Jókai Mór Memorial Villa in Balatonfüred, Hungary

"100 Days of Jókai Mór" February 1- April 30, 2025

From the Jókai Mór Memorial Villa website - I used Google Translate and did a bit of editing:

“Jókai Mór’s first visit to Balatonfüred in 1857 had a profound effect on him and his wife, Laborfalvy Róza. In addition to the beauty of the landscape, the atmosphere of the spa attracted the couple so much that they became regular guests of Balatonfüred from then on, and 10 years later they bought a plot of land and built the villa which currently serves as a memorial museum.

The villa was built in an eclectic style - it was not completed till the fall of 1870, but the Jókais took possession of it in the summer of that year. Above its southern veranda, you can enjoy the view of Lake Balaton and Tihany from a terrace.

Several of Jókai's novels are connected with the summers spent in the villa: The Man with the Golden Touch, The Black Diamonds, The Road of Poverty, The Damokos, Three Marble Heads, as well as numerous stories and spa-themed articles written for the capital's newspapers.

After the death of Jókai's wife, he sold the villa at the beginning of 1889 to János Michelini, a grain merchant from Veszprém. The Jókay family bought the villa back in 1908, after his death. In 1954, on the 50th anniversary of the writer's death, the country's only Jókai Memorial Museum was opened in the building. Since 1992, every year in May, on the anniversary of the writer's death, his admirers commemorate him with the Jókai Days event series.

Since May 2010, the renovated Jókai villa has been serving its visitors as a memorial house, recalling the intellectual milieu and giving a glimpse into the everyday life of the family in Balatonfüred. Here you can find Jókai's desk, famous binoculars, notable pieces of his walking stick collection, as well as his famous mineral and snail collection, and his wife's clothes, stage props, and other relics. In addition to the period-furnished kitchen, interesting things await the visitor, such as Jókai's own drawings, miniatures and ivory carvings.”

Yes, there is such a thing as too much Jókai Mor!!! Watson before:

AND AFTER the tour!!!

The most dog friendly museum EVER - the dog silhouette in the garden evokes Jókai Mór's Newfoundland dogs Selika and Zulejka who travelled with him from Budapest to Balatonfüred for the summer!!!

The kitchen at the Jókai Villa in Balatonfüred, Hungary - where the famous Jókai Bean Soup (Jókai bableves) was made!!! The display includes a reference to the recipe!!!

Balatonfüred, where Jokai spent his summers in the 1870s, is a Hungarian spa town on Lake Balaton’s north shore. Home of the State Hospital of Cardiology, the town hosts the annual Anna Ball on July 26 - my Saint’s Day!!! - at the Anna Grad Hotel!!! I attended the festivities last summer - phenomenal!!! The lakeshore Tagore Promenade commemorates the Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) who was treated in Balatonfüred in the 1920s. Jókai Mór’s Memorial Villa is the resort town’s main cultural attraction. If my photos communicate the peaceful charm of this treasure, then I’ve accomplished my purpose!!!