Zsolnay Cultural Quarter
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Transcript
The Zsolnay family turned Pécs into an internationally significant centre of ceramics in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
The factory developed technical innovations and distinctive decorative glazes, including the iridescent eosin associated with Zsolnay. Its architectural ceramics appeared on major buildings throughout the Austro-Hungarian world.
That makes Zsolnay a perfect final layer. The city that had absorbed Roman, medieval and Ottoman material became an exporter of surface and colour to other cities.
The former industrial complex has been redeveloped as a cultural quarter, preserving kilns, buildings and collections while changing the economic function.
Industrial heritage often survives by becoming culture after the factory no longer works as a factory.
The ceramics, appropriately, proved more durable than the business model.