Petőfi Literary Museum

Dedicated to enriching the cultural attributes of Hungarian literature, the Petőfi Literary Museum was founded in 1954 in Budapest with the aim of collecting and preserving records of Hungarian literature. The Library is named for the renown poet Sándor Petőfi who is a symbol of Hungarian poetry within and beyond the borders of the country.

The Literary Museum took over the Petőfi House which was the original protector of the Petőfi legacy. Founded in 1909, the Petőfi House acted as an exhibition and research center that aimed to institutionalize the Petőfi Cult, as well as collect authorial documents that were not of interest to contemporary libraries, museums or archives at the end of the 19th century. When the Petőfi Literary Museum replaced the former organization, it was expected that they would carry the tradition of spreading the Petőfi legacy.

The Museum started a society that not only collected and preserved valuable documents, manuscripts, books and relics, but also began to purchase homes that once belonged to famed authors. Today the Museum keeps the inherited estates from falling into disrepair and continues to grow its collection of contemporary Hungarian literature.

Today the Museum has become a nationwide authority in the field of Hungarian literature. The collection is no longer just in Budapest, and the Museum’s responsibility has dispersed to valuable literary works beyond the city limits.