Károly Kós | |
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| Born | Károly Kosch (1883-12-16)16 December 1883 Temesvár,Austria-Hungary (todayTimișoara, Romania) |
| Died | (1977-08-25)25 August 1977 |
| Nationality | Hungarian |
| Citizenship |
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| Alma mater | Technical University of Budapest |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Spouse | Ida Balázs |
| Children | 4 |
Károly Kós (Hungarian pronunciation:[ˈkaːrojˈkoːʃ], bornKároly Kosch; 16 December 1883 – 25 August 1977) was a Hungarian architect, writer, illustrator, ethnologist and politician ofAustria-Hungary and Romania.
Born as Károly Kosch inTemesvár,Austria-Hungary (nowTimișoara, Romania). His great-grandfather, Koos, was a Magyar peasant who assimilated into the Saxon community. He studied engineering at theRoyal University of Technology József,[1] and only afterwards turned towards architecture (graduating from the Budapest Architecture School in 1907).[2] 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 toKalotaszeg and theSzékely Land.[2]
In 1909, his project for theRoman Catholic church inZebegény, in 1909 theÓbudaReformed parochial building, and in 1910 theBudapest Zoo complex (withDezső Zrumeczky), were carried out.[2] During the 1910s, he completed the ReformedRooster Church inKolozsvár (a city later known asCluj orCluj-Napoca) and the hospital inSepsiszentgyörgy (Sfântu Gheorghe).[2] At the time, his style was influenced by theVienna Secession andArt Nouveau.
In 1914, at the start of World War I, Kós moved toSztána (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 toIstanbul.[2] In 1918, Kós was asked to be a professor of the College for Applied Arts ofBudapest, but he declined, wishing to return toTransylvania.
He lived off commissions and started a political career, choosing, unlike many in theHungarian community, to accept theRomanian 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).[3] AlongsideLajos Albrecht and others, he was one of the founders of the Transylvanian People's Party in 1921 — the group later formed theMagyar Party.[2] Kós also edited its illustrated political journalVasárnap.[2]
In 1924, he and several of his friends founded a publishing house under the nameErdélyi Szépmíves Céh ("Transylvanian Guild of Fine Arts"). From 1931, he was editor of theErdélyi Helikon, and manager of theMiklós Barabás Guild (an independent interest group of Hungarian artists in Romania).
In 1944 his house in Sztána (part ofNorthern Transylvania) 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 theHungarian People's Union (Magyar Népi Szövetség, MNSz), and afterwards member of theAssembly of Deputies (1946–48).[2]
Kós taught at the College for Agriculture in Cluj until 1953, filling the post of the dean in 1945, and contributed to the journalVilágosság between 1948–49. He died in Cluj.
