King St. Stephen Museum

The King Saint Stephen Museum is a county‑wide museum in Székesfehérvár, whose collection of artworks numbers in the millions, making it the second largest museum in Hungary.

History

Its central, administrative building was originally erected by the Jesuits in the 1740s, then served as the house of the Pauline order, later the Cistercian order. It was established as the legal successor of the Fejér County and Székesfehérvár City Historical and Archaeological Society founded in 1873. Since 1963 it has operated as the Fejér County Museums Directorate, and since 2013 as a county‑wide city museum. At that time the units in Székesfehérvár were taken over by the City with County Rights, and since then – having regained its original name – it functions as a county‑wide city museum.

About the museum

The King Saint Stephen Museum’s city exhibition venues are housed in the most beautiful historic buildings. The museum collects, organizes, researches and presents the material from four scientific fields to interested visitors. Its mission is the collection, processing, research, conservation, preservation and presentation of the tangible and intangible heritage of archaeology, ethnography, fine and applied arts, and local history. The museum’s goal is to present the memories of the past, the knowledge derived from them, and the continuously revived art in the present in such a way that it offers visitors an exciting, understandable, enjoyable “time travel” and contributes to a more nuanced understanding of our present.

Exhibition venues

King Saint Stephen Museum – Monastery (8000 Székesfehérvár, Fő u. 6.)

Budenz House – Ybl Collection (8000 Székesfehérvár, Arany János u. 12.) https://szikm.hu/kiallitohelyek/budenz-haz

István Csók Art Gallery (8000 Székesfehérvár, Bartók Béla tér 1.)

Black Eagle Patika Museum (8000 Székesfehérvár, Fő u. 5.)

Gorsium Archaeological Park and Open‑Air Museum (8121 Tác), https://www.gorsium.org/

Seventh Game Museum (8000 Székesfehérvár, Oskola u. 2–4.)

Coronation Basilica National Memorial Visitor Center (8000 Székesfehérvár, Fő u. 5.)

National Flag Square Exhibition Site (8000 Székesfehérvár, Országzászló tér 3.)

National Memorial – Medieval Ruin Site (8000 Székesfehérvár, Koronázó tér 1.)

Palotaváros Exhibition Site – "Palotaváros Open-air Museum" (8000 Székesfehérvár, Rác utca 11.) Palotaváros memorabilia – History and folklore of Székesfehérvár-Palotaváros

Pelikan Gallery (8000 Székesfehérvár, Kossuth Lajos u. 15.)

New Hungarian Picture Gallery (8000 Székesfehérvár, Megyeház u. 17.)

City Picture Gallery – Deák Collection (8000 Székesfehérvár, Oskola u. 10.)

The first steps on the road to the museum

After the Compromise, Székesfehérvár, in a period of romantic enthusiasm for the historical past, did not find it difficult to find supporters and patrons for the care of local history. Not only the graves of St. Stephen, King Louis the Great, and King Matthias, and national events associated with the city played a role, but also the excavations of Imre Henszlmann, which uncovered the remains of the royal basilica, one of the most important monuments of our history.

After brief, enthusiastic preparations, the Fejér County and Székesfehérvár City Historical and Archaeological Society held its founding general meeting on October 27, 1873. At that time the society recorded 137 members, including county nobles, distinguished citizens, public figures, bishops, and a considerable number of clergy, among them Bishop Jácint Rónay, university professor Béla Czobor, and János Károly. The achievements, however, were limited to two short periods, 1873‑85 and 1892‑93, when an enthusiastic and helpful lord-lieutenant headed the county.

Marosi, the founder of the Museum

From the turn of the century the Association was left only with its collection. Museum work was revived in the county and the city when in the autumn of 1909 Arnold Marosi, a teacher of the Cistercian school from Pécs, who reorganized the city museum, was placed in Székesfehérvár. Marosi convinced everyone in almost a few weeks that Fejér County and Székesfehérvár could no longer exist without a museum, which opened a year later, on May 14, 1911, in rented rooms at 16 Iskola Street. Later, unprecedented financial conditions made intensive museum activity possible.

Between his death at the beginning of 1910 and 1939, Marosi carried out countless excavations, among which the massive Bronze Age earthwork at Pákozdi, the first Táci excavations, the late Roman cemetery at Csákvár, the large Csákberényi and the early settlement Avar period cemeteries stand out. He also initiated the new excavation of the Székesfehérvár basilica in the years 1936‑38. He also laid the foundations of the museum’s folklore, urban history, anthropology and natural science collections. He completed this work with scientific and popular articles, the regular publication of Székesfehérvári Szemle between 1931‑39, and lectures.

Fitz Jenő and the museum of the future

With Marosi’s death the flourishing period of the museum operating with the support of the Museum Association ended.

The war, the threefold change of the front in the museum building caused significant damage, but the collections remained intact. In 1949, after the “year of the turn”, the Board of Directors of the Hungarian National Museum transferred Fitz Jenő, who had been director in Fehérváros for a few years as the successor of Ferenc Fülep, to Székesfehérvár. During Fitz Jenő’s four‑decade directorship the present county museum organization was formed: scientific departments, library, exhibition spaces, workshops, and the King Stephen Museum became one of the defining sites of domestic museology and also became known internationally. Central funding made possible the creation of modern warehouses, the introduction of inventory, and covered the costs of the increasingly numerous artifact acquisitions. The number of researchers rose to three by 1956: two archaeologists and one folklorist working in the county.

Internationally ranked institution