Opening Ceremony of the Barn at the House of György Dobronoki

The House of György Dobronoki was opened in 2016. With its local history and ethnographical collection, it is one of the main attractions of Dobrovnik. In 2018, the House of Crafts was opened in its courtyard which offers space for various thematic workshops, exhibitions and vocational courses, all of these with the objective to revitalise the old handicrafts and carry forward the customs of the area.

October 13th was the day when the opening ceremony of the barn at the House of György Dobronoki took place. The barn is not just the place where different agricultural implements and machinery are exhibited but is also the place where various events, performances and social gatherings will be held in the future. The opening ceremony included inaugural speeches by Edit Varga, President of the Hungarian Self-Governing National Community of the Municipality of Dobrovnik, Zsuzsanna Bači, Vice President of the Pomurje Hungarian Self-Governing National Community, Darko Sajko, Acting Director General of the Wood Industry Directorate at the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, as well as Marjan Kardinar, Mayor of Dobrovnik.

According to the speeches, barns used to be the centre of a community´s social life where numerous collective folk activities and handicraft workshops were held. With the opening of the barn, these, as well as many others, are aimed to be revived. The barn of the House of György Dobronoki will significantly contribute to the safekeeping of the valuable cultural heritage of the Hungarian minority of Prekmurje, as well as stimulate the development of tourism in the area.    

The ceremonious opening was accompanied by a cultural programme. It included performances by children from the local kindergarten, recitations by pupils of the local bilingual primary school, as well as a performance by members of the male folk choir Dobronaki Nótázók who performed a selection of folk songs. In the courtyard of the establishment, visitors could also enjoy various demonstrations of handicrafts and other traditional activities, like basketwork or how walnuts used to be cracked.