Shalanky Country House

Salánk (Шаланки)

Salánk (Shalanky) is one of the settlements of the Újlak (Vylok) sub-region of Transcarpathia, located 16 km northwest of the centre of the sub-region, Újlak, on the River Borzsa, the first written mention of which dates back to 1332. The village, which had a population of 3,110 in 2001, is predominantly inhabited by Hungarians.

The tower of the Reformed Church (110, Main St.) rises high above the main street of the village. Originally a Roman Catholic church, it was built around 1390-1405 in Gothic style. It has been rebuilt several times over the centuries. An inscription on the church's gallery commemorates the last national assembly of the War of Independence in 1711, held in the village by hungarian prince Ferenc Rákóczi II.

Next to the church, the activists of the Transcarpathian Hungarian Cultural Association created a memorial park to honour the heroes and victims of the former market town with a rich historical past. The oldest is the monument to the victims of Stalinism, erected in 1989 - a bronze plaque on a huge rock with the names of 59 martyrs. In the 2000s, the statues of Ferenc Rákóczi II, Saint Stephen and Kelemen Mikes were placed here. Here one can also find the headstone of the painter Miklós Osváth, who died in Salank. In 2018, a headstone was erected to commemorate the 18 soldiers who died on the front lines of World War I and the 12 soldiers from Salank who died in prisoner of war camps.

In 2006, a statue of Blessed Tódor Romzsa, the martyred bishop of the Greek Catholic Diocese of Munkács, was added to the settlement's memorial complex (created by Elek Pólin, a woodcarver from Salank).

In 2019, next to the cultural centre, a bronze relief was erected in memory of the National Assembly of Salánk, which depicts hungarian prince Ferenc Rákóczi II speaking to his followers.

Continuing along the main street, we reach the Greek Catholic Church (40, Main Street), which was consecrated in 1878 for the feast of the Archangels St. Michael and St. Gabriel and all the heavenly powers (November 8). On 30 September 2023, on the 180th anniversary of his birth, a monument was unveiled in the courtyard of the Greek Catholic Church in honour of Jenő Szabó, member of the General Council and former Minister Councillor of the Hungarian Ministry of Public Works and Transport. Jenő Szabó was born in Fancsika, Ugocha County, in the family of the local Greek Catholic pastor, but from the age of one he lived and was brought up in Salánk. As a ministerial adviser, his railway policy focused on the development of lines in Greek Catholic areas and the construction of the Transcarpathian local railways. The monument was created by sculptor Viktória Csirpák.

The former shingle-roofed Roman Catholic chapel of the settlement was demolished in the Soviet era, and its place is marked by a carved crucifix (by Elek Pólin).

The triangular 372 metre high hill of Hömlöc rises on the outskirts of the village. The Barkóczy mansion once stood here, where the Grand Prince held his council between 11 and 18 February, 1711, and thus the Salánk mansion became the site of the last Kuruc National Assembly. In August, 1717 the Tatar army, which also invaded the mansion, and burned it down, leaving only its beautiful stone wine cellar. This cellar can still be found on the side of the hill.

The Mikes well is located in the direction of Feketepatak, near the mining lake in Salánk, from which, according to tradition, Rákóczi once drank.

There are several barrel-making workshops in Salánk. When in the settlement, it is worth visiting one of them, because Salánk's oak barrels are famous far and wide, including the two-compartment bait barrels, whose taps can be turned to the right or left to obtain different drinks (wine or fruit brandy, white wine or red wine) from the same barrel at the same time. The raw material for the barrels comes from the Great Forest in Salánk.

The Salánk Village House Museum

The building of the Salánk Village House Museum is one of the best examples of local folk architecture in the settlement. It is a mixed masonry farmhouse with a circular porch, tile roof, hipped roof structure, originally three-part, later enlarged with a pantry and outbuildings, the last owner of which was Malvin Sütő. In the yard there is a multi-part outbuilding ("summer kitchen") and several farm buildings. The country house is located on a double plot with a large garden.

The Salánk Village House Museum and its furnishings are intended to represent the 60s and 80s of the 20th century. Most of the furniture, furnishings, wall paintings, fireplaces, etc. in the house are original or have been restored to their original state.

The first room of the building, which is also called the "front of house" or "clean room", has a beamed ceiling, a wooden tile floor, a tiled stove, and rolled masonry, and is furnished to reflect the life of the people of the time.

The middle room traditionally houses the kitchen, and the back room, or "back of house", is where the Rákóczi Memorial Room and study/exhibition room was built in early 18th century Baroque-style in memory of the Rákóczi cult, which is still alive in Salánk. It was here where the last national assembly of Ferenc Rákóczi in 1711 took place, in the former Barkóczy mansion in Salánk.

Other exhibits of the village house museum include the weaving and spinning tools, the traditional Salánk costume, the nativity play and the Salánk wax egg decorating.

The primary aim of the village house museum is to preserve and conserve the folk architecture of the village, to revive and present local traditions and crafts and to pass them on to younger generations. Accordingly, a cooper's workshop, i.e. a working barrel-making workshop, was set up in the village house museum, where a local craftsman, using hand tools, shows the making of the Salánk barrel, which has also been included in the Transcarpathian Hungarian heritage.

The staff of the village house museum offers a colourful program of activities, and there is also the possibility of doing various handicraft activities in groups, as an activity room has also been set up in the museum, which is recommended for children of different ages, school groups and adults alike.