Kispesti Helytörténeti Gyűjtemény

Kispesti Helytörténeti Gyűjtemény (1191 Budapest, Csokonai u. 9. sz., founded: 1958)

The museum is a local history collection.

History

In 1935 a mayoral decree was issued ordering that the written and material memories of Kispest's history be collected and preserved for posterity. In 1938 the creation of the museum appeared in Kispest city's work plan, and from 1940 also in its budget. According to the city's cultural concept, the museum was to be built on Kossuth Square together with a theater hall and a concert hall. The memories of the settlement's history were inventoried; according to the surviving inventory book from 1943, 720 items were registered.

From 1950, although numerous official plans were made to provide suitable conditions for the local history collection, this issue remained for a long time the concern of local educators and local patriots. Teacher Márta Benyó kept the local history research alive with enthusiastic, tireless, diligent work. The collection's material grew through donations, which were from time to time presented to the district's residents.

The collection contains the most important source works on the history of Kispest, contemporary newspapers, small printed leaflets, postcards, photographs, maps, fine art and applied art works. The collection is not lacking in items that aid lifestyle research. Its material content can be considered significant.

The Kispesti Helytörténeti Gyűjtemény considers it important, in line with the trend of Western European small museums, to complement its thematic collection with a larger‑scale profile. The focus of the collecting work is the discovery and preservation of the material of industrial plants that once defined the district’s life and have since ceased to exist. The former Porcelain‑Stoneware and Furnace Factory, i.e. the Granit, holds a decisive significance in the history of Hungarian ceramic and porcelain production. The aim of the Kispesti Helytörténeti Gyűjtemény is, besides the more widely known household and utilitarian objects, to locate figurative and decorative works from the early period of the factory’s products, to research them and draw attention to the little‑known yet characteristic high‑art creations.

In addition to its permanent exhibition, the Kispesti Helytörténeti Gyűjtemény supports attachment to the place of residence by organizing temporary exhibitions, publishing local‑history publications, and supporting competitions. Within the framework of its professional work, the collection provides assistance to local‑history researchers, college students, university students in preparing their theses. It has extensive contacts with other district local‑history collections and galleries.

Faithful to the traditions of the Kispesti Helytörténeti Gyűjtemény, it cares for, preserves and nurtures the legacy and memory of the outstanding visual artists who once lived in the district. With its visual‑arts exhibitions it supports the creative visual artists living here.

Since 2004, alongside its historical exhibitions, the Kispesti Helytörténeti Gyűjtemény also organizes and hosts exhibitions in the Nagy Balogh János Exhibition Hall. Our goal is to acquaint and present the visual‑arts aspect of local history (20th‑century and contemporary art).

The settlement of Kispest was established in 1873 on the former Grassalkovich estate and received town status in 1922; from 1950 it is the 19th district of Budapest.

Museum exhibition venue

Nagy Balogh János Exhibition Hall (Budapest, XIX. Ady Endre út 57., Templom tér corner)