) enthusiastically gives tours of the Collection in English, French, Italian, German, and Hungarian, about the life and times of the early Zsolnays and their vastly creative activities.

Please email Esther by clicking here or  call: 890-1189. Afternoons are best.

Visitors are invited to share a cup of tea (Zsolnay tea cups) and sweetsfrom Zsolnay plates to   complete the atmosphere.