We found it! Vilmany, Hungary is the very small town in which my Grandpa Orosz grew up until he migrated to the states. Its a beautiful 2 hour drive northeast of Budapest. Who needs a yellow-brick road when you have miles and miles of yellow sunflowers to show the way? Once we arrived to the town we pulled up to the first church we saw, which was well past its prime. Assumptions got the best of me and I took several pictures assuming this was the church that my Dad had always told me about. After trying the door we went to the next, much newer, temple to inquire about a key. This one turned out to the the church of my childhood stories. A long game of charades with the locals finally proved fruitful. I somewhat explained to them that I was an Orosz and the man on the marker was my great-grandfather. They were more than happy to show me inside the church, his picture and his old house, a few doors down. On the way back we stopped at a local fruit stand and indulged in some of the sweetest peaches and a watermelon to take home.
Miles and miles of my favorites!
The girls and I in front of the phony, old church
Back of the old church
Finally found it!
Zoomed in
Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma,
and I never even knew we shared a name!
and I never even knew we shared a name!
Beautiful rose garden out front
My favorite picture
Picture of the grandparents!
I'm still working on the translation, but the framed paper is about the history of Vilmany dating back to 1333!
Inside the church, there were too many details to capture how exquisite it was.
Cross by the entrance.
The locals said Grandpa Orosz made crosses but I'm not sure if he made this one or not.
Grandpa's house
Castle of Boldogko in the background,
named after the cliff's resemblance to a "Resting Lion."
named after the cliff's resemblance to a "Resting Lion."
The fruit stand we stopped by on the way back home.
so awesome! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Katelyn - I am about to go to Vilmany myself this next summer with my family in order to do exactly what you did. My cousin Pat Orosz Carrothers googled Vilmany and saw your post and sent me the link. My great-grandparents are the same Orosz's that you mention and my Aunt (MaryAnn Simko Astraitis) has the picture that you showed of your grandparents hanging in her dining room. Pat and MaryAnn are both the grand-daughters of the Orosz's from Vilmany. Their parents were Jim Orosz and Mary Orosz. I would love to talk to you about your experience in Hungary. My name is Chris Brownson and my email is cbbrownson@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteMy cousin Pat said that perhaps your father was Steve Orosz? I see that you have a follower to your blog named Steven, perhaps your brother? I guess that means that we are related!!
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