Hungary - Central Europe's largest Teddy Bear museum boasts of rare old teddies from all over the world

Decade: 2000

The Teddy Bear Museum in the small village of Rakoczifalva in Eastern Hungary holds the largest collection of teddy bears in Central Europe, and possibly the whole of Europe as well. This unique collection not only exhibits antique teddy bears but also toys dressed in handmade clothes of various historical styles from renaissance to modern times.

The museum opened 8 months ago with the collection of Antal Balazs who has so far catalogued 1,200 of his bears. He has many more still to list and his collection keeps on growing.

Antal started collecting antiques 25 years ago but for the past 11 years he has been specialising in teddy bears. He has teddies from all over the world, many of... Read more The Teddy Bear Museum in the small village of Rakoczifalva in Eastern Hungary holds the largest collection of teddy bears in Central Europe, and possibly the whole of Europe as well. This unique collection not only exhibits antique teddy bears but also toys dressed in handmade clothes of various historical styles from renaissance to modern times.

The museum opened 8 months ago with the collection of Antal Balazs who has so far catalogued 1,200 of his bears. He has many more still to list and his collection keeps on growing.

Antal started collecting antiques 25 years ago but for the past 11 years he has been specialising in teddy bears. He has teddies from all over the world, many of them from Central Europe, mainly from Poland and the Czech Republic. Some teddy bears are around 100 years old, and the exhibition is a good example of how teddies have changed over the years. The older teddies have far more resemblance to real bears than those of today. Their faces are less round and their noses more pronounced. Their backs are slightly hunched, and they have more detailed feet.

In the 1920's some teddies were made in a very realistic way with open mouths and teeth, but they turned out to be too frightening for children. With time, teddies became softer, rounder, and less realistic. Over the years teddy bears remained all time favourite toys for children all over the world.

"Collecting teddy bears is different from other collections in the sense that teddy bears have been loved by children for more than 100 years and nothing has managed to knock it from its top position ever since. So the teddy bear was a really great hit among children and it remained so among the elderly too. Everyone loves the teddy bear," Balazs said.

Soon after the launch of the museum visitors started to add to the collection by sending in their own old teddies rather than throwing them out. Often teddies need restoration and repair. But there are some teddy bears that are beyond help, especially those with a built in mechanism that makes the bear move. Often the key is missing, or the engine is broken. But on display there are some that are still functioning, such as a teddy bear with a honey bottle, and a knitting teddy. Another moving teddy is a Japanese toy; a teddy proudly holding a camera.

"Collecting teddy bears has been a very long process. When we started it wasn't really appreciated but now it seems that collecting teddy bears has taken root and there is a tradition. We would like to welcome teddy bear collectors here to show their collections and this is why we keep expanding and the building will soon have 400-500 square meters of space," Balazs said.

The museum has ambitious plans not only to expand its space but also to experiment by dressing teddies in special costumes. It already has teddies dressed as seven Hungarian chieftains from the 8th - 9th century and a teddy dressed as the first king of Hungary. The museum's next plan is to create a complete army of teddy bears dressed as "kuruc" - freedom fighting soldiers, who fought against the Habsburgs in the 18th century. Teddy bear collectors also hope the bears can help to educate young people from the village about their historical heritage. Rakoczifalva has a strong tradition linked to Ferenc Rakoczi, leader of the wars of independence. His former castle has been ruined but the villagers hope the income from the expansion of the teddy bear museum will eventually help them rebuild the historical Rakoczi castle.