Compiled by Róbert Zoltán Bálint
“The folk high school meant much and still means much in the life of Mészkő. True, it never mobilized the masses—at least not in a Hungarian village of four hundred inhabitants, where one can hardly speak of masses. It did not reach every young person. The chosen are always few: those who choose a better life for themselves. It cannot be otherwise. People are born this way. Only hatred or superstition can move people in great numbers.
My folk high school wishes to know neither hatred nor superstition.”
In the life and work of Ferenc Balázs, the role of organizer of folk high schools and adult education extended far beyond pedagogy or cultural programming. It represented a comprehensive mission of community building. During his ministry in Mészkő (today Cheia, Romania), he developed a model in which religious service, social responsibility, and popular education formed a unified whole.
A Danish Model in a Transylvanian Context
Ferenc Balázs’s work in adult education emerged in Transylvania during the 1930s, in a period marked by minority existence, economic uncertainty, and social challenges. In the years between the two world wars, issues of self-organization, cultural identity, and community preservation became particularly important for Hungarian communities in Transylvania.
The intellectual foundation of these initiatives lay in the Danish folk high school model developed in the mid-nineteenth century by N. F. S. Grundtvig. This model sought to promote general education, national consciousness, and civic engagement. It emphasized the spoken word, dialogue, and communal living rather than formal examinations and rigid academic structures. In Denmark, the movement played a significant role in renewing a society facing crisis and contributed greatly to the country’s development.
Ferenc Balázs adapted this vision to the local realities of the Aranyos Valley:
“I do not wish merely to adopt a type of school that has proved successful abroad. What developed in Denmark is Danish—humanly and historically. What we need must be Transylvanian. (…) Already during the first winter I discovered that the Hungarian people of Aranyosszék are not Danes, because I could neither then nor later awaken the interest of those between eighteen and twenty-five years of age, who form the principal audience of the Danish folk high schools. It seems that Hungarians do not fully mature until they are thirty. (…) The core of a Transylvanian Hungarian folk high school will consist of young people between fifteen and eighteen and married adults between thirty and forty who have already found their place in life in their own way.”
(Under the Clod)
The Mészkő Experience
In Mészkő, Ferenc Balázs did not establish a formal institution. Rather, he created a living community space where learning, work, and spiritual life reinforced one another.
As he recalled:
“During the first winter, I invited those who possessed above-average intelligence or curiosity and who wished to examine some of the questions of the universe. I did not personally select them. Anyone could attend these gatherings, just as anyone could attend the Sunday evening meetings.
Yet while a few came at first merely to show themselves, by the second and fifth evenings only those returned who were genuinely interested, those who were something more than average. At that point I wanted nothing more than to gather these ‘more-than-average’ people together—for companionship, mutual growth, and the deepening of our lives.
Nevertheless, I gave these modest weekly gatherings a grand name. I called them a Folk High School. In essence, that is exactly what they were: a higher education for the people. Although they represented only the seed of the Folk High School I hoped for, I believed then—and still believe—that one day we would reach that goal. And it is good to introduce the name into public awareness as early as possible.”
(Under the Clod)
Through these activities, Balázs involved villagers directly in the learning process, emphasizing conversation, shared reflection, and practical knowledge. This was not merely an educational method but also a means of community organization. Participants were not passive listeners but active members of a learning community.
The folk high school functioned as a true “school of life,” responding to the practical challenges of everyday existence.
As Balázs described:
“Monday evenings were devoted to practical knowledge. The young certified master carpenter Miklós Gálfi worked with groups of fifteen to twenty participants, reviewing the fundamentals of arithmetic and geometry. He even taught land surveying.
The following winter, another certified master carpenter, András Kereki, provided the elementary legal knowledge everyone needed, combined with practical exercises in letter writing.
Wednesday evenings belonged to Hungarian literature. Ferenc Zsigmond, teacher at our denominational school, read the masterpieces of Hungarian literature one after another.
Friday evenings were dedicated to history. During the first winter we studied the history of Transylvania; in the second we discussed the opening chapters of H. G. Wells’s Outline of History.”
(Under the Clod)
Community Initiative and Personal Commitment
The spirit of the folk high school is well reflected in a contemporary assessment of the movement by János Erdő:
“The future of the folk high school depends not on official institutions but on private initiative. It requires freedom of action and persistent individuals with a prophetic spirit.”
Under Ferenc Balázs’s leadership, this vision became reality. The institution emerged through the combination of community initiative and personal commitment. It demonstrated how education could become a catalyst for social responsibility, civic engagement, and communal renewal.
A Model Still Relevant Today
Ferenc Balázs’s work as an organizer of folk high schools remains highly relevant today, particularly as contemporary societies search for alternative forms of civic education and community learning.
At a time when formal educational systems often face challenges and limitations, his model offers a vision of learning that is personal, community-centered, and value-driven. The principles of the folk high school—voluntary participation, dialogue, mutual learning, and community involvement—continue to provide effective tools for strengthening local communities and social cohesion.
Numerous folk high schools continue to operate throughout the Carpathian Basin, and many of them reflect, directly or indirectly, the legacy of Ferenc Balázs and the model he developed in Mészkő.
Bibliography
Balázs, Ferenc. A rög alatt (Under the Clod). Aranyosszék Regional Development Press, Torda, 1936.
Balázs, Ferenc. Bejárom a kerek világot, 1923–1928 (Around the World, 1923–1928). Lapkiadó Press, Cluj–Kolozsvár, 1929.
Dáné, Tibor Kálmán. “Ferenc Balázs and the Transylvanian Folk High School Movement at the End of the Twentieth Century.” Művelődés, 2017/7, pp. 4–8.
Erdő, János. “The Importance of the Folk High School in the Life of Our People.” Erdélyi Fiatalok, Vol. 5, No. 4 (1934), pp. 122–128.
Mikó, Imre; Kicsi, Antal; Horváth Sz. István. Ferenc Balázs: A Monograph. Bucharest: Kriterion, 1983.