According to legend, Opusztaszer is the place where Arpad and the chieftains of the Hungarian (Magyar) tribes gathered in 896 AD “to decide upon the laws and order of their new homeland” (Szabo). The 136-acre (55-hectare) Opusztaszer National Historical Memorial Park situated on the Pusztaszer Protected Landscape is a museum and exhibition area that commemorates this, the Hungarian Conquest and settlement of the Magyar tribes in the Carpathian Basin, and it allows visitors to explore the history of Hungary as well as the culture and life-style of people living on the Southern Great Plain of Hungary.


Rotunda: Feszty Panorama and fine arts and historical exhibitions

One of the main attractions of the Memorial Park is Arpad Feszty's cyclorama. The approximately 49 feet tall, 394 feet long (15-meter tall, 120-meter long) mural that embraces viewers in a circular room recalls the Hungarian settlement eleven hundred years ago. Approximately 2000 figures bring to life the battle and life-scenes depicted on the mural. In the main scenes visitors can see the group of the chieftains, the defeated people, the Princess with her escort, and the Shaman predicting the triumphant end of the battle.



Arpad Memorial

The Arpad Memorial was erected on the occasion of the 1896 millennial festivities, and ever since, it is a focal point of yearly celebrations held in memory of the nomadic Hungarians.


Open-Air Ethnographic Museum

The second largest open-air exhibition in Hungary, the Village Museum (Skanzen) preserves the folk architecture and cultural heritage of the late 19th- early 20th centuries. Through buildings, artifacts, and events organized on the site, visitors get a glimpse into the folk traditions of the Southern Great Plain, and become acquainted with life on isolated farmsteads (tanya), in villages, small towns, and market towns.


Archaeological Excavation Site

The Benedictine monastery of Szer and the adjacent church was one of the most significant buildings of Hungary in the Middle Ages. It was devastated during the Turkish expansion, and excavation of its ruins began only in 1970. Unearthing of the remains continue to this day, but in the mean time, visitors are invited to walk around the reconstructed walls, the living quarter and the towers at the south gate, and view the 1,100-pound (half-ton) bronze church bell cast in the mould found at the excavation site and restored at the Archaeological Institution of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 1993.


Park of the Nomads

The Nomad Park at the far edge of the Opusztaszer National Historical Memorial Park evokes the lifestyle of equestrian nomadic peoples, including that of the Magyar tribes who once roamed the Eurasian steppes. Visitors to the park can enter a yurt, the traditional summer dwelling place of the nomads, and see the winter dwellings such as the earthen huts and log cabins. Besides familiarizing themselves with the traditional plants grown by the nomads, visitors can also learn about crafts like weaving, leather processing, and pottery. Yurt camping is also available on previous arrangements, and regular equestrian shows evoke events from ancient times.


Open:

• April 1 to October 31: 9.00 AM – 6.00 PM
• November 1 to March 31: 9.00 AM – 4.00 PM
• Between June 25 - October 31 on Mondays, and in the winter term, the buildings of the Ethnographic Museum can be viewed from the outside only.

Address:

Opusztaszeri Nemzeti Torteneti Emlekpark Kht.
H-6767 Opusztaszer
Szoborkert 68

Phone: +36-62-275-133
Fax: +36-62-275-007

E-mail: info@opusztaszer.hu
Internet: www.opusztaszer.hu

Admission ticket:

• Adults: 2,000 HUF/person
• Children, senior citizens: 1,500 HUF/person

Parking ticket:

• Bus: 800 HUF/day
• Car: 400 HUF/day

More Information:

Tourinform-Opusztaszer
E-mail: opusztaszer@tourinform.hu
Phone: +36-62-275-257 Ext.: 121
Open: 9.00 AM – 6.00 PM


Links

Abbreviated online version of Laszlo Szabo G’s The Ethnographical Exhibition of the National Historical Memorial Park of Opusztaszer on the web pages of the European Folklore Institute

Interesting article about the Opusztaszer National Historical Memorial Park on the home page of the “Contagious Middle Ages in Post-Communist East-Central Europe” exhibition

Duna TV's documentary about Opusztaszer – video, Hungarian

Opusztaszer Memorial Park images courtesy of Kiskunsag National Park