Stein Collectors International
Show and Tell

Note: There is now an English version of the association's web site.
Click on the British flag in upper right corner to get English.
Hungarian Stein Collectors Association

Most us when we think of Hungary think of goulash, music, and Budapest, so it is a little surprising to learn that beer stein collecting is strong and organized there. The Hungarian Stein Collectors Association is celebrating its ten year anniversary in April 2009. 

The stein shown on the left was commissioned to celebrate the association's tenth jubilee. The stein was manufactured by KIing-Works in Germany and has photos of all the members displayed. 

The association currently has thirty-seven members and meets twice a year. There is a two day general meeting in the Spring and another get together in the fall to visit places around the country where members live and listen to lectures on interesting topics such as §11 steins, turnfest steins, antique glass steins etc. 

The association has a web site which you can view at:

     http:/www.over-team.hu

Be aware that the site is written in Hungarian. If you do not speak the language, you might try using an on-line translating program and copying parts of the text to the program. The resulting translations are not very good or clear, but they will help to give you an idea of what is being said. One site I like to use is:

http://www.webforditas.hu/index.php?show=textTab&lang=english

Of particular interest is the page showing the club members with their collections which can be found without much effort. From the home page, click on Egyesület (last one on left). Then click on: Egyesületi tagok gyűjteményei (3rd one down). You then come to a page with a whole list of names going down the right side of the left box. Click on a name and after a few seconds, a pile of photos will begin to appear. Click on the top photo to scroll through the pile and view the member's collection.

Shown at the right is  István Szemere with some of his collection. István is the current president of the Hungarian Stein Association, and provided all of the information and pictures for this story. István invites any stein collector traveling to Hungary who would like to visit another stein collector to contact him and he will try to arrange a meeting with a collector who speaks English. His email address is: szemere@over-team.hu.  Shown below are some other club members with their steins, Jozsef Farkas on the left and Jozsef Nagy on the right. We thank the Hungarian club for sharing with us, and wish them continued success in the next ten years and beyond..