The vast majority of Hungarian emigrants lived in the rural parts of their homeland, and their cultural heritage was primarily rooted in the countryside lifestyle. Even today Hungary is very much a rural nation, and was predominantly feudal and agricultural until the end of World War II.

Our visitors with ancestors from Hungarian villages will be interested to witness what life was like there, and the best modern venue for this experience is the Open Air Museum (Skanzen) in Szentendre, an authentic ethnographic display of countryside culture.

It’s a huge area where you can easily get lost, but your personal guide will help you focus on the major sights that are crucial for to you to understand the background your ancestors left behind.

We’ll leave for Szentendre by the local commuter train, and arrive 45 minutes later. During the journey we can discuss social conditions in rural Hungary over the centuries, when you can share details about your own family history and we can review an album providing insight to Hungarian country life. After arriving we take the local bus to the open-air museum village, featuring typical houses from centuries past relocated to this educational site from several regions of Hungary. As locals in period costumes re-enact the daily routines of our Hungarian forebears, you can get a vivid picture of the lifestyle of your ancestors, including tools they used, commodities they owned, and folk art they crafted.

After a two-hour walk in the village museum, we’ll go to Szentendre’s town centre and have a light lunch at a cosy Balkan-style restaurant. We will stroll along cobblestone streets and view churches, museums, and art galleries, getting acquainted with local history. After some shopping for classic handmade Hungarian treasures made by local craftspeople, we can take a riverboat back to Budapest along the Danube (between May and September). Since you will be on a private tour, the timing is flexible, and we can stop at any of the many points that may interest you along the way.