“…and let me play, your beautiful serene son”
The ‘Once upon a time’ Toy Museum in Székesfehérvár
MúzeumCafé 44.
The Toy Museum is situated in a nicely renovated listed building known as the Hiemer House in the historic city centre of Székesfehérvár. The building also encompasses a registry office, an inner courtyard with fountain, a ball room, various halls recalling different periods – which are suitable for concerts, workshops and other functions – and suites furnished with antique furniture of a four-star hotel standard. The owner of the museum’s collection, Éva Moskovszky, was already thinking in 1996 of how to ensure a future for her toys, doll’s houses, toy furniture and board games. She chose Székesfehérvár as it is half way between Budapest and Lake Balaton and also an important destination for tourists in view of its history. The municipality agreed to organise a permanent exhibition and the toy collection was deposited with the town in 1998. That same year a selection was exhibited with the name Fehérvár Doll’s House under the auspices of the local King Saint Stephen Museum. Twelve years went by and the question arose concerning what else could be done with the collection. In 2006 renovation of the architecturally valuable Hiemer House began and a decision was made for it to have community functions. The idea was raised of developing the toy collection and, linked with museum educational projects, accommodating it there. The ‘Once upon a time’ Toy Museum opened in 2012 and is now based on two collections, since it has incorporated some 1300 works of graphic art, namely the children’s book illustrations of László Réber. The Toy Museum is administratively a member institute of the local Picture Gallery. It employs two professional staff, a museologist and a museum education specialist. As all museums, it has been involved with tender applications, for example the Social Renewal Operational Programme.