Matyo Embroidery of Mezokovesd

The Matyo are a Catholic community of the Mezokovesd area, and their embroidery is the most extravagant of the Hungarian folk styles: layered roses, buds and leaves in red, blue, green and yellow, worked so densely on aprons, shawls and shirts that the ground cloth almost vanishes beneath the thread. The style expanded fast in the nineteenth century as cheap commercial thread became available, and by 1900 families were spending money they did not have on decoration, which local priests complained about at length. In Mezokovesd the old Hadas quarter keeps small craft houses where embroiderers, weavers and a hat maker still work, and the Matyo Museum holds costume, furniture and painted chests.

What you actually see

• The Matyo Museum - costume, painted furniture and embroidered pieces in the town centre.
• The Hadas quarter - a lane of small craft houses with workers at their frames.
• The rose motif - the layered flower pattern that identifies the style at a glance.
• The painted furniture - flowered chests and beds from the same decorative tradition.

When to go

April to October, since several craft houses open only in season or by arrangement and the quarter is bleak in winter. Weekdays are more reliable than weekends for finding someone actually working. The town holds folk events in summer. Check opening times before travelling, as the smaller houses keep short and flexible hours.

Honest expectations

Mezokovesd is an ordinary small town and the craft houses are one-room affairs with unreliable hours, several of which will be shut when you arrive. The museum is modest and its English labelling is thin. A good deal of what is sold as Matyo work in shops is machine-made. Unless textiles genuinely interest you, this is two hours at most, and it works best combined with the town's thermal baths or with Eger.

Nearby

Eger is about half an hour west, and the Bukk hills rise to the north.