At the beginning of the village street stands the broad, half-hipped farmhouse from Kálócfa. Its carved and brightly painted gable decoration was a characteristic feature of traditional architecture throughout the Göcsej region.
The house consists of two pantries, a heated living room, a smoke kitchen and a stable. The pantry facing the street served as the housewife’s flour store, where she kept flour and other food supplies. Animal feed was stored in sacks, beans and peas in lidded straw containers known as kópic, eggs in baskets, and wine in earthenware jugs.
Courtyard of the Kálócfa Farmhouse
Hácsku
Did you know why the unusual bench-like structure divided by a fence was placed at the entrance of the Kálócfa farmstead?
Originally, it was designed to allow people to cross fenced sections without the need for a gate. It functioned as a type of stile – known locally as a hácsku. Here, however, its unique location gave rise to an additional purpose inspired by local custom.
As young women and men reached adolescence, they naturally began taking an interest in one another, just as they do today. Parents, however, allowed courtship only under strict rules – not only to preserve their daughters’ virtue, but also because they felt a strong responsibility for the family’s future. Romantic attraction often did not align with the family’s interests.
The bench separated by a fence provided a place where young people could get to know each other while ensuring an appropriate physical distance.
Sweep Well from Kerkafalva
Families obtained their water from natural springs and hand-dug wells. Wells were usually built either in front of the house or within the farmyard.
One traditional type was the sweep well. Its shaft was lined with stone, while the structure above ground was made of timber. A trough for watering livestock was also built alongside it.
Barn from Náprádfa
Alongside the farmhouse, the barn was one of the most important buildings on a peasant farmstead. Grain was threshed inside the barn, while the hayloft provided storage for enough animal fodder to last throughout the year.
Next to the Kálócfa farmhouse stands a barn relocated from Náprádfa. It consists of two sections: an open cart shed and a hayloft. Its large doors are secured by a distinctive and ingenious traditional wooden locking mechanism known as a kölkes wooden lock.
Bee House from Kálócfa
Behind the farmhouse stands a timber-walled building with a thatched roof, its shelves lined with traditional beehives. These hives were made from straw, hollow tree trunks, or woven wicker coated with mud on the outside.
Until the end of the 19th century, honey was the only sweetener commonly available to rural families, and most households also kept it as a traditional home remedy. In larger quantities, honey was used by gingerbread makers, while travelling fair vendors prepared a popular honey-based drink known as márc. Honey was even used to brew beer. Beeswax was an equally valuable product, serving as an essential raw material for candles used both in households and in churches.
