Pécs, Day 2
On our second day in Pécs we took the walk to the Zsolnay Quarter. On our way there we walked by the National Theatre of Pécs, which was pretty. In the window of one of the bars there were these cool string art pieces made with bottle caps. We thought this was something we could do at home—that is, if we drank this much beer! We also saw the remains of Budai Kapu, which is the remains of…something…but I’m not sure what.
The Zsolnay Quarter is where the Zsolnay porcelain factory is and the historical site of the Zsolnay porcelain legacy. The factory dates back to the 1850s and has created several new techniques. Unfortunately, the factory was ‘nationalized’ during the Soviet regime and many of the family members placed in prison. Everything was taken from the family, even their personal effects since many of the family lived on the factory compound. After the Soviet rule was over, the factory was not returned to the family, so the current generation of Zsolnays do not have ownership of their own family legacy.
This place was pretty cool, and I am glad we spent most of the day here. The fountain statue in the middle, the rooftops, and the walls were made with Zsolnay tiles.
There was a small science museum here. It didn’t have a lot, but the kids liked it. There was a Newton’s cradle made with yoga balls, and Zoey had tons of fun with it. Ronin was able to do the Tower of Hanoi, which made him super excited that he was so smart. Zoey and Ronin worked together to make an arch out of blocks. Upstairs there was a laser maze that everyone got to try. Several times!
In the Zsolnay Quarter is the Bóbita Puppet Theater which hosts puppet shows. We missed the show that morning (I wish I knew they were having one!) but still got to go through the puppet museum. It was a little creepy and I thought the kids would be scared, but they were facinated.
The Quarter has a collection of Pink Zsolnay pieces, which is what the factory first started making. My favorite were these three little interlocking bud vases, which were super cute. We also went into the exhibit of the history of the Zsolnay family and factory. I wish I had more time to explore this exhibit, but the kids got a little bored. We did get to go to the actual factory where they made, glazed, and painted the porcelain pieces and saw some workers working on some pieces. We weren’t allowed to take photos, but it was pretty neat.
There was also a leather glove factory on the premises, and we got to see some ladies hand-stitching gloves. There was a display and information about different types of leather and the process of creating the gloves, but again we couldn’t take pictures. These gloves were so soft and I would have loved a pair.
The architecture of the Quarter was interesting, and I liked all the tiles everywhere. We wanted to buy a tile or an ornament, but they only had vases for sale.
We made our way back to Széchenyi tér to see the Mosque of Pasha Qasim. This is an interesting building as it was built as a mosque and then later redesigned and used as a church. Underneath the mosque/church is a Catholic crypt with really old tombs mixed with very recent ones.
Inside the church/mosque there is a double-sided altar in the center of the circular building. Both sides have Christian and Muslim components, making for a very interesting mix. There is a huge pipe organ above one side; it’s like three or four times as long as most of the pipe organs we usually see in churches!
After dinner and another walk through the Christmas Market we walked back to the train station to catch a train back home. I wanted to see the famous Zsolnay fountain, but apparently it was all shuttered up for the winter. Still, the kids liked the log wreath and were trying to guess what was under the big box.
