GRAPE VINE WREATH

 

TELKI-BANYA : 800 YEARS OF MINING GOLD, SILVER, OPALS, CRYSTALS, MINERALS : WONDERFUL PLACES IN HUNGARY #30

 

Are you a "rock hound?" I suggest that Telki Banya would make for a leisurely day trip in Tokaj mountain country. I first heard of Telki Banya years ago in genealogy archival documents. I suspected I might have ancestors who lived there and research proved I was right, though the old handwritten records for the Protestant Church were both difficult to read and (surprise!) had been transcribed in the FamilySearch genealogy database! (The ancestors moved and became Roman Catholics along the way.) Telki Banya translates to Good Mine and I was intrigued to know that gold and silver had been mined there since the Medieval period. Years ago there wasn't much on the Internet about the little town. There is much more now. I was next amazed to learn that there are surface minerals and gem stones, especially opals! It seems there are so very many varieties of gemstones and crystals to be found in the area this place has true geological educational value. The reason why? Ancient volcanos. You can still see lava domes and other evidence above ground.

This beautiful video is a delight to watch:

Walk or hike, go to the mining museum, buy some locally made jewelry from the also local rocks, check out the Protestant church and graveyard (carved wooden posts), the Saint Catherine's Roman Catholic chapel and an old Jewish graveyard. 

ARCGIS - MINERALS AND ROCKS! CHECK THIS OUT! A colorful expandable geology map.

RESEARCH GATE (JUST A LITTLE TASTE) OF GEOLOGICAL MARVALS IN TELKI BANYA

Anthropic Vulnerability of a Hydrothermal Mineral Deposit and Related Mining Heritage, a Case Study from a Medieval Gold-Silver Mining Area, Telkibánya, Hungary

As I researched Telki Banya, I found some "gems and minerals" of information.

I have lost where I got this excerpt from: 

Far away from noisy towns, hidden in the Zemplén Hills Hotel Ezüstfenyő *** awaits its explorers continuously, reviving the atmosphere of the long-ago Károlyi hunting mansion. Telkibánya is situated between the Northern mounds of the Zemplén Hills; from its mines gold and silver were exploited during centuries. The roots of the 'magical' reputation of the small village go back to the special cultural heritage and the natural beauty of the neighbourhood as well as to the healthy environment excellent for curing asthmatic diseases.

Then there's this one:

Surface minerals, Telkibanya  (from a now expired site called szallasfoglalas) said:

The hills surrounding the settlement are the cherished terrain of mineral collectors who find many lovely and precious stones here on the surface including opal, jasper and mountain crystal.

Mineral tours are organized locally. Gyepű Hill primarily offers amethysts, smoky quartz and mountain crystals, Kánya Hill is known for its amethysts, smoky quartz, mountain crystals, and a pseudomorphosis of quartz after calcite. Sinta Hill is the place for the most beautiful mountain crystals but agates can also be found. White Hill (Fehér-hegy) holds geodes, the Ósva Valley varieties of opals. 

Here is the "big geode."

MATARKA (PDF) HISTORY OF MINING TELKI BANYA

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BOOK and PEONY

 

BALATONUDVARI HEART SHAPED TOMBSTONES and ARTIST ILONA KERERU

Yes, believe it or not, there is a graveyard in the village of Balatonudvari (near Lake Balaton) where the tombstones are all "heart shaped."  (Some say shaped like an apple, but perhaps the point of the heart is in the ground?)  See the good photographs.

MEDIUM : HEART SHAPED TOMBSTONES of BALATONUDVARI by Alexandra Palconi 

Excerpt: "THE DEAD HEART TURNS INTO STONE, TOO.  FIRST IT BECOMES DUST< THEN IT TURNS INTO STONE."

Of course, there is also a local legend about these monuments; apparently, a local handyman convinced the villagers of Balatonudvari to order heart- shaped tombstones because "the dead hearts turn into stone, too.  First it becomes dust, then it turns into stone."  There are rumors that the last of the heart-shaped tombstones stands at the handyman's grave.  The creepy thing is, according to the same legend, he even engraved his own tombstone.

STEVEN FRIENDMAN GALLERY : ART BY ILONA KESEWRU INSPIRED BY THE HEART SHAPED TOMBSTONES

WAYS TO FIGURE DEATH OF AN ANCESTOR IF THE RECORDS ARE MISSING OR INCOMPLETE : HUNGARIAN CEMETERIES , READING DEATH RECORDS, GENEALOGY RESEARCH IN HUNGARY #5

Those of you who have been into genealogy for some time may already know this. Those of you who are early in your research may not realize; Warning! - This is a lot of work - a lot of time will be required.  I suppose it's about how motivated you are to go back further, another generation.

Because I'm an "extreme genealogist" I frankly enjoy the challenge.

1) Do your family group sheets. Often you find the birth/ baptisms of children is what reveals a married couple.

2) On some birth records, you may notice a cross mark which indicates death and a date listed. If the date is not listed and it's a baby, then the baby probably was still born or died soon after birth.

3) Notice the pattern of children born and the age of the parents. Is there a point where a reasonably fertile youthful couple stop having children?  You might make a timeline in which you figure the age of the mother at each childbirth.  

4) Notice if a given name has been used in that family before. That indicates that the child in the family first given that name has died, and so the name is being used again.  (This ties into a religious belief that God is giving a replacement child and blessing the couple. So many babies and children died without becoming adults before vaccinations, I often truly wonder how people could emotionally handle so much death.  Since it was happening all around them, though, they had the experience of "this is how life is.")

5) The remarriage of a man or woman almost always indicates the death of a spouse in those days before divorce, so the records may state that they had a previous marriage, that they are a widow or widower, and might mention the woman's previous married surname. (Don't be shocked if the remarriage comes soon after the death.  People were pragmatic and work was gender-based. Pressure was on to remarry.) Until you find a definite date, you would note "death previous" to the marriage date on your research.

5) Informal adoption : Notes may also indicate that a child's parent died. Sometimes you will notice on a marriage record that a mention has been made of a former parent's surname. Because adoption for common children was so informal, it could be that they went to live with relatives, or they may have started working to support themselves very young... This may be revealed also by doing a "house number"/ farmstead study, seeing who is living at the address and when.

C 2025  Magyar-American BlogSpot  All Rights Reserved including Internet and International Rights.   This genealogy series can be brought up using the tag Hungary Death Records - Gen Tips

HUNGARIAN CEMETERIES NEED UPDATED MAPS AND DATBASES BUT... HUNGARIAN CEMETERIES , READING DEATH RECORDS, GENEALOGY RESEARCH IN HUNGARY #4

HUNGARY : CEMETERIES : NEED FOR UPDATED MAPS and DATABASES  https://rmx.news/hungary/grave-matter-hungarian-cemeteries-lack-up-to-date-maps-and-registries/

But please remember this: Many cemeteries in the United States, Hungary, everywhere, are missing tombstones - a grave was never provided one, or a wooden cross or other marker was destroyed by weather, or the stones were stolen or - in the case of some places in Europe - removed to be used for other purposes by the Nazi's, BUT THE POINT IS....  Just because a tombstone is not there does not mean that the burial didn't happen. And so...

CONTACT THE CEMETERY! As this article mentions, finding out who was buried and where might not lead anywhere... But some cemeteries have hundreds of burials recorded in their books that have no stones. The first place to look is the cemetery associated with the church in which you've found the record of death. If you are going to visit in person, make contact as far in advance as possible. Knowing a relative is going to visit may be inspirational to the care-taker.

CONTACT THE DIOCESE! Often burials in cemeteries that are religion-based are also recorded with the diocese and not just the local church.

CONTACT THE UNDERTAKER! Sometimes the funeral home keeps records which may mention where the burial took place. This is a more modern approach.

HOWEVER

The Jewish people have taken on cemetery projects in an admirable way. Starting many years ago, initially the idea was to visit cemeteries that had suffered from damage during the Holocaust, and from the neglect because generations had left Europe, and clean, straighten and record the stones, mow down the weeds, and sometimes erect other memorials.  

Here is an example ZEILSLER FAMILY PROJECT : EGER JEWISH CEMETERIES

And the INTERNATIONAL JEWISH CEMETERY PROJECT EASTERN EUROPE

C 2025  Magyar-American BlogSpot  All Rights Reserved including Internet and International Rights. This genealogy series can be brought up using the tag Hungary Death Records - Gen Tips

MASS BURIAL OF SOLDIERS WHO FOUGHT OFF THE OTTOMAN TURKS IN THE BATTLE OF MOHACS - August 31 1526 - DISCOVERED : ARCHEOLOGY IN HUNGARY

The excavated remains are planned to be laid to rest of the 500th anniversary of the battle, which is on August 29, 2026, in a crypt in a chapel to be built there.

HUNGARY TODAY : MASS GRAVE : BATTLE OF MOHACS good photos of the dig

MIAMI HERALD : MASS GRAVE WITH THOUSANDS OF SKELETONS BATTLE OF MOHACS includes audio....  A dark day in Hungarian history, thousands dead in an hour, including the Hungarian King... Some were executed, some may have been prisoners.

This is quite the animation by Aditu Laudis

URN OF GERANIUMS