Choma Country House

Csoma (Choma, Чома)

Csoma is a settlement located 3 km west of Gecse. According to the 2001 census data, its population is 916, of which 87.99% are Hungarians.

The earliest written record of the settlement dates back to 1211, where it is mentioned as Csoma. It was in the hands of the Lónyay family from very early times, and later the Szentiványi, Károlyi, Szirmay and Kajdy families also acquired parts of the village. For centuries, the surrounding area was covered with oak forests. The inhabitants of Csoma have been Greek Catholic since the 18th century, and their church was built in the 1890s. In the early 20th century, the Kajdy family settled Ruthenian serfs on the empty plots of land in the village. German and Jewish settlers also added to the ethnic mix, but the Hungarian population still predominates. The village's new Greek Catholic church (50, Druzhba St.) was consecrated in 2009 in honour of King Saint Stephen of Hungary, the Founder of the State. A memorial plaque was inaugurated on its wall in honour of the victims of Stalinism. The Reformed people living in the settlement built a church hall in 2005.

A headstone was erected in the local cemetery in 1989 to commemorate the victims of World War II and Stalinism. In the northern part of the cemetery, on the initiative of the Transcarpathian Hungarian Cultural Association (THCA), a memorial park devoted to the era of the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin was established in 1996, which includes a memorial marker with a headstone (the work of sculptor Viktoria Csirpák). The park, which is one of the most important Hungarian national memorial sites in Transcarpathia, also contains statues of Hungarian Chief Árpád (2000) and King Saint Stephen (2001) (by the Budapest artist Ottó Frech (1936-2006)). The richness of the finds is due to the fact that they prove that the Hungarian conquerors settled in the area immediately after the invasion. Between 1993 and 1999, excavations continued, resulting in the discovery of 78 more graves and in the autumn of 2003, traces of an early settlement were found.

Since then, a ceremony has been held here every year to commemorate our conquering ancestors. The memorial site is located in the northern part of the village, along the road leading from Gecse. The memorial site is well-kept and is an ideal place for tourists to rest and for organising various events. In recent years, a modern visitor centre, mini zoo, riding hall and yurt pavilion have been developed.

The csoma yurt pavilion (yurt museum)

On the site of the Csoma cemetery, the Transcarpathian Hungarian Cultural Association has established a memorial park, next to which an impressive multi-storey visitor centre has been built. Here, visitors can learn about the way of life of the conquering Hungarians, the founding of the Hungarian state and the Árpád kings, and the early-medieval history of the region.

The yurt pavilion (yurt museum) located in the courtyard of the visitor centre, next to the riding hall and the mini zoo, fits into the era represented by the memorial park and the visitor centre in terms of its atmosphere and design. The pavilion is built of modern and durable materials and is also an exhibition, lecture and conference hall, which can be suitable for conducting workshops, dance halls and other events.

The permanent scenery of the yurt pavilion is made up of tableaus depicting the life of the conquering Hungarians, which combine the graphics of Gyula László with the costumes and tools reconstructed by today's traditionalists. In addition to battle scenes, these pictures show scenes of everyday life, including yurt building, hunters, shepherds, craftsmen, games and entertainment.

The other aim of the pavilion besides presenting the life of the Hungarian conquering forces is to nurture, popularize and promote the thousand-year-old equestrian traditions. According to historical traditions, the Hungarian nation was a horse-bred nation, which came to the Carpathian Basin as an eastern semi-nomadic, large-animal-keeping, bow-holding, yurt-dwelling, horse-riding people. The horse tombs at Csoma are proof that the Hungarian warriors were buried together with their favourite hackneys, so that they would not be separated in the afterlife. For centuries, the horse played a decisive role in military life (the light cavalry fighting style, the development of the hussarry), but it also played an important role in civil life, since in addition to the cart, carriage, sleigh and other means of transport, horses pulled the plough, the harrow, trod the grain from the wheat harvesters, turned the wheel of the dry mill. The Hungarian way of harnessing (breast-harness) was clearly more perfect than the Western way of harnessing (hames). Hungarian horse breeds (Nonius, Kisber half-breed, Gidran or Hungarian Anglo-Arab, Lipizzan, Shagya Arabian, Mezőhegyes sport horse, hutsul, Muraköz, etc.) are considered among the best in the world. We have also had many excellences in equestrian sports.

To demonstrate and practise the equestrian traditions, there is a display of saddled agricultural implements, saddled horse puppets, Hungarian recoil bows and other paraphernalia in the yurt pavilion. Horse-riding training and archery education make the yurt pavilion a real "living village house museum". In addition to the multifunctional tables and benches, the equipment includes a smart screen that not only allows you to follow the programmes of Csoma, but also to have a glimpse into the life of other village house museums.