The Herend Porcelain Factory has been producing Hungary’s finest handpainted chinaware for over 180 years. Initially it specialised in copying and replacing the nobles’ broken chinaware settings imported from Asia. To avoid bankruptcy in the 1870s, the factory began mass production; tastes ran from kitschy pastoral and hunting scenes to the ever-popular animal sculptures with the distinctive scale-like triangle patterns. In 1992, 75% of the factory was purchased by its 1500 workers and became one of the first companies in Hungary privatised through an employee stock-ownership plan. The state owns the other quarter.
You can witness how ugly clumps of clay become delicate porcelain in 40-minute mini factory guided tours (in English, every 20 minutes from 9.30am). The museum displays the most prized pieces of the rich Herend collection, including some pretty kooky 19th-century interpretations of Japanese art and Chinese faces, plus its own patterns; many, like the ‘Rothschild bird’ and ‘petites roses’, were inspired by Meissen and Sèvres designs from Germany and France. There’s also a short film tracing the porcelain’s history.
Herend is 13km west of Veszprém. Buses from Veszprém leave at least every 30 minutes (425Ft, 20 minutes, 21km); other destinations include Sümeg (1000Ft, 1½ hours, 52km, eight daily) and Balatonfüred(800Ft, one hour, 37km, two daily). Six trains run through Herend daily from Veszprém (350Ft, 12 minutes, 14km).
