Old Hungarian households were fundamentally based on the agricultural lifestyle. People living in rural areas mainly dealt with agriculture for centuries, and this lifestyle also meant their home. Local materials such as adobe, tile, wood, and stone were generally used to build houses. The thickness of the walls usually exceeded one meter to keep the houses cool in the summer heat and warm on cold winter days.
Chimneys and ovens were also characteristic solutions in old Hungarian houses. The chimney played an important role in the fireplaces to allow smoke and fumes to escape from living spaces. The oven, on the other hand, was used to provide heat and warm water for cooking, drying clothes, and heating the home. The area around the oven was often the meeting place for the family, so it played an important role in family life too.
In olden times, homes were less decorated than they are today, but emphasis was placed on practical solutions. A large table, chairs, and benches were usually found in the room where family members could sit down and eat together. Beds were usually in the corner of the room or in a separate bedroom. The flooring was mostly made of wood, straw, or dirt, and the walls were usually decorated with hand-painted or adobe plaster.
For food preparation, old Hungarians generally used locally grown foods that they cultivated around the house or picked from the forest and fields. They often obtained meat from their own livestock, which they kept as domestic animals. Typical Hungarian kitchen dishes included goulash, stew, stuffed cabbage, as well as bread and pastries that were baked in the oven.
The design of the kitchen was also very simple. The oven was mounted on the wall, which was heated in the winter and cold weather. The oven had two parts: the bottom part was the fireplace and the top part was the oven. Food was cooked on the fireplace and bread, pastries, and meats were baked in the oven.
Storage equipment for food in old Hungarian households was also very simple. Food was mainly stored in clay pots, which were heated in the oven. Flour and sugar were kept in wooden boxes, and food was stored in the cellar.
The tools used for cooking were also very simple. Pots, pans, and pots were made of iron. Tools used for processing food were also simple, such as chopping carrots and cabbage by hand, and chopping onions with a chopper.
Cultural life was also very important in old Hungarian households. Religious holidays, weddings, and other celebrations were important for the peasant society. The traditions and customs of these events were handed down from generation to generation.
In general, it can be said that the old Hungarian household was simple and economical. Food processing and the textile industry were important parts of life.
Renátó Romanoczki
Source: https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magyar_népi_építészet
https://www.arcanum.com/hu/online-kiadvanyok/MagyarNeprajz-magyar-neprajz-2/viii-tarsadalom-CA13/bevezetes-es-tarsadalmi-retegek-CA34/kispolgarsag-
Source of imagines:senior.hu, gyorplusz.hu
Main photo: Big washing day