The home of this extremely rich form of textile decoration is the small town of Mezokövesd, situated in the North Eastern part of the country. Although the origins of the name are unclear, it is thought to be related to the great Hungarian King Matthias (Mátyás).

The earliest known pieces date back to the mid-1800s and were applied on the borders of bedsheets, on pillow cases, shirt sleeves and aprons. To the originally used red and blue threads later more and more other colors were added, resulting in an eye-pleasing teeming of vibrating colors, from bright yellow through emerald green to mauve and even the wildest violet. These lively stitches bundle together to form endless troops of flowers, buds, leaves stylized boots and birds. So densely are the motifs actually applied that the white and black background fabric hardly show between them.

Although most Matyó women learnt and practised embroidery, the entwining patters were traditionally drawn on the cloth freehand exclusively by so-called writing or drawing women; those with the most skillful hands.

A pinch of faithlessness
In spite of the respect and popularity that Matyó embroidery is enjoying now, its history is not without blemish. It was in the early 1920s that among the fashion-conscious Matyó women expensive imported trims started to replace the traditional embroidery on their costumes. A substantial proportion of the family incomes was spent on the gold and silver colored braids, so the girls wearing too many glitters got barred from the church, then banned completely. On Ash Wednesday in 1925 this forced the distraught women to carry their precious glitters to the town square and burn them in a bonfire. Since the popularity of this unique handcraft has been undiminished, especially with foreign tourists.

Although fabulous pieces (pillowcases, tablecloths, bookcovers etc) can be bought in Budapest, for the best selection and a first-hand experience of how they are born, you may consider paying a visit to Mezokövesd.