CFR_2006-07_R3.indb


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NURSERY SCHOOL MUSEUM, MARTONVÁSÁR, HUNGARY

C.W. SULLIVAN III

The Brunszvik family of Martonvásár, Hungary, is famous for its connection 
and friendship with Ludwig von Beethoven, but on my visit there, while I was 
spending the spring on a Fulbright at Debrecen University, I discovered a very 
interesting Nursery School Museum. Most of what follows is paraphrased from the 
official handouts at the museum; all quotations come from the Visitor’s Guide.

Theresa Brunsszvik, a close friend of Beethoven’s, was one of the best 
educated and most well-informed women of her time, and she became one of 
the pioneers of nursery school education in Europe. The nursery school she 
established in Buda, then the capital of Hungary, in 1828 was not only the first 
in Hungary but the first in all of Central Europe. Through her influence, the first 
nursery schools were later opened in Austria and Southern Germany.

The exhibit is divided into three parts. The first part includes a picture of the 
house in Buda where Teresa opened the first nursery school, and there is also 
a model of the school based on the original inventory and written descriptions. 
The teaching materials show that the children there were taught to read, write, 
and count in German. The teaching aids were developed by the German nursery 
school specialist Friedrich Fröbel and became widespread in Hungary during the 
latter half of the nineteenth century.

The second part of the exhibit focuses on nursery education in the latter part 
of the nineteenth century and the first part of the twentieth. Until the 1870s, only 
men taught in these schools, and their classes ranged from 60 to 100 students. This 
part of the exhibit contains toys and teaching aids made by teachers and students 
from local products. There are dolls made of rags and “maize” cobs, toy soldiers, 
building blocks, and more. There is also an inkwell, a goose-feather pen, and a 
“clapper” to set the rhythm of physical exercises. Private nursery schools using the 
Montessori method became popular after about 1910.

The third part of the exhibit looks at nursery education from the end of World 
War II though the 1960s when it became normal practice for children to be at 
school all day. During the early years of Communist rule, the nursery school “was 
the first stage in socialist education.” In the early years after the war, there were 
no toys in the schools, and children had to bring chairs or stools on which to sit. 
After 1960, Hungarian schools began to regain their earlier status. The Museum 
is working to move to a larger building and create exhibits covering nursery 
education from 1960 to 1990.

To say that this material is fascinating is an understatement; the Fulbrighters 
who went on this trip (sponsored by the Hungarian Fulbright Commission) spent 
more time and displayed more interest in the Nursery School Museum than in 
any other part of the Brunszvik Estate. Should you be in Budapest, the Brunszvik 
Estate is an easy day trip and well worth the effort.

CFR_2006-07_R3.indb   23 11/6/08   11:46:05 AM