Old Village of Hollókő and its Surroundings, Hungary

Although, in reality, the castle of Hollókő was built as part of the wave of stone-castle construction that spread across Hungary following invasion by the Mongols, there is a romantic legend attached to the castle that some people today still believe to be true.

According to the legend, a lord kidnapped the beautiful wife of a neighbouring squire and imprisoned her in the castle which he was building. However, the woman’s nurse was a witch and, in a pact with the devil, she convinced him to turn his sons into ravens. 

The ravens flew to the castle and began to take it apart, stone by stone, until the woman was able to escape. The stolen stones were used to build a new castle on a nearby rock. The castle, and consequently the village, was named Hollókő, which in Hungarian means “raven stone”.

The castle was abandoned at the end of the Ottoman era (which came in 1683), as was the original village which it had served to protect. The present village was then established, slightly lower down the hill, by Palócz petty nobility from Upper Hungary. 

Though a second street did develop later on, Hollókő was originally a one-street village, typical of the area. The first generation of inhabitants settled on either side of the street, with subsequent generations building their houses at the back of the narrow family plot.

Traditional Palócz architecture made use of wood and straw. As a result, the village was repeatedly ravaged by fire and had to be rebuilt numerous times. Eventually, wood and thatched roofs were replaced by mud bricks and tiles, and the houses were built on a stone base.

Despite this, the buildings retain traditional Palócz folk architectural forms, and the ‘new’ old village, which was rebuilt for the final time in 1911 after the last big fire, today maintains the atmosphere of the village of that time.

Inevitably, the furnishings and fittings of these turn-of-the-century homes have been modernised somewhat, however the actual rooms and outbuildings have remained unchanged, and continue to fulfill their original functions to this day.

These unique architectural marvels are not the only amazing feature of Hollókő: the village provides an accurate representation of how people in Hungarian villages lived at the turn of the 20th century, of their traditional farming methods and of living folk culture.

As a result of urbanisation, many Hungarian ethnic groups began to abandon their typical regional folk costumes in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. For the Palócz, and in Hollókő in particular, this process only began in the 1960s and, even then, very gradually.

Typically, villagers wouldn’t go to larger towns and cities to work, meaning that their ancient culture has been sheltered and preserved, although the village does, of course, have paved roads, electricity and the Internet.

The current 400, mostly pension-age residents still observe the traditions of their culture, and on festive occasions, for example at Easter, which they consider to be particularly important, even the few young people who live in the village dress in traditional Palócz attire.

One of Hollókő's best-known Easter customs is sprinkling, when men soak unmarried girls with buckets of cold well water. According to legend, fresh Easter well water preserves beauty and fertility.

At Easter, villagers also take part in egg painting, and they eat Hungarian ham and other Palócz gastronomical specialties. There are special activities for small children, as well as concerts and performances which guarantee a festive atmosphere for adults.

Hollókő is constantly working to preserve its traditional values and to show them to the whole world. Ethnographic exhibitions and folk craft workshops have been set up in many of the village’s old buildings with the aim of preserving the its culture for posterity.

The legendary Hollókő castle has been renovated, and interactive exhibitions and the exciting adventure of an escape room recall the history of the village. In addition, Palócz traditions are commemorated at the Gastronomy Experience Center.

With its spectacular surroundings and the traditional culture that is part of its past, present and, undoubtedly, its future, Hollókő is a real gem, a living community that provides an exceptional and maybe unique example of the voluntary conservation of a traditional village.