Crafty Hungarians- Hungarian Crafts

The Festival of Folk Arts is going to be a real blast this year. Back in its traditional spot in Buda castle near Clark Ádám square, running the length of the Danube corso all the way to the old Bazaar, the festival looks to be bigger, better, and more focused than ever before, with an immense number of crafts and handmade folk arts for sale. This year things will be spiced up, as craftsmen and artists from all over the world will come to this festival to present their crafts; vendors form Spain will be given a special place, but vendors from Kyrgyzstan, Algeria, Romania, Slovenia and Uzbekistan will also be present.

Folk Art Festival buda castle

A celebration of sheep herding

Be it leather goods, bags, shoes, food, wine, iron, candles or even garden gnomes, if it can be made by hand, it will be displayed at one of the stalls of the Festival of Folk Arts in Budapest. The main theme, not at all followed by all vendors, will be the arts of the plains and of sheppards. This has an enormous culture in Hungary, as Hungary is traditionally an agricultural society, with great wide open plains where sheppards take care of their flock and live outside. This beautiful synthesis provides excellent and highly collectible material culture, usually made out of leather and/or wool, and is usually very closely linked to the animal in question. Since being a sheppard is only sometimes work intensive, and allows for lots of time to contemplate, it is small wonder that this is by far the most artistic agricultural strata, with lots of wooden crafts, musical instruments, leather work all being typical of the trade.  

In Hungary being a sheppard is also celebrated with a certain kind of music, indeed, one of the most ancient musical instruments is called the sheppards flute, and it will be on sale in various forms at this festival.

The countries invited also have a wealth of shepparding culture, and will be encouraged to display it. The main guest is Spain and the many incredibly colourful and intricate works that is typical of them, in this case, mostly made out of leather.

The Festival of Folk Arts will take place in Buda castle between the 20th and 23rd of August in 2015. There are many different kinds of tickets available, and discounts are of course provided to the elderly, to families and to children and students as well.

 

What: Folk Art Festival

Where: Buda Castle

When: August 20-23, 2015

Price: Free

Special dental offer for those who decide to travel!

The offer is valid until 31st of December, 2019.

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