Discover Pécs’s Zsolnay Cultural Quarter: Design Icons 2025–2026, curator tours, Gyugyi Collection, and family workshops blending heritage ceramics with contemporary design across a historic campus. Plan your cultural getaway.
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Pécs’s cultural heart is gearing up for a packed season as the Zsolnay Cultural Quarter rolls out its 2026 program of temporary and permanent exhibitions. Set across the historic grounds of the former porcelain manufactory, the Quarter blends the legacy of the Zsolnay family with a bold lineup of contemporary and emerging artists, making it one of Hungary’s most eclectic art hubs. The season spans December 12, 2025 to March 29, 2026, anchoring winter and early spring with design-led shows, guided walks, and family workshops across the 7600 Pécs campus.
The flagship exhibition Designikonok – tegnap és ma (Design Icons – Yesterday and Today) runs from December 12, 2025 through March 29, 2026. It’s the anchor event of the season, setting the tone for a program that connects classic design heritage with today’s innovators. Surrounding it is a cluster of guided tours and creative sessions that bring visitors directly into collections and spaces normally explored at a distance.
On February 28, two guided experiences invite visitors deeper into Zsolnay history. Felfedező séta a Zsolnay Aranykora – Gyugyi-gyűjteményben (Explorer Walk in Zsolnay’s Golden Age – The Gyugyi Collection) dives into the famed Gyugyi Collection, a showpiece of the Quarter that spotlights the artistic apex of Zsolnay ceramics—think shimmering eosin glazes and turn-of-the-century craft at its peak. The same day, A Zsolnayak léptei nyomában – séta a család egykori otthonában (In the Footsteps of the Zsolnays – Walk Through the Family’s Former Home) traces personal histories through the family’s residential spaces, tying design milestones to real lives and rooms.
On March 6, Osvárt Judit exkluzív tárlatvezetése | Designikonok – tegnap és ma (Judit Osvárt’s Exclusive Guided Tour | Design Icons – Yesterday and Today) offers a curator-led path through the headline exhibition. Expect context, connections, and a sharp contemporary lens on pieces that shaped taste across decades. If you like your design with commentary and conversation, this one’s for you.
Two weeks later, on March 21, families take the spotlight. Kortársék | Családi alkotóműhelyek a Designikonok tegnap és ma c. kiállításhoz kapcsolódóan (Contemporaries | Family Creative Workshops linked to the Design Icons exhibition) turns the galleries into hands-on studios. It’s a make-and-learn setup designed to bridge eras—yesterday’s icons meeting today’s makers in a room buzzing with ideas and materials.
The Zsolnay Cultural Quarter is more than a venue; it’s the living blueprint of a city that turned industry into culture. Housed on the grounds of the old porcelain factory, the Quarter preserves the artistic and technical breakthroughs that made Zsolnay a European name—eosin glazing, architectural ceramics, and a recognizable style that shimmered across buildings and tabletops alike. Permanent displays, including the Gyugyi Collection, are the backbone; rotating shows and guest curators keep the pace modern. The 2026 season leans into that mix: heritage as foundation, contemporary voices as the live wire.
The exhibitions and events unfold across the Zsolnay Cultural Quarter in 7600 Pécs. Contact details, email, and the website are listed by the venue, but in this basic listing the links are not active. If you need specifics—tickets, accessibility, group bookings—use the venue’s information request option to get direct answers from the team.
Dates to note:
– December 12, 2025 – March 29, 2026: Designikonok – tegnap és ma (Design Icons – Yesterday and Today), Pécs
– February 28, 2026: Felfedező séta a Zsolnay Aranykora – Gyugyi-gyűjteményben (Explorer Walk in Zsolnay’s Golden Age – The Gyugyi Collection), Pécs
– February 28, 2026: A Zsolnayak léptei nyomában – séta a család egykori otthonában (In the Footsteps of the Zsolnays – Walk Through the Family’s Former Home), Pécs
– March 6, 2026: Osvárt Judit exkluzív tárlatvezetése | Designikonok – tegnap és ma (Judit Osvárt’s Exclusive Guided Tour), Pécs
– March 21, 2026: Kortársék | Családi alkotóműhelyek (Contemporaries | Family Creative Workshops), Pécs
Good news if you’re turning the exhibitions into a weekend. Pécs’s historic center is thick with stylish stays and easy logistics. For a refined base, Adele Boutique Hotel occupies a protected 19th-century building in the old town, pairing period architecture with high-spec modern rooms and apartments. Boutique Hotel Sopianae leans into contrast: heritage exterior, crisp contemporary interiors, and attentive, discreet service right in the city center.
For hillside calm above downtown, several guesthouses and pensions tuck into the Mecsek-side villa district. You’re five minutes from forest trails and just as close to the city streets; the local zoo and Da Vinci Private Clinic are nearby, and the Mandulás recreation area—playground, fire pits, and walking paths, including routes toward the TV Tower—sits a short stroll away. Groups can even tap into free guided hikes.
If you’re craving views with a Hungarian twist, Bagolyvár on Havihegy delivers fresh air and vistas across Pécs. Its charm lies in 19 rooms decorated with folk-art elements and six suites modeled after press houses, each evoking a different iconic Hungarian wine. The restaurant is warmly traditional, with a menu spanning Hungarian classics and international dishes, and a soft spot for old-school Magyar recipes and desserts.
Prefer something compact and convenient? Barbakán Hotel, just behind Pécs Cathedral, offers two-, three-, and four-bed rooms, plus a conference room and garage parking—an easy fit for city breaks or small gatherings. Closer to the UNESCO World Heritage Early Christian Necropolis and the Cathedral, apartment hotels in the villa quarter put you within minutes of Museum Street and key sights.
For bigger groups or nature-first travelers, the Büdöskúti key-house sits midway between Remete-rét and Orfű, about 800 meters off the main road along the Blue Trail and Green Cross-marked routes. It accommodates up to 12 people—great for hikers pairing culture in the Quarter with forest time in the Mecsek.
With Design Icons anchoring the calendar, curator-led tours adding depth, and family workshops opening creative doors, the Zsolnay Cultural Quarter’s winter–spring season is built to pull you in—and keep you wandering. Between the glow of Zsolnay’s golden age and the pulse of contemporary design, Pécs is set for a rich, walkable cultural circuit. Book a room, lace up for a hillside stroll, and give yourself an afternoon with those iconic glazes—they still catch the light like nothing else.
