In the interwar period, Zalaegerszeg, with its population of 14,000, would have deserved the title of “the town of civil servants”, had such an honour existed.
The small but highly influential leading social group consisted of officials heading the municipal and county administration.
Nobles versus Officials
A part of the civil servant class consisted of affluent families of noble origin who moved to the town at the end of the 19th century. In their social relations, they sought to separate themselves from the less distinguished bourgeoisie, believing that “oil does not mix with water”. Another part consisted of highly educated officials – often arriving from other regions – who had worked their way up through the administrative hierarchy. Among them was the town’s mayor, Mátyás Czobor.
Everyday Life of Civil Servants
Their homes had three to five rooms, and their family life was supported by domestic servants. Their social life was mainly centered around the Casino, but they also took part in the leadership of various city associations. They were deeply religious, tradition-oriented, and strongly conservative in taste. In elections, they mostly supported monarchist Christian parties.
Their wives were primarily engaged in social welfare, child protection, and the organization of cultural life. Many of them became members of the Social Mission Society and the Ladies’ Congregation.
After 1945, their fate became exile or emigration, while those who remained faced disenfranchisement, social decline, or deportation.
Hetés Folk Costume
In the 1920s and 1930s, the leaders of Zala County – following national examples – decided to collect and present the folk costume of the Göcsej region.
Renewed Zala Attire
In Göcsej, they did not find suitable examples for their purposes, so they adapted the late 19th-century – already richly coloured – Hetés (southern Zala) costume.
This women’s costume consisted of a blouse with puffed sleeves, a brightly coloured skirt gathered into small pleats, a cotton apron decorated with wool embroidery featuring rose and pumpkin-seed motifs, and a richly embroidered shoulder shawl and handkerchief in white, red, and blue threads. (object description: Katalin Béres)
Large Sideboard from Mátyás Czobor’s Dining Set
The largest piece of the dining set is the large sideboard, the so-called credenza. In its lower section, the family kept a decorative porcelain service for twelve people used on festive occasions, as well as silver or alpacca cutlery. In the upper glass-fronted cabinets, various cut crystal glasses were displayed. Its right-hand door was broken open in 1945 by Soviet soldiers searching for valuables, and it was never repaired by the Czobor family. (object description: Katalin Béres)
Interesting Object: Grill or Washing Machine?
Steam Washing Machine
Visitors often identify the object displayed in our household exhibition as a grill. In fact, it is a model of a John-type steam washing machine.
This German-made machine, which greatly facilitated the laborious work of laundry, became widespread in Hungary in the early 20th century. It was produced both as a stove-top version and as a freestanding model with its own heating chamber. In Zalaegerszeg, it was first distributed in 1904 by Győző D. Horváth, an iron and grocery merchant. Customers could even borrow it for trial washing. (object description: Katalin Béres)
Our Curator’s Favourite: The Statue of “Little Lacika” Czobor, c. 1935
As a grandmother, I see in this sculptural portrait an example of infinite grandparental love. It stands in an interior evoking the dining room of our town’s former mayor, Mátyás Czobor.
The subject of the bust is the mayor’s only grandson, eight-year-old Lacika, of whom numerous photographs were taken as a child. In 1935, for the 50th anniversary of Zalaegerszeg becoming a town with a regulated council and for the Göcsej Week held that year, his family had a traditional Hungarian costume made for the boy.
Dressed in this attire, he appeared next to his grandfather the mayor and was also photographed by the renowned photographer Árpád Serényi. Based on this photographic portrait, the bust was created by sculptor János Vörös, a notable artist of the period.
The bust was placed in the salon of the Czobor family home on Blaha Lujza Square. Unfortunately, the boy’s life ended tragically. At the age of 18, as a member of the youth paramilitary organisation (levente) or as a conscript, he took part in the final operations of the Second World War. He was killed in Germany, near the city of Marburg. (Katalin Béres)
