The Hungarian Translators’ House in Balatonfüred invites translators who translate Hungarian literature into their own language. Founded in 1998, the Translators’ House has fostered an annual number of 40 - 60 guests during the the entire ten years of it’s existence. It offers an attractive working atmosphere, being situated in an over 100 years old town-house with six rooms, a library and a seminar room. The house entertains contacts with Hungarian and foreign cultural institutions, universities and publishing houses. It organizes translation seminars for young and talented translators, for example from France, Spain, Estonia, Croatia, Finland, Russia, the Netherlands and Slovakia. The Translators’ House publishes an annual magazine (Füredian Translator’s magazine - Füredi Forditoi füzetek) and a newsletter. It is headed by the Hungarian Translators’ House Foundation (Budapest) and is a member of RECIT (Réseau Européendes Centres Internationaux de Traducteurs littéreaires).
Balatonfüred is on the northern bank of the Balaton, surrounded by rolling hills and boasting a Mediterranean climate. The town was declared a spa in the 18th century because of its effervescent healing springs, making it a meeting place for progressive politicians, artists and the aristocracy from the early 19th century into the thirties.
Numerous monuments, buildings and traditions in the town testify to that time. The "Anna Ball" for example goes back to 1825, originally held in the "Horváth House". The Transdanubian region’s first stone theatre was built here in 1831 with donations from an abbey and the local residents, and opened by Sándor Kisfaludy. And the Hungarian "reform era" still leaves its mark on the historical lower part of the town with the "Blaha Lujza Villa", where the famous Hungarian "fin-de-sičcle prima donna" spent her summers for 23 years.
Memorial plaques erected in the Füred Pantheon recall numerous writers, poets, artists and scientists who played an important role in the spa town. And Tagore Promenade is named after the Indian literature Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, who was treated in a clinic on the Balaton for his heart problems. The spa park on the promenade also features statues and memorial trees for the town’s famous guests.
Balatonfüred is also the centre of the wine-growing region of Balatonfüred-Csopak, producing full-bodied, fiery wines with a high alcohol content from Baltonfüred and lighter, more discreet wines with a rich and pungent bouquet from Csopak.
One of the many villas and churches in the spa town used for cultural purposes is the Lipták Villa, named after its former owner Gábor Lipták and now the Hungarian Translators’ House. Many foreign translators come here for two to six or even eight weeks, to enjoy the peace and quiet. They stay in one of the six rooms and can start work immediately. Time spent here is very valuable, as one can do three times as much as at home—at least that’s what everyone says before they leave.
The house has a good library with many dictionaries and encyclopaedia (after all, it is far more pleasant to arrive with a book to be translated and a toothbrush rather than suitcases full of reference works). And the shelves are often a source of inspiration for the next translation, a new Hungarian novel or poetry collection to be recommended to one’s publishers. Guests can use technical equipment such as Internet access in every room and a well-equipped kitchen for culinary creations. And visitors to the Lipták Villa are never far away from the Hungarian cultural scene.
The Translators’ House is a place where most guests come from abroad but still all speak Hungarian. And translators who would like to solve tricky issues with the Hungarian writer they are working on can simply invite the writer to the villa. For many guests, perhaps the most important thing is simply spending a few weeks in close contact with Hungarian culture, especially the country’s rich and interesting literature. 70 to 80 translators visit the villa every year, only slightly fewer visit our homepage every day.
Are you one of them?
Péter Rácz & Gábor Schein