„Tündérkert” (Fairy Garden) is the pride of Pestlőrinc Local history

   The forerunner of Gyöngyvirág street was once cut into the deer-forest interwoven with oak trees of the beautiful Grassalkovich manor; then some 130 years ago beautiful villas were built on both sides of the street, providing a summer residence or a permanent home for politicians, scientists, wealthy businessmen and the leaders of the settlement.
A great majority of the villas were built on the basis of plans received from Paris by Menyhért Lónyay, Prime Minister, who parceled out this area. He moved into one of the villas while he sold the others to his friends and acquaintances.

Villa Kuszenda – Today it functions as Napsugár (Sunshine) Children’s Home.

Chapel of the Carmelite nuns – Today it is the St. Lawrence Catholic Elementary School:

 Tündérkert (Fairy Garden) Restaurant (the eponym)  Today it hosts the Ernő Dohnányi Conservatory:

 Villa Hofherr -  New Tündérkert (Fairy Garden) Restaurant, Nostalgia Café and Confectionery:

The Past

In the former life of our “New Fairy Garden” it was a villa with living-rooms, spacious interior spaces and a vast park. The building that is characterized by the features of the Classicist style is supposed to have been built in the 1890s.
At the very beginning of the Twentieth Century it was owned by Albert Hofherr, royal counselor and world famous industrialist of  “Kispest”.

The story started to be spread during the years of the Second World War as to which the villa belonged to Katalin Karády, superstar of the epoch, and this romantic and exciting tale persists even until this date.
After 1945 the building was passed on to the ownership of the Hungarian Army and functioned as a replacement center.
Following the democratic transformation, the Local Government purchased the building and the Creative Workshop of Fine and Applied Arts of the Artistic Association of the district operated here.
Owing to lack of financial resources, the state and condition of the building considerably deteriorated and its reconstruction became necessary, and since it enjoys local protection it is considered as a historic monument, therefore the renewal had to be carried out in the same spirit.

The Present

The reconstruction and the renewal was implemented on the basis of the plans of Ferenc Kollmann.
By removing the walls of the rooms a banqueting hall of 160m2 and two private rooms of 25m2, each, have been established.

The private rooms can be opened into each other and have separate entrances; thus our Guests can visit the private rooms during the summer months, irrespective of the events held in the banqueting room.
The finish and furnishing of the guest space is demanding but unostentatious and reminds us of the civic atmosphere of the twenties of the past century.

Our cuisine is based on Hungarian traditions but somewhat adjusted to the requirements of our age and here and there some Mediterranean and Oriental elements can also be discovered in it. In preparing our meals we use carefully selected raw materials and ingredients only in the spirit of “slow food”, restraining from using thickeners, sauce powders or finished products that accelerate the preparation. It is worth waiting a little more than usual for our meals because their tastes speak for themselves. Taste our classical cakes and confectionery of a unique taste as a closing course.

We arrange family and friendly events, meetings, engagement and wedding parties, christening feasts, dancing parties, company banquets, conferences, press conferences, presentation lectures at high quality level and with great expertise.
There operates a beer or coffee garden with 120 seats in our natural park of 6400 m2 under the shadow of chestnut trees where our Guests can peacefully have their coffee or meals while children can play on the vast grassy area to their delight.
Our internal closed parking lot can host 40 cars.

Új Tündérkert Étterem Nosztalgia Kávéház és Cukrászda
(New Fairy Garden Nostalgia Café and Confectionery)
1183. Budapest Gyöngyvirág u. 8
Reservation:  291-8268
www.ujtunderkert.hu


History of the Hofherr family
The life of Albert Hofherr

The Hofherr family comes from Moosbeuren, South Germany. Mátyás Hofherr, the founder of the one time world famous agricultural machine and tractor manufacturing company, was born here in 1829, in a smallholder family.
In this area were born several other world famous personalities: R. Bosch, G. Daimler, W. Maybach and the Mauser brothers.
Mátyás Hofherr deserves being mentioned among them based on his work, life career and technical ingenuity because in establishing the Hungarian agricultural machine industry he benefited Europe and probably the whole world in at least the same extent as the notabilities in their own fields of specialization mentioned together with him.
The world renowned agricultural school had already been operating in Hohenheim in the province that was one of the most important agricultural schools in Europe at that time. Mátyás Hofherr was born into the farmer family in this narrower environment.

 The young Mátyás Hofherr was not attracted by agriculture because he was more interested in machines. After having finished the elementary school, he became a locksmith apprentice, following his aptitudes. He proved his talent for this profession already when he conceived and fitted such a cunning lock that it attracted admirers from the neighborhood!

At that time it was a custom that the newly released young craftsmen went on a long journey in order to enrich their knowledge and experiences.  He did the same and in the meanwhile travelled through France, got as far as England, Switzerland and Munich. He enlarged his professional experience with several good pieces of experience. The last stop in his journey was Vienna where he became a foreman in the agricultural machine plant of György Hubazy, a manufacturer of Hungarian origin. He drew attention to himself with several independent designs in the factory. His name was already known at the occasion of the Exposition of Augarten held in 1856. Afterwards he worked in Odessa for several years before returning to Vienna. He became a manager in the Vienna plant of the British Clayton-Shuttleworth Company that was already renowned at that time!
Here he could sell his patents, satisfy his creative abilities and ambitions and exhibited his steam-power driven, high-performance corn-sheller machine at the occasion of the industrial exhibition organized in 1866 in the Prater.
Following continuous success he left the Clayton Company and opened up his own agricultural machine manufacturing plant under the name “M. Hofherr” in the tenth district of Vienna, at the address of Erlachgasse 26. He began to manufacture the most sought for machine at that time, the mechanical harvester. This was the “most longed for” machine in agriculture since manual harvesting was a longish process and entailed great grain loss owing to the lack of workforce. Mátyás Hofherr manufactured his machines following the model and design of the system of the British “Samuelson” harvesting machine. The mechanical research plant of Mosonmagyaróvár summarized his achievements concerning his machine-related experiment results as follows:
“the success of these machines in practice is inevitable….”
A Viennese mechanical expert gave a similarly good opinion about the machine:
“… the farmers should better buy this machine than the original make…”
At this time representation of these machines was fulfilled by the Clayton company because their own machines were more famous but they did not concealed the benefits of the Hofherr machines, either. The Hofherr brand-name became better and better known.  It was awarded prizes on his own name first in Mödlingen and later in 1873, at the occasion of the Vienna World Exhibition as well. Owing to the popularity of and the demand for the harvesting machine, Hofherr was incited to enlarge its manufacturing program. According to a contemporary statistical analysis, the plant produced 588 mowing-machines, 48 threshing-machines, 30 sowing-machines and several other machines until 1873!
The Hungarian farmers sought for these novelty machines already after the successes at the exhibitions, but the real “expansion” started after the exhibition of Pozsony. A machine depot was established in Budapest at the company of Miklós Fehér, then a branch warehouse was opened in Szombathely for Hofherr machines. Two years later another warehouse was opened in Pápa. At this facility the “Favorita” harvesting machine in Hofherr’s own conception was solely offered.

As the contemporary papers witness, the gradual expansion reached its peak at around 1880. The Hofherr brand-name appeared in Arad, Zsombolya, Pancsova and Pozsony, and later abroad as well. Then the buyers of Lemberg, Bucharest, Odessa and Harkov were acquainted with the name.
A change took place in the management of the company in 1881. János Schrantz, “sleeping” partner until then in the business came on the scene. Since then the company appeared in the business life under the name of “Hofherr-Schrantz Imperial and Royal Independent Agricultural Machine Factory”. The brand-name going back to several decades was not harmed and the commercial policy was put on a new path.
In 1883 new workshops were added to the plant of Erlach street in Vienna, and new makes were launched on the market, such as – among others – the first steam locomobiles and steam threshers! At this time Mátyás Hofherr was 54 years old. The steam thresher stocks met with great success already when launched on the market.
At that time Hungarian industrialization also commenced as a result of the industrial boom in the West. Hungarian factories began to manufacture agricultural machines with the help of state subsidies. At the nation-wide exhibition organized in 1885 in Budapest, Hungarian machine factories also appeared with different products besides the Hofherr-Schrantz Plant! The Machine Factory of the Hungarian Royal State Railways, the Grossmann and Rauchenbach factory, the István Röck factory, the Nicolson company, the Schlick Ironworks and Machine Factory, the Factories of Lang L., of Hugó Graepel, Ede Kühne and that of Zs. Hercz, as well.
The greatest sensation of the exhibition was that the Clayton company did not exhibit any machines. At the time of the exhibition Mátyás Hofherr had already a competitive advantage among the Hungarian smallholder and landholder clientele that seemed to be unrivalled. Thus the Clayton company thought it better to stay away from the exhibition than to suffer an eventual defeat! Of course, it did not signify a loss of importance of the British company on the continent at all.
Their economic strength was further proven by the fact that their plant located on the Emperor William road was transferred to a considerably larger plant area. It was further culminated by the establishment of another plant in Óriás street!
The expansion of the competition incited Mátyás Hofherr to take a decision. He recognized that his establishment in Hungary cannot be postponed any more.
After the expansion of the Vienna plant the demand for the steam threshers increased, too. Instead of the depot operating until then, he established a branch machine warehouse almost opposite of his competitor.
The previously friendly relationship between the two companies loosened because the Clayton company did not reckon Hofherr’s expansion as a friendly move. In addition to that, Hofherr had to meet the challenge of the Hungarian machine factories as well. It became obvious for them that retaining the clientele, acquiring of new buyers is only possible by providing ever better and technically more and more perfect machines.
In the sharp competition Mátyás Hofherr undertook a guarantee for “un unlimited time” for the wooden structure of the machines manufactured by his company. The increasing demand made it doubtless that further extension would be needed.
By purchasing the Schlick building, a new branch factory was established; then a new three-storey office building was constructed. An exhibition room, a meeting room and a sales center was furnished in it. The new building signaled even in its dimensions that the Clayton company had been overcome!
The expansion of the Vienna factory was made totally impossible by the territorial endowments and the built-up nature of the area. On the 29th anniversary of the founding of the factory, the then 69-year-old Mátyás Hofherr decided, together with János Schrantz who was of almost the same age, to build a new factory.
They took as a starting point that the products of the Viennese factory were mainly bought on the Hungarian market, thus the idea of founding a factory in Hungary was self-evident. Budapest with its cheap transport opportunities on the Danube proved to be an excellent location for it.
Mátyás Hofherr found the location of the possible establishment of the factory in Hungary in 1900, in the outskirts of Kispest. The plot of land proved to be ideal from all aspects, and the company purchased an area of some 10 hectares from the one-time Cséry manor at an incredibly low, “imaginary” price of HUF 78 per acres.
Early 1900, rapid construction was started in Kispest under the direction of Rudolf Hofherr, the senior mechanical engineer of the Viennese plant. The uncultivated but swampy and marshy area was suitable for later expansion. The opportunity was available to connect to the Lajosmizse-Kecskemét railway line that ran directly beside the area! All these constituted favorable auspices, thus Hofherr obtained the ownership of an area of 10 hectares in Kispest!
In order to train the unskilled workforce, 100 professionals and foremen were transferred from Vienna in 1901.

After completion of the construction work and launching the new factory, Mátyás Hofherr passed the management on to his younger brother, Albert Hofherr. The new manager was born in 1868 and graduated from a mechanical vocational school and acquired immense professional experiences in the family circle. These circumstances made him suitable at the age of 33 years for managing the plant started off in Kispest.

 At that time, Mátyás Hofherr – who was 75 years old – still participated in the management and development of the company. There was constant development implemented even in the years 1902, 1903 and 1904 following the inauguration of the factory. New workshops and warehouses were built and the focus of the Viennese production was gradually shifted to Kispest. Locomobiles, threshing machines and other makes left the factory in growing numbers. Considerable exports were made worldwide.

Mátyás Hofherr died at the age of 80. His death signified a great loss for the Hungarian agricultural machine industry. The state-of-the-art nature and the high quality of his machines played a non-negligible role in that the Hofherr machine became a concept both in domestic and worldwide terms!

Hundreds of thousands of machines were exported first under the brand “HS” and later under “HSCS” brand-name into several countries of the world and brought fame and success for Hungarian craftsmanship.

Albert Hofherr worked hard and with success almost for 20 years in the management of the company in further establishing the worldwide reputation of Hofherr agricultural machines and tractors. He made the name famous not only as a manufacturer but also as a wealthy citizen.
Though his factory was located in Kispest, he lived in Pestszentlőrinc. As the contemporary documents witness, he was a generous patron of the city. He made regular contributions to public life.

„The Kispest-Szentlőrincz Papers” – wrote!
The Paper published the photo of the honorary certificate of Albert Hofherr on its front page on February 9, 1908. The “General Craftsmen’s Association of Kispest” elected the manufacturer as its honorary chairman.
At the occasion of this event, Albert Hofherr organized a public dinner for 100 persons. The people of distinction congratulated the celebrated person one after the other and praised the outstanding efforts he made for the city. The celebrated host greeted the guests in Hungarian and stressed that even though he “did not master the language sufficiently enough”, he is Hungarian in his heart!
Hearing the notes of the Hungarian national Anthem, Albert Hofherr was the first to stand up, hereby giving evidence to his feelings.
The Paper informed the readers on October 31, 1909 about the following:
“Unveiling of a commemorative plaque.
Mátyás Hofherr’s commemorative plaque cast in bronze was unveiled in the presence of Albert Hofherr and with the participation of the managers, employees and workers of the company.
At the respectful celebration the choral union of the factory sang a song specially composed for this celebration. Afterwards the staff of the civil service of Kispest placed their laurel wreaths. The celebration was closed by the final address of the company's president.
The same paper published the following news in its issue of April 23, 1911:
“Albert Hofherr, Hungarian nobleman”… the motion was passed into resolution unanimously by our body of representatives… The settlement of Kispest expresses his gratitude and devotion to its benefactor and the driver of its development, Albert Hofherr, and requests for him the granting of Hungarian nobility with the title “of Kispest…”.
Count Menyhért Lónyay, the powerful Minister of Finances, constructed a villa in its manor of 1,000 acres today called Gyöngyvirág street.
On the parts of the manor sold gradually at abundant profits further renowned people started to establish themselves: Loránd Eötvös, Tivadar Puskás, Albert Hofherr, Tivadar Margó and others. Albert Hofherr had a villa built here that aligned well into the row of villas both by its style and huge garden.
His social activities were followed with attention by the Kispest-Szentlőric papers all along his life.
After his death in 1933 the villa frequently changed hands.
What is certain is that the tenants and owners succeeding one another did not pay sufficient attention to architecturally preserving the building and its environment.
While reviewing the remaining documents the header of the documents strikes the eyes of the reader: Hofherr-Schrantz-Clayton-Shuttleworth, Hungarian Engineering Works, i.e. in its abbreviated form: HSCS.
The emergence of this name needs some explanation!
In 1842 Nathaniel Clayton, shipmaster, and Joseph Shuttleworth, technician had founded a machine factory in England. This factory gained a leading position in the agricultural machine manufacturing industry in the Western world.
In the meantime the Hofherr name was broadened to Hofherr-Schrantz in 1881 but it remained well-known in public life. The Hofherr and Schrantz company exhibited a wide range of products in the nation-wide exhibition organized in 1885 in Budapest.
In Western terms the Clayton firm remained a leading company but they recognized in time the increasing expansion of their competitor. That is why they sold all of their Central-European interests, factories and warehouses to the Hofherr company for 15 million Crowns. Thus the prestigious British company completely withdrew from the continent but consented to the use of their name.
The HSCS name that appeared after the interconnection of the names of the two outstanding companies enhanced the reputation of both parties!
When the first American-made wheeled petrol and diesel-oil fuelled tractors made their appearance in our country, Hofherr and his partner had to decide about the future, i.e. to which of the two systems their manufacturing should be refitted.
Hofherr and his partner decided for the single-cylinder, diesel-oil operated, glow-plug ignition type.
They made a lucky choice, as was later confirmed by the several decades of success of the HSCS tractors. Thus were created the new Hungarian tractor types, with numerous changes in their concept but with ever and ever better technical solutions. The most outstanding success was achieved from among them by the tractor type G-35.
The rubber-wheel plough tractor manufactured under the type mark G-35 had worked in several thousand numbers in foreign and Hungarian agriculture for long years and ran as a traction engine on public roads.

Their operation did not cause difficulties even for the few and relatively low-skilled or unskilled tractor operators that were available at that time in agriculture.
This type provided a good transition to introducing the more modern machine fleet of the following time periods. The continuous development efforts produced better and better machines!
After the end of the Second World War and following the social and political changes the government of that time nationalized the Hofherr tractor manufacturing company by passing its decree No. 3500/1948 (March 26) of March 26, 1948. The factory was renamed “Red Star Tractor Manufacturing Company” and nearly 50 years' of prestigious past came to an end!
Traditional manufacturing was continued under the new name with modernizations.
However, the year 1957 was a decisive year in tractor manufacturing.
The economic policy guidelines oriented the team of designers of the factory, too, towards conceiving modern, universal tractor types. The following rapid design work led to the conception of the U-28 tractor line. The type mark refers to the number of horsepower.

  It was conceived by the technical staff of the factory under the direction of János Korbuly, senior designer and Emil Rhorer, chief engineer. The type marks UA, UB, UC and UD signified types that satisfied various agricultural needs.
For satisfying extreme requirements the UE type mark version of the product family was created. In this type the advantages and the disadvantages that could be eliminated were united.
In addition to the placement of the engine beside the front axle, the short axial distance, the dynamic load on the axles and the performance of the towing hook, this concept was a complete novelty in the industry.
The increasing use of harvesting machines demanding higher performance also necessitated that the engine performance of the tractors be also increased. Thus was created the D4K tractor of a similar type. The factory incorporated a six-cylinder engine version of a performance of 90 hp that was developed by the Csepel Works, and it was put on the manufacturing lines with the type mark D4K-B.

Later the requirement for multi-purpose utilization was raised in respect of this tractor as well. The engineering team of the factory found solutions even for equipping them with different machines, trenchers, stackers, push-plates, plough types and harrows!
These two new types of this epoch would have made the Hungarian tractor manufacturing industry thrive if within the “Eastern” block the MTZ had not been manufactured by the Soviet Union, the Zetor by Czechoslovakia, and the Ursus by Poland and another type by the Rumanians.
However, there was not enough room for so many types in “Eastern” tractor manufacturing, and higher “aspects” were enforced!
For producing modern Hungarian tractors in larger quantities capacities would have to be increased! However, the political background did not ensure the opportunity for making an important investment by which the Red Star Tractor Manufacturing Company could have implemented more important production.
The team that had been able to conceive such good machines did not receive the opportunity for it! Naturally there were “justifications” lying in the background, but they could not be made public!
The economic management of the industry provided such advantages for the importation of foreign – mainly Soviet – tractors for the Hungarian agricultural cooperatives that they could buy two MTZs for the price of one D4K-B!…It raises the issue that under such circumstances what were the chances of choice of the Socialist agricultural sector?
Even if it had a management of Hungarian attitude!
Two machines could work at two places at a time... and on top of it, they were cheaper? Such a great disadvantage was forced on the Hungarian tractor manufacturing industry that could not be overcome by fair competition! There remained the higher price and the lower production opportunities…
For eliminating and reconstructing the immense damages caused by the world war a demand for transportation and earthwork motorization had arisen that cried for the creation of a special vehicle – the dump truck – that constituted a transition between the tractor and the truck.
After the 4 prototypes, the following 3 years confirm the acceleration of the production between 1950 and 1954, during which period 2435 types suitable for various purposes left the factory!
Many years have passed since then and our lives have undergone innumerable events. The tractor marvels of our days do not remind us of the former machines any more. Technical advancement has brought about such changes of which our ancestors did not even dare to dream! Nevertheless, today we must think of that each current technical wonder could only have been created by an enhancement of one of the former technical concepts!
Nowadays, the inhabitants of Kispest, but anyone who arrives here from any part of the world and who walks down the Albert Hofherr street of Kispest in the spring of 2008, can be a witness to the final end of a legend. The buildings of the once (in 1901) built workshops with saw-toothed roofs are still standing. Though broken windowpanes stare into space as blind men, the brick walls that are older than 100 years defy the passing of time!

 The once so modern water tower stands out by far from the buildings. According to some information it is still able to operate but probably only the smoky, gassy, dark foundry would need it… because nothing else signifies life in this neighborhood!


And even the foundry, who knows for how long… because the “factory” is dying!


The passers-by in the street can hardly know about the world reputation of the factory and can hardly know who was the eponym of the street in whose factory thousands of agricultural machines came into being and worked all over the world marked by the “HSCS” brand-name.
A “deathly” silence reigns in the abandoned buildings and where once thousand of tractors were manufactured now decay is proliferating and the creators sleep their eternal dreams!

 From among the civilian population of Kispest less and less people know the Hofherr name and even less are those who know for what this name became famous!

Budapest, March 2008


Imre Torma
industry historian
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