The Hungarian Heritage House
Hungarian Heritage House, as a cultural institution of national significance is responsible for the comprehensive preservation, development, and coordinated organization of Hungarian folk traditions covering the entire Carpathian Basin.. It is a complex cultural strategic organization whose mission is to raise broad social awareness and accessibility of traditional cultural values, ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to continually interpret the world around us through these values.
Hungarian Heritage House is a multifaceted institution performing public cultural and collection-related duties, while also engaging in outstanding artistic and scientific activities. It is the only state-supported institution of living folk art with a network throughout the Carpathian Basin, and it is unique in Europe in both its complexity and scope of activities. This diversity ensures that folk traditions are not only preserved but also dynamically evolve and adapt to today’s social and cultural environment.
It is a priority institution for cultural strategy maintained by the Ministry of Culture and Innovation.
Its professional activities can be divided into the following main areas:
Artistic Activity
• Through the creative work of the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble, it stages dance performances and concerts using the tools of modern theatre.
• The Museum of Hungarian Applied Folk Art, through its collection and exhibitions, presents the values of folk applied arts with the latest curatorial approaches. It creates creative spaces and inspires artistic creation.
Scientific Activity
• Through the establishment and operation of collections and databases, as well as conducting research, conferences, publications, professional books, methodological materials, and forums, it actively takes part in and shapes the academic discourse of folk traditions.
Educational Activity
• Knowledge transfer in the fields of traditional culture and folklorism is realized through multi-level professional training, further education, consultations, and public education efforts.
Quality Assurance Activity
• It carries out official duties prescribed by law through the judging of folk and folk applied art works and is responsible for awarding professional titles (trademarks) and honours.
Coordination Activity
• It operates a nationwide and Carpathian-Basin-wide network to support and connect communities engaged in folk traditions.
• It is a member of regional, national, and international professional coordination bodies.
Providing Complex Community Experiences
• Organizes dance houses, festivals, and programs for all age groups.
• Contributes to the preservation and renewal of folk poetry and the art of the spoken word (including dialectal variants).
• Encourages the operation of creative, active communities and the establishment of open cultural spaces for free self-education.
At its headquarters, in Corvin Square, it organizes dance performances, concerts, children’s programs, trainings, masterclasses, conferences, public lectures, and exhibitions. The institution certifies handcrafted products, publishes books and educational materials, and provides professional consulting in all areas of folk heritage. It supports and initiates comprehensive folk art programs such as the “Fölszállott a páva” television talent show, Dance House Day, Verbunk Day, the large-scale New Year's Gala, the Transylvanian Dance House Meeting, and the Festival of Transylvanian Crafts, along with many large-scale folk courtyards at festivals across the Carpathian Basin—from Gombaszög to Méra, Kapolcs to Nagyharsány.
Hungarian Heritage House comprises the world-renowned Hungarian State Folk Ensemble, which gives 140–180 performances annually, not only in Budapest but also with great success in rural and diaspora Hungarian communities around the world; the Museum of Hungarian Folk Applied Arts, operating with a renewed concept and housing nearly 11,000 items; the György Martin Reference Library; and the Folklore Archive, whose rich audiovisual collection includes over 6,400 hours of folk music and dance recordings now available in a public database.
At its Budapest headquarters, the institution welcomes around 100,000 visitors annually, while its own programs and extended network across the Carpathian Basin reach an additional 150,000–180,000 people directly through 2,000–2,500 events.
How to get to the Hungarian Heritage House by public transportation?
- Take subway (Metro) No. 2 (the red line) to "Batthyány tér", and walk two blocks southwards on Fő utca
- Take bus No. 86 and get off at "Szilágyi Dezső tér"
- Take tram No. 19 or 41 and get off at "Halász utca"
Directorate
General Director: Miklós BOTH
Financial Director: Erzsébet Ibolya NAGY
Honorary Director: István PÁVAI
Deputy Director | Artistic Director of the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble: Gábor MIHÁLYI
Head of Cabinet: Angéla HONT
Artistic Director of the HSFE: István PÁL Szalonna
Head of Folklore Documentation Center: Péter ÁRENDÁS
Head of Applied Folk Arts Department: Ildikó SÁNDOR
