Károly Kós (, born Károly Kosch; 16 December 1883 – 25 August 1977) was a Hungarian architect, writer, illustrator, ethnologist and politician of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

and Romania.

Biography

Born as Károly Kosch in Temesvár,

(now ''Timișoara'', Romania). His great-grandfather, Koos, was a Magyar peasant who assimilated into the Saxon community. He studied engineering at the Royal University of Technology József, and only afterwards turned towards architecture (graduating from the Budapest Architecture School in 1907).Biographical note to "Glasul care strigă" Already during his studies and at the start of his career, he had a special interest for the historical and traditional folk architecture, and made study trips to Kalotaszeg and the Székely Land. In 1909, his project for the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church in Zebegény, in 1909 the Óbuda Reformed parochial building, and in 1910 the Budapest Zoo complex (with Dezső Zrumeczky), were carried out. During the 1910s, he completed the Reformed Rooster Church in Kolozsvár (a city later known as ''Cluj'' or ''Cluj-Napoca'') and the hospital in Sepsiszentgyörgy (''Sfântu Gheorghe''). At the time, his style was influenced by the Vienna Secession and

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

. In 1914, at the start of World War I, Kós moved to Sztána (''Stana''). He was drafted the following year, but soon discharged on request from the Ministry of Culture. Between 1917 and 1918, he was sent on a study trip to

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. In 1918, Kós was asked to be a professor of the College for Applied Arts of

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, but he declined, wishing to return to

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

. He lived off commissions and started a political career, choosing, unlike many in the Hungarian community, to accept the Romanian Kingdom's administration in the region as a given, while engaging in active opposition inside its legal framework (and authoring a manifesto calling on others to do the same).Salat, introductory study to ''Maghiarii din România...'' Alongside Lajos Albrecht and others, he was one of the founders of the Transylvanian People's Party in 1921 — the group later formed the Magyar Party. Kós also edited its illustrated political journal ''Vasárnap''. In 1924, he and several of his friends founded a publishing house under the name '' Erdélyi Szépmíves Céh'' ("Transylvanian Guild of Fine Arts"). From 1931, he was editor of the '' Erdélyi Helikon'', and manager of the Miklós Barabás Guild (an independent interest group of Hungarian artists in Romania). In 1944 his house in Sztána (part of

Northern Transylvania Northern Transylvania (, ) was the region of the Kingdom of Romania that during World War II, as a consequence of the August 1940 territorial agreement known as the Second Vienna Award, became part of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920-1946), Kingdom ...

) was plundered, and he fled to Kolozsvár, where he rejoined his family. He was director of the Transylvanian Hungarian Economic Association. As a politician, he was the president of the Hungarian People's Union (''Magyar Népi Szövetség'', MNSz), and afterwards member of the Assembly of Deputies (1946–48). Kós taught at the College for Agriculture in Cluj until 1953, filling the post of the dean in 1945, and contributed to the journal ''Világosság'' between 1948–49. He died in Cluj.

Buildings designed

*1908-1910 **Reformed Parish Church, Óbuda **Roman Catholic Church, Zebegény; with Béla Jánszky **Zoo buildings,

; with Dezső Zrumeczky **the ''Varjuvar'', Kós' house in Sztana *1910-1913 ** Városmajor Street, Budapest; with Dénes Györgyi ** Wekerle estate, Budapest ** Székely National Museum, Sfântu Gheorghe (Sepsiszentgyörgy) ** Church with the Rooster, Cluj *1930s and 1940s **Kós' house in

Miskolc Miskolc ( , ; ; Czech language, Czech and ; ; ; ) is a city in northeastern Hungary, known for its heavy industry. With a population of 161,265 as of 1 January 2014, Miskolc is the List of cities and towns in Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, ...

**Exhibition Hall, Cluj ** King Matthias House restoration, Cluj **Milk hall, Mera village, Baciu

Novels

*''Varjú nemzetség'' ("The Varjú Kin", 1925) *''A Gálok'' ("The Gál Family", 1930) *''Országépítő'' ("The Country Founder", 1934)

Notes

References

* Lucian Nastasă, Levente Salat (eds.)
''Maghiarii din România şi etica minoritară (1920-1940)''
at th
Ethnocultural Diversity Resource Center. Open Society Foundation Romania
retrieved October 23, 2007:
Introductory studies by Lucian Nastasă and Levente Salat

Károly Kós, "Glasul care strigă"

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kos, Karoly 1883 births 1977 deaths Politicians from Timișoara Hungarian architects Hungarian art critics Hungarian male novelists Hungarian people of World War II Hungarian Calvinist and Reformed Christians Hungarian people of German descent Romanian Calvinist and Reformed Christians Romanian people of Hungarian descent Academic staff of the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca Architects from Timișoara Romanian art critics Romanian magazine editors Romanian male novelists Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania) Art Nouveau architects Recipients of the Order of the Star of the Romanian Socialist Republic 20th-century Romanian novelists 20th-century Romanian male writers 20th-century Hungarian male writers 20th-century Hungarian journalists