Blaskovich Mansion Museum

Visiting address

13 Múzeum Street 13
2766 Tápiószele
Hungary

(00-36) 53 –380-157

blaskovichmuzeum@gmail.com
http://blaskovichmuzeum.hu/en/

History

The Blaskovich Museum of Tápiószele is the only mansion museum of Hungary that survived undamaged – even in its furniture – the devastations of World War II. The mansion built in classic style in 1906 stands in the middle of a botanical park. It used to be  the residence of the brothers George and Janos Blaskovich, who decided in 1952 to transform their country house into a national museum. The museum has seven rooms showing not only the history of the family, but also archaeological finds, antique furniture and curiosities. A special part in the museum is the collection of tobacco pipes, especially locally collected smoking pipes, mainly in meerschaum.

Collection

The Blaskovich pipe collection is extensively documented by the curator of the National Museum of Hungary in Budapest, Mrs Anna Ridovics. Interesting about this collection is that it gives a good impression of the tobacco pipes that were at that time smoked in Hungary. Meerschaum was the favorite material in the Balkans, especially during the nineteenth century. The museum collection gives a wonderful overview of the different kinds of pipes that were popular during the nineteenth century. In total, some two hundred pipes, drawn up in the same room with another men’s article: armory.

Characteristic for the taste of the Hungarian is the pipe with a cylindrical bowl and a short cuff shank. Most of these pipes were undecorated, but by mounting with silver lids and cuff rings they get a rather posh presence. More luxurious were the carved pipes with representations of battles, armorial or gallant scenes. There is a fine series of those pipes in the museum collection. Masterpieces are some figural pipes decorated like a seated Turk, whose head forms the lid of the pipe. Some of the finer tobacco pipes from the Blaskovich Museum are shown in the online database of the pipe-portal.eu.

Opening hours

Summer:  9 A.M. - 5 P.M.
Winter:   10 A.M. - 4 P.M.
Monday closed

Admission prices

Adults:               1000 HUF
Reduced:             500 HUF (students, pensioners)
Childern up to 6:        free