Kalocsa

Kalocsa has been an archiepiscopal seat since the foundation of the Hungarian church, and the Baroque cathedral and palace beside it carry that weight, together with a library of well over a hundred thousand volumes in a decorated hall. What the town is popularly known for is smaller and brighter: the Kalocsa style of folk decoration, dense floral patterns in strong colours worked as embroidery and, more unusually, painted freehand onto the interior and exterior walls of houses by women who specialised in it, a practice that developed in the nineteenth century and is kept alive in the folk art house. The other local product is paprika, grown and milled here, with its own small museum.

What you actually see

• Painted house walls - freehand floral decoration applied by hand.
• Kalocsa embroidery - the dense floral style in thread.
• The cathedral library - a decorated hall of over a hundred thousand volumes.
• The paprika museum and mills - the town's other trade.

When to go

April to October. Half a day. The library is visited on guided tours at set times. Museums close on Mondays. September is the paprika harvest.

Honest expectations

The folk art is heavily commercialised and much of what is sold is machine-made. Museums are small and some feel dated. The town is a quiet provincial centre with limited food options.

Nearby

Hajos cellar village is south-east; Baja lies south.