Home

Mission statement

The Cleveland Hungarian Heritage Society’s mission is to preserve Hungarian culture and the history of Hungarians in Northeast Ohio, so that present and future generations can draw upon its collection for education, inspiration and enrichment. To carry out its mission, the Society sponsors educational and research activities, and operates a museum and library as a repository and exhibition center for Hungarian historical, literary and artistic items.

News you can use

The Museum is open to visitors on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, 11-3 and on those Saturdays when we have a program at the Museum. If you would like to visit us on another day when we are not open, you can make an appointment by writing a message to our email address, museum@clevelandhungarianmuseum.org, and we will answer your email and arrange for your visit.  Please give us at least a 4 day notice! Love to see you at the Museum!!!

The Cleveland Hungarian Heritage Society's Annual Meeting took place on February 26th at the Museum. Reports to the membership were given by the President, Tax Advisor, Curator Treasurer and Endowment Committee Chairman. The membership elected 10 Directors for 3 year terms and 4 Officers (President- János Szigeti ,Vice-President-Bea Tabor, Secretary-Zsuzsanna Gyori and Treasurer-Hajnalka Kezdi) for a 1 year term. For a full list of our Board of Directors please refer to the Home tab on our website and click on "Meet the Directors and Committee Members".

Did you know that the Cleveland Hungarian Heritage Society was incorporated as a non-profit corporation over 40 years ago?  The mission of the founders was to support a museum that would preserve the history of the Hungarian immigrant community in Northeast, Ohio, and would showcase Hungarian culture through its collection of fine art, folk art, books, and archival material. Since 1985, our collection has grown, our exhibits have embraced many topics, and our library has over 8000 volumes. Interactive computers enrich our exhibits, and our regular programming covers a broad range of topics. We have hosted children, high school students, college students, family reunions, political dignitaries, and the thousands of visitors who have come through our Székely gate to view our collection. With the support of our community, we have grown into a first class cultural gem located in downtown Cleveland.

Come visit us as we celebrate America 250 with a fabulous special exhibit on famous Hungarian-Americans.

 

Read more...

Roundtable at the Museum

On Saturday September 12th, the Museum had a unique event with the participations of some of Cleveland's other ethnic leaders who gathered to discuss the immigrant contributions on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the United States of America.

The Roundtable panel discussion was moderated by John Grabowski (Associate Professor at CWRU and Historian at the WRHS), with panelists Margaret Lynch (Director of the Irish-American Archives), Pamela Dorazio Dean (Director of the Italian American Museum of Cleveland), Andrew Fedynsky (of the Ukrainian Archives and Museum), and Andrew Lazar (Curator and Exhibits Director of the Cleveland Hungarian Museum).

The discussion started with the Revolutionary War 1776 to 1783: the signing of the Declaration of Independence by eight Irish immigrants from the various Colonies to the heroic military contributions by the Polish, Kosciuszko and Pulaski along with the Hungarian Michael Kovats who died at the Battle of Charleston SC in 1779. Then the discussion moved to the effect of the Revolutionary War on other later revolutions in Poland and especially the French Revolution of 1789, to the later revolutions in Europe in 1848 and with the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 - 1849.

They discussed the Civil War and the immigrant groups who participated in the various ethnic military regiments such as the Irish from the Northern states, the German regiments from New York, the Italian Garibaldi units who fought on the Union side, to the many Hungarian Union officers who immigrated to America after the failed Hungarian Revolution of 1848-49.

Read more...


Wine tasting to benefit the Museum

Friday, October 16th, saw friends of the Museum gather for the Annual Vintner Dinner, despite the rain, because they knew that they were in for some wonderful wine-tasting! From the very beginning 30 years ago, the purpose of the dinner was to raise funds in support of the mission of the Museum. As the years have gone by, we have been able to procure wonderful wines for our guests to taste. This year featured 5 wines from various small wineries throughout the famous wine growing regions of Hungary, including Badacsony, Tokaj and Villány.  Along with the lovely venue and table decorations, the wonderful music of Harmonia filled the dining room. This year our guests of honor were Nora and Zsuzsanna Sztaray, whose generous donation of 19th and early 20th century Hungarian paintings, along with ceramic pieces and costumes, have greatly enriched the Museum's collection. Board members of the Museum contributed to a very rich raffle table, and guests were able to browse through binders featuring information on the past Vintner Dinners. It was universally agreed, that this  event is a great way to start the weekend!

Read more...

We have launched our Online Collections Catalog
and we are excited to share them with the world!

~ WELCOME to our ONLINE COLLECTIONS DATABASE ~

You can see the many wonderful items that have been entrusted into our care ** no matter where you are **

Click here to visit the Museum’s exciting new resource!  There’s a lot more to come, so check back often!!

 

In February, 2020, the Museum received a grant from the Ohio History Connection, which allowed us to purchase software that will enhance our ability to catalog our collection, and incorporate donor and support information into one database. As a recipient organization, we are please to announce that this project is made possible in part by the Ohio History Fund, a grant program of the Ohio History Connection. The Ohio History Fund is made possible by voluntary donations of state income tax refunds, sales of Ohio History “mastodon” license plates, and other donations.

The Cleveland Hungarian Heritage Society which sponsors the Museum and its Programs, is an Ohio state registered non-profit 501 (c) 3 organization. Your donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.