Hungary’s Famous Porcelain Factory

The Herend Porcelain Factory contains one of the largest collections of hand-crafted luxury porcelain in the world. Famous buyers have included Tsar Alexander II, Kaiser Wilhelm I, Shah of Iran and the British royal family.

Situated near Lake Balaton, close to the Bakony hills is Herend, the largest and most prestigious porcelain manufacture in Europe.

Founded in 1826 by Vince Stingl, the company originally bgean producing earthenware pottery. At the time, low-cost pottery was readily available across the country, so competition was fierce. In 1839 a major turning point occurred when Mor Fischer became the company’s new owner. Taking Herend in an entirely new direction she turned to designing dinnerware patterns. Soon afterwards, Herend quickly gained international recognition for it’s work. In the 1850s Herend added meticulously-crafted figurines to its creations, with folk figurines commanding center stage in the early years. The Herend Porcelain Factory became a purveyor to the Habsburg Dynasty as well as aristocratic customers throughout Europe. This was known as the golden age of Herend.

A Herend employee at work. Items are made from hard-paste porcelain using a mixture of kaolin, feldspar and quartz.

After War II, the company was nationalized and owned by the communist State. Shortly after the fall of the wall when Hungary regained its political and economic freedom of open market economy, in 1993 the company was silently purchased by private ownership. The majority of the company’s stock is now in the possession of its management and employees.

The factory remains one of the largest producers of hand-crafted luxury porcelain in the world. Many of Herend’s classic patterns are still in production. The company employs over 1600 people, all of whom must attend a three-year training program before beginning their work at the factory.

Herend features their own porcelain museum which showcases the history of its crafts and displays some of it’s most precious pieces. There is also the Porcelanium where visitors can tour the factory and observe porcelain-making demonstrations.

Adjacent to the factory is the Apicius Restaurant and Café, named after the celebrated Roman gourmet Apicius. Dishes are served, naturally enough, using the finest of Herend’s porcelain.

For those seeking to discover the rich history of Hungary’s most renowned craft, the Herend Porcelain Factory is certainly worth a visit.

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Tags: china, Featured, herend, hungarian history, porcelain

Category: Hungary