Country house museums and world heritage

The Hungarian Country House Museum network has been added to the list of expectant World Heritage Sites.

The Country House Museum Network consists of hundreds of country houses, of which only those country houses that meet the highest professional standards in terms of both the building itself and the interior presented in it, are subject to be enlisted meaning that each property enjoys monument protection, the management of movable property is governed by the criteria of the museum operating permission.

Why could country house museums get to the list of expectant world heritage sites?

Traditional folk architecture is a “non-renewable (cultural) resource” because, due to the radical lifestyle change in the villages in connection with the socio-economic changes, such constructions are no longer built. Country houses are open-air ethnographic collections which, together with objects collected and preserved locally, show the traditional material culture of a given settlement or region, the interiors of buildings and sometimes workshops, farm buildings or simpler industrial facilities are important segments of folk architecture. The restored and furnished farmhouses will become a real country house museum as they will also become centers for community events, events for different age groups, trainings, education, presentation and transmission of traditional crafts. The country house museum network plays crucial role in maintaining national and minority identity-knowledge. At the same time it gives possibility for the regions, otherwise unreversibly lost, to learn about their own past in a concentrated way showing entireness.