Yesterday I posted about Szejkefürdő (Băile Seiche) and the landmarks of the place, the Székely gates and the grave of Balázs Orbán, who is considered the biggest Hungarian of Transylvania. Today I'd like to show you the museum, or the memorial center set up in honor of Balázs Orbán, where you can learn about his life, his work and legacy.
Tickets And How To Get There
The Balázs Orbán Memorial Center is next to the Mini Transylvania Park, which has become the most attractive tourist destination of Szejkefürdő. As I mentioned yesterday, DN 13A road takes you there. The entrance to the memorial center is free if you have a ticket to the Mini Transylvania Center and you most likely will have as it'll be a shame not to visit both.
Opening hours: Monday to Sunday from 10am to 6pm
Tickets:
- Ticket for adults: 30 lei
- Ticket for children (free for children under 3 years): 15 lei
- Ticket for retirees: 15 lei
- Adult group ticket (minimum 10 people): 25 lei
- Group ticket Children / pensioners (minimum 10 people): 10 lei
source
As son as you exit the Mini Transylvania Park, there are these indicators guiding you where to go. You go left, climb the hill and the second house on top of the hill is the Memorial Center. Everything is written in 3 languages (Romanian, Hungarian, English), so you most likely find one you understand.
I did my homework before we left home, so I knew what to expect and this board was also confirming, that there was an interactive exhibition with holograms. We live in the 21st century, exhibitions are very different today, from just exhibiting objects and very soon, with the newest technology, sky will be the limit.
When we got to this board, I got a call I had to take, so the others went ahead and I stopped in front of the board to talk on the phone. When I finished, went inside to join the others.
In the title you can see I said the most difficult challenge as a photographer and that wasn't a click bait. I could have said the biggest feat as a photographer and I mean it.
When I stepped into the building, I could barely see anything as it was almost pitch black. The guide was speaking, explaining and sharing information about Balázs Orbán's life and work, so I thought some big surprise is coming, like the holograms promised by the website and the board outside the memorial house. There were some paintings on glass, that looked like lit from behind, so I thought maybe that's the reason for the darkness. But curiosity make me question the theory I presented to you above, so I asked why as there so dark. Now fasten your seat belts as the answer that I got was: "Because there's no electricity!" 😳
Turns out, there was a storm on Friday, that made some significant damage. The electricity company fixed the problem, but the fix did not hold and they were left without electricity for the weekend. 😳 😳
Imagine the shock on my face, when I realized taking photos in a dark room is going to be hell for me. So come with me to show you what it is like to photograph something you don't even know it's there as it's so dark. Please don't be too harsh on my photographic skills as I did what I could 😂
This poster was at the entrance, so perfectly readable as there was plenty of light outside. On the poster, Balázs Orbán.
Balázs Orbán, Baron of Lengyelfalva (3 February 1829 – 19 April 1890) was a Hungarian author, ethnographic collector, parliamentarian, correspondent member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (1887). source
This was the hall, which was pretty visible as long as the door was open.
This what how the room looked like, without light. I'm not a quitter, so the only choice I had was to try to take some photos, with flash, without flash, anyway I could.
In the first room we can get acquainted with the biography and the history of the Orbán family, we can study the family tree. As a curiosity, we can also find funny anecdotes and spicy stories about the great predecessor. In addition, we can even use the touch screens and scroll through the caricatures published in contemporary newspapers and caricature papers. source
There were photos of manuscripts, photos of old photos and the story about his early life and career.
In his will, he left everything he had to the Hungarian people, most precisely to the Székelys.
His family tree.
This was the funniest part of the visit. What you see here is a dark room, a recreation of his photo lab, so to speak. This room was so dark I could literally see nothing. So what I did I pointed the camera towards one corner of the room (I mean what I thought should be a corner) and pushed the button. When I took the photo, could see what was in there, but only for a second.
Don't look for aligning lines or rule of third or any photo composition here as there's none. This was his camera and the objects and tools he used to take photos and develop them on paper.
A comparison between folk costumes used today and the time Balázs Orbán lived.
He lived between 3 February 1829 – 19 April 1890, so duels were in order back the as that was one way to settle disputes and according to this document, he had three duels. None of the duels were because of a woman, all three had political reasons as a reason.
His speech to the house of commons.
A reproduction of his study, with the objects he used to use. Just to give you an idea what it looked like for me when I was there, the whole place was totally dark and I could only see something, when the light flashed. So I took the photo, then looked at the photo to see what ti is in the room.
This corner was about his European travels.
One of his cameras.
Yeah, his life was full of adventures :)
This is a mock-up of his property in 1874. There's nothing left of it today.
So this is what I could do under those circumstances. It's not ideal, but still better than nothing. I think I will remember this visit as long as I live and also hope I won't have to go through a similar experience.
If you're a newbie, you may want to check out these guides:
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