Mihály Babits Museum

The Mihály Babits Memorial House is a historic Babits villa located on the Előhegy in Esztergom, which can be visited as a memorial site. On the wall of the house the signature of Mihály Babits (1883–1941), one of the outstanding creators of 20th‑century Hungarian literature, and of his contemporary friends, writers, poets and artists can also be found. This place is also called the Autograph Wall, which has been open to the public since 1 January 2013 as an institution of the Hungarian National Museum.

History

Babits earned a larger sum on the stock exchange for a prize he received for one of his Dante translations. His friends in Esztergom suggested that he buy a house in their area with the money. The 272‑square‑metre property, including the ground‑floor press house built in 1920, was purchased by Babits and his wife on 27 March 1924 from István Toldezsán, and then they continuously added extensions. Thus the interior level shifts of the building were created. About 60 works of Babits were created in the Előhegy villa, several issues of Nyugat were also edited there together with Oszkár Gellért. They spent their summers there until the poet’s death. Sophie Török last visited it in June 1943 with Ferenc Einczinger. After the Second World War the house became the home of “eternal girls”. Later a teacher rented it, then a police sergeant lived there, and finally it was given as a needy‑housing unit to a farmer who kept goats and poultry in the living rooms.

The half‑stone, half‑brick house became uninhabited, while in 1960 the National Heritage Protection Authority declared it protected. The building was restored and has since been open to visitors as a memorial site, with a memorial exhibition placed there of preserved objects from the poet’s former home, as well as manuscripts of works written there. For a time it operated as part of the Balassa Bálint Museum and, on the occasion of Babits Year, from July to autumn 2008 the autograph wall was restored, then the building was renovated. Contemporary applied‑arts artists restored the house’s period exterior‑interior decorative painting, its inscriptions, and valuable pictures. The handover took place before a professional audience on the 125th anniversary of the poet’s birth. In the Memorial House a studio was also created, where contemporary artists and museologists can be hosted by the city.

On 1 January 2013 the memorial house merged together with the Balassa Museum into the Hungarian National Museum, thus becoming an institution classified as a public‑interest museum exhibition venue.

Description

In the interior exhibition set up in the house one can see a contemporary typewriter, photographs of Babits and his family. The rooms are decorated with frescoes by Ferenc Einczinger, an Esztergom painter and friend of Babits.

On the southern side stands the glass veranda, the birthplace of many Esztergom Babits verses. Here, among many others, he wrote Dal az esztergomi bazilikáról, a Szent király városa, a Halovány téli rajz, az Elgurult napok, a Verses napló, az Ildikó, a Holt próféta a hegyen, a Bucsu a nyári laktól, and also the Book of Jonah.

Names on the autograph wall

Babits had seen an autograph wall at an acquaintance’s place and considered it a good idea. Friends and guests who arrived could then write their signature on the house wall with charcoal. In addition to the greats of the era, some names were later erased. The signatures intended for preservation were reinforced with fresco paint by Sophie Török and thus could remain.

Signatures found on the wall (the list is not complete): Artinger Lilien, Ascher Oszkár, Bányai Kornél, Basch Edith, Bayer Ágost, Benedek Marcell, Csinszka, Cs. Szabó László, Denis de Rougemont, Einczinger Ferenc, Einczinger Juliska, Elek Artúr, Féja Géza, Fenyő Miksa, Fenyő Miksáné, Fenyő Panni, François Gachot, Füst Milán, Gellért Lajos, Gellért Oszkár, Gyergyai Albert, Halász Gábor, Hoffmann Edith, Hoffmann Mária, Illés Endre, Illyés Gyula, Joó Tibor, Juhász Géza, Karinthy Frigyes, Kárpáti Aurél, Kárpáti Aurélné, Kassák Lajos, Keresztury Dezső, Komjáthy Aladár, Komlós Aladár, Kósa György, Kosztolányi Dezső, Móricz Zsigmond, Nagy Zoltán, Németh László, Nyergesi János, Ortutay Gyula, Pintér Ferenc, Radnóti Miklós, Rédey Tivadar, Révész Béla, Ritoók Emma, Rosta József, Rosta Józsefné, Rubinyi Mózes, Sárközi György, Scheiber Hugó, Schöpflin Aladár, Schöpflin Aladárné, Sík Sándor, Sikabonyi Antal, Szabó Lőrinc, Szabó Lőrincné, „Szekfű Gyuláék”, Szentimrei Jenő, Szerb Antal, Szilasi Lili, Szilasi Vilmos, Sztrokai Kálmán, Tamási Áron, Tolnai Gábor, Tóth Aladár, Tóth Árpád, Walkó Lorándné, Weöres Sándor