Kecskemét Reformed New College

The Kecskemét Reformed New College, now home to the Kecskemét Reformed Primary School and Grammar School, was designed by the architect Valér Mende, whose promising career was cut tragically short. He belonged to the influential group of young Hungarian architects known as The Young Ones (Fiatalok), alongside figures such as Károly Kós, who sought to create a modern national architecture inspired by international trends and Hungarian traditions.
The building combines influences from Transylvanian vernacular architecture, the North German Jugendstil, and Finnish National Romanticism, while maintaining a distinctive character rooted in the landscape of Hungary's Great Plain. Folk-inspired motifs are reflected in the grey Zsolnay pyrogranite ornaments, while the numerous ceramic owls decorating the façade symbolise the building's educational purpose.
The Assembly Hall is adorned with magnificent stained-glass windows created by the workshop of Manó Róth, one of Hungary's most celebrated masters of decorative glass.
The building also houses the Reformed Library, whose collection of more than 56,000 volumes includes remarkable treasures such as a 1503 edition of Euripides and a New Testament printed in 1541, making it one of the city's most valuable cultural and historical collections.