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Szabó Marcipán Múzeum
Dumtsa Jenő u, Szentendre [map]
18km North of Budapest
Take the HÉV suburban railway from Batthyány tér (M2)

In every major city in the world, you can see churches, art galleries and historical museums but it can be hard to find something that's truly individual. So the idea of a Marzipan Museum might seem quite refreshing. But stop! There’s a reason that the world isn’t littered with marzipan museums…

“Garden with pagoda”, 18kg, 98 hrs: looks like plastic tat. Vases, two of them, not dissimilar to something you’d find in a bargain bin in Poundstretcher, Dollar Tree or Grot.

They’re made from marzipan? I don’t believe it! But how did they manage to get that cheap look? And the paintings, they’re marzipan too? I was sure that was genuine felt tip. But what’s this? Russian dolls that look just like Russian dolls! Marzipan, you say? What, they’re actually made from marzipan? You’ve got to be kidding me!

Presumably, the function of the Marzipan Manufacture section is to demonstrate how these miracles are worked. For now though, we must be content with a part-constructed dinosaur and some pastry cutters. The next enclave is dedicated to plants: a veritable florist’s display of plastic-look pot plants, plus, inexplicably, one goggle-eyed dragon. Conversely, the second cabinet, “Cactuses, pre-historic animals”, seems somewhat devoid of the latter.

Upstairs, I’m overcome with a sense of enchantment at the fairytale wedding cake, fairytale carriage and portrait of the fairytale princess herself, the late Diana. She's sneering. Onward then to a celebration of Hungary: the magnificent parliament building takes centre stage, except that the detail isn’t really detailed enough to be impressive. There’s something about that chocolatey roof and the butter-icing colouring of the stone that, frankly, makes me feel nauseous.

Oh my God, it’s Michael Jackson! A larger-than-life Michael Jackson, circa 1994, with a fat head. It would be rather too flattering to assume that the melted effect was intentional. Likewise, Mozart’s violin looks anything but solid and I imagine the strange din it might produce. On a brighter note, a floral-patterned pillow does faithfully reproduce a stitched effect, and, if I were anywhere else, I would believe that the rack-railway steam engine was made of iron.

Throughout the visit, there’s no free marzipan, which seemed to me to be something of an oversight. Just a little taste, that’s all I ask. It might just have been enough to tempt me into buying some fantastic marzipan sweet sensation or other. In fact, I would recommend that you use the admission fee to do exactly that. Who started all this building stuff out of marzipan anyway? Just eat it. (Cue Michael.)
marcipan muzeum
Andy Sz.