Palkonya

Introducing Palkonya

Palkonya, a village of one street and 370 inhabitants in Southern-Baranya has maintained the architectural heritage of the German vintners settled to this region in the 18th century.  The most notable architectural landmark of the village is the row of wine cellars consisting of 53 press houses on the hill at the end of the village.  These press houses have been built gradually over the golden age of winemaking and grape growing at the beginning of the 19th century. Their whitewashed facades are still a gripping site today.  More and more tourists of the Siklós-Villány Wine Route enjoy visiting these cellars full of blazing red wines and vintners’ hospitality.  The village’s children and those traveling through have great fun in Palkonya’s wooden playground, an outstanding work of art by folk woodcarvers.  Those who are here for fishing or hiking will find refreshment in the quite surroundings and the rich bird varieties of the nearby fishery lakes.  The most frequented event in Palkonya is the “Open Cellars of Pentecost", put together yearly on Pentecost Sunday by the villagers and the Village Council.   On these occasions Palkonya welcomes guests for various cultural events, children’s’ activities, horse drawn carriages, and naturelly, wine tasting.

 

 

PRESERVATION OF THE VILLAGE-SCAPE OF PALKONYA
(or partners in township development)

Synopsis:
About half of the 108 families inhabiting the village live in buildings designated by the local council in 1999 as “protected".  The Village-Scape Preservation movement heavily recruited the locals to restore their own property thus reaching spectacular results.  The present face of Palkonya and its unique atmosphere is enjoyed nowadays by the numerous tourists visiting the Villány-Siklós Wine Route.  The orderly village-scape and respect for tradition improved the lifestyles of the villagers, increased the attractiveness of the surroundings, and the value of the local real estate.  The Village-Scape Preservation resulted in an entire rejuvenation of the village.

Goals:
The most valued landmark of the village is the row of 53 press houses that constitute “Cellar Row".  These press houses have been built gradually over the golden age of winemaking and grape growing at the beginning of the 19th century. Their whitewashed facades are still a gripping site today.  The cellars have been declared national heritage nearly twenty years ago. 
The Catholic Church of the village was built by the Batthyány family in 1816, and was consecrated to St. Elisabeth.  The church, with its red cupola visible from far, is one of the best examples of circular churches in Hungary, and has been on the national heritage list as well.
Of the 108 houses situated on the single windy road leading through the village, 52 peasant homes are 100-200 years old, while the rest have been built between 1960-1980.  The new construction directives of the 1950’s did not leave room for traditional building styles and methods.  The wealthier villagers demolished their old homes building new ones in the trends and styles of the times.  The houses made of loam that made up about half of the village remained mainly in the possession of the poor.  The less fortunate maintained their homes the best they could without any professional help.    In spite of this, at the start of the Village-Scape Preservation Movement, the structure of the village, the bulk of the buildings and their localization were still traditional. Thus, from an architectural standpoint, the village was still in good shape.

The main goals of the Village-Scape Preservation Movement:
- To establish modern living conditions while keeping traditional means
- To renovate or restore the remaining loam houses to their true historical style
- To preserve and develop the unique village-scape
- To improve the living standards of certain families
- To increase the appeal of the village

Accomplishments:
Accomlishing the main goals required very careful planning, because the developmental tasks set out by the self-government only affected private property.  Therefore, a long dialogue had to begin between those involved and the coordinators of the movement.  Moreover, there was a need for means of enticement (money), for experts, and for some obsessed people.
As a first step, a panel of experts compiled the architectural evaluation of Palkonya.  The book contained not only the photographs, and inventories of every building recommended for protection, but also provided expert advice for rebuilding and renovation.  We organized an exhibition from this material and invited every property owner to learn about the concept of local heritage protection, its advantages, and the associated obligations.  In order to accomplish the concept of the self-governance, the positive attitudes and final consent of the owners were prerequisites.  Only the owners of the nationally protected cellars had some knowledge of the strict rules of monument protection.  In the case of locally protected homes, no ban is set on building, but rebuilding has to preserve the original style of the edifice.  Initially half of those present despised the idea, considering it mingling into their private affairs.  Back then, only a few understood how little this matter was a private affair.  It soon became clear that for the village-scape preservation plan to be successful, the entire population had to be persuaded.  Numerous articles were published in the press, and three short TV films were produced presenting the values of the village.  The media pointed out the necessity of the village-scape preservation and emphasized its potential advantages including tourism.  Palkonya became the focus of attention.  A year later, in 1993, the self-government established a fund that could be applied for by local homeowners to renovate their houses.  After disclosing the intention for renovation, the owner with the help of an architect appointed by the self-government drew up the plans for the envisaged and recommended renovations.  This became an appendix to the renovation contract, and was also published in the local newspaper.  Thus, every neighbour could be assured that the work proceeded according to plan.  In spite of their small monetary values, the grants aroused an enormous interest.  This was the opportune moment for the owners of buildings destined for protection to sign their consent for respecting the rules of the renovations.  Thus begun the process of renewal and restoration.  In that year alone ten buildings were finished.  On average, the families spent over ten times the amount of the grants received.  Part of the success was the National Day for Village-Scape Preservation organized by Palkonya in 1994.  The festival was attended by hundreds of architects, experts in township improvement, and national and international township representatives. The most visited venue of the event was the “Open Cellars and Open Houses" where the positive opinions and the enthusiasm of the guests helped the locals realize they were on the right road to success. 

Results and Perspectives:
With the owners’ help, all of the 52 homes proposed for protection in 1992 were restored according to their traditional style.  During this process, half of the village became renewed leading to a change in the entire image of Palkonya.  Thanks to the programs of popularizations in the media the villagers started to take a more active part in other communal affairs.  Numerous young families settled in the village.  At the beginning of the nineties the demographically aging village was beginning to look more youthful. The number of young villagers equaled that of retirees.  Six new homes were built in accordance with keeping the traditional elements set forth in the local building code.  Tradition has become fashionable!  The phone, gas, and electricity companies also complied with the historic village-scape by the underground placement of cables and paraphernalia.  The price of real estate has risen several-fold, and buyers are only interested in traditional peasant homes.  An increasing number of tourists visiting the Villány-Siklós Wine Route enjoy the monumental wine cellars full of blazing red wines and vintners’ hospitality.

 
The History of Palkonya

Palkonya is a relatively old settlement.  Its first mention in a charter dates back to 1296.  In those days the village was part of the domain of Kéménd in the estate of Konrád who belonged to the clan of Győr.  Landlords changed many times over the centuries, and there is little information available about the villagers. 

After the battle of Mohács in 1526, Hungary was ruled by the Ottoman Empire for one and a half century. Based on old tax registries it is evident that the number of inhabitants was very scant during the Turkish rule.  In 1554 the village belonged to the commune of Harsány and had to pay tribute to the Turkish tax collectors for merely 7 homes.  In 1687 after the battle of Nagyharsány, a.k.a. the second battle of Mohács, in which the Turks were beaten and driven out of Hungary, the village had 8 homes and 20 inhabitants.  The villagers cultivated the land and grew grapes.  The plowing fields were 100 acres while the vineyards were 100 “iz".  This is the first time grape growing is mentioned in a document.  During the Turkish rule many of the inhabitants died, fled, or were rounded up by the Turks.

To make up for the diminished population, in the 1730’s the settlement of German and Serbo-Croatian population was started along the Danube and on its Western parts.
The first German families arrived in Baranya in the 1730’s, but the first German name introduced in the Registry of the parish of Nagypetre dates to 1745.  The parish itself was established in that year. Before that, Palkonya was part of the Siklós parish.  The first German names in land title documents date to 1748.  These show that the villagers were joined by 10 German, 1 Hungarian, and 2 Serbo-Croatian families.  In 1757, the village had already 133 souls.  At this time there was even a teacher, by the name of Bálint Metzing.