Preserving Heritage Without Austerity – Among the Cat-Step Houses of Szentbékkálla

Article of Hely.hu 

What's the article about?

• The renovation of a nearly 200-year-old farmhouse and its conversion into a home
• Architectural peculiarities and the challenges of modernization
• Combining modern comfort with traditional folk architecture
• The rich architectural and agricultural heritage of the Káli Basin
• The importance of preserving the townscape

It’s no easy task to make such an old residential building comfortable, but if you’re planning to settle down in Szentbékkálla – one of the gems of the Balaton Uplands – then you’ll have to make those compromises!

It’s no coincidence that one of the most beloved villages in this wine-growing region – held in high esteem since Roman times – has been attracting people seeking a home or simply looking to vacation here for centuries.

One such house, nearly two hundred years old, was purchased in the 1990s by Mr. and Mrs. Molnár, even though Aunt Gizi – the widow of the village’s famous winemaker, Gyula Németh – was still living there at the time. Oh, if only we could know their stories, too! And there are numerous signs, even today, that the building once belonged to a wealthy family of vineyard owners. The property is quite large, measuring about 1,200 square meters.

Photo: Ákos Kaiser

As soon as you step through the gate, it’s immediately apparent that a small farm must have been operated here once – though it was more of a backyard farm, with just enough livestock and vegetable gardens to support a large family. The property, which lacks a front yard, is surrounded by a series of beautiful buildings: the main house; at the far end of it, the former stable, which the residents have converted into a guesthouse; further back, the former barn; and across from it, the vegetable cellar, the bread oven, and the workshop.

The couple renovated the traditional house in Szentbékkálla – which looked dilapidated at first glance but was actually in reasonably good condition, though an architect is precisely the kind of person who seeks out such challenges – between 1995 and 1997.

– oh, how many people have done the same before them and since – and the property was an unmissable opportunity, albeit one that promised a lot of work, which, as experts in the field, they felt compelled to take on.

Photo: Ákos Kaiser

“I can’t tell you how many times I heard, ‘When are we finally going to buy a house of our own? After all, every decent person has their own!’ Well, it wasn’t my wife who kept saying that – she loved our lifestyle back then, which meant we were always living somewhere else. It was more the family members who kept harping on it. But when we got here, we said: ‘Yes, this is it – we’re definitely putting down roots here,’” recalls Endre Molnár of their early days in Szentbékkálla, and then begins to recount the house’s history with the kind of enthusiasm that only an expert and a local can muster. It should be added that of these, only the first is true of our host; he could easily deny being an outsider, though. The fact is that he, too, has been a resident of Szentbékkálla for decades.

Built from typical local quarry stone, the house faces the street with its gable end. It was characteristic of the area to use a mixture of stones – sandstone, limestone, granite, and hupoka – whatever was at hand. The stones were set in clay, naturally without any insulation. As a result, the wall absorbed a great deal of moisture from the ground; perhaps this presented the first major challenge during the renovation. “We had to chip away the old plaster and replaster the walls – that’s how it began. This isn’t surprising for a house like this, which, judging by the bricks in the chimney, was likely built in the 1840s, though there are no exact dates. There are plenty of clues, however,” it turns out.

“In the kitchen – once the center of domestic life – traces of the former open hearth and chimney were still visible, but the Bohemian-style vaulted ceiling also suggests that the house is

But we also know that before the vaulted ceiling was built, the house had a climbing chimney supported by a 2-meter beam. “This type of enclosed chimney was characteristic of the era and, compared to the earlier smoke kitchen, provided greater comfort for the residents,” explains the homeowner, who adds that the residents not only heated their homes here but also smoked ham, sausage, and other foods. He further emphasizes: the façade had a gable-end closure, and he himself designed the catwalk staircase – or rather, restored it, since this was actually how it was originally built here, and it truly fits in with the region.

It’s as if we were leaping across the centuries – that’s the feeling you get when peering in or out through the original windows, through these small windows – made without nails, set in frames secured with dowels, with glass that’s already become hazy at the edges – which, of course, bear no resemblance to today’s thermal efficiency standards, but no one expects anything of the sort from them anyway! And they’re so beautiful – no wonder Endre and his team left them intact in several places.

We also learn a thing or two about the porch that accentuates the entrance: it was added around the time of World War I; previously, the door was framed only by the basket-arch windows on either side. Further inside, the porch used to be an open section of the building – one might even call it a small veranda – but this has since been enclosed. After the renovation, the new owner slightly remodelled the entrance, turning it into a covered, cozy terrace that’s now part of the house yet still blends seamlessly with the natural surroundings – the kind of place where guests immediately want to sit down.

But in this heat, we’d rather go inside, and what a relief: thanks to the stone walls,

Of course, this is also due to the fact that the neighbouring lot is situated higher up, therefore the house built right on the property line is quite deeply embedded in the ground on the north side. You see, the street runs along a hillside – in fact, the entire town of Szentbékkálla is spread out along it. “The renovation required us to completely excavate the wall and install a drainage system, and inside, we repaired the defects with plaster,” says Endre, frequently reminding us to duck our heads, since the lintel is much lower than what we’re used to today.

Everywhere we step, the furnishings reveal the host’s passion for collecting old Transylvanian ceramics: in the cabinets, on the shelves, and – most strikingly – on the beams, which are covered with original axe marks and look almost handcrafted. Everywhere, the “porfödém” (meaning ‘dust ceiling’) has retained its old-world beauty, and we also learn why it’s called that. “Back in the day, they spread clay over the planking above the beams. As is the natural order of things, as it dries and reacts to heat and humidity, it crumbles slightly, and the dust sifts through the gaps between the planks into the room,” —he explains, then points to the floor beneath our feet: unfortunately, the once-beautiful wide plank floor had to be replaced, as it was rotten and even damp at the edges, but the new one isn’t bad-looking either.

A pantry once opened off the kitchen long ago; later owners converted it into a bathroom, and it’s now clear that the house needs both. As for the flooring, the original had to go, since the stones were simply laid out on the ground without any foundation or insulation, which made it unliveable for people today – who rarely spend time indoors wearing thick tights and boots – since the whole floor was usually freezing cold.

says our architect host, hitting the nail on the head. The courtyard, by the way, is spacious and impressive. Attached to the main house is the former horse stable, which now serves as a guesthouse; it features a magnificent single-column, vaulted ceiling, and it’s a joy to step inside.

So, while they weren’t bound by such local regulations, there are situations where regulations aren’t a bad thing. The former municipal leader has an opinion on this, as well, having seen cases where significant alterations have marred what were once traditional buildings. This was another reason why Szentbékkálla – like other villages – should have a townscape guidebook, which, since 2017, has at least provided guidance on what helps preserve a unified townscape.

“It’s a huge challenge to deal with people whose tastes and expectations don’t align with their budget, and it can also happen that a project that starts out as a single-family home renovation ends up becoming a business, and then we’re left scratching our heads,” — Endre notes the challenges facing this popular vacation destination, mentioning that façade renovations are the most sensitive issue. If only everyone would recognize the importance of ensuring that a restored old building fits in with the character of the town – or at least with that of the Káli Basin, and, in a broader sense, the Balaton Uplands!

Ágnes Haitzmann

Architecture is the art form that perhaps has the greatest influence on our thinking and well-being. The goal of Hely.hu is to stimulate architectural discourse through news, engaging articles, and videos. Because architecture is a shared concern and a shared responsibility.