Károly Kós

Hungarian architect (1883–1977)

Károly Kós (, born Károly Kosch; 16 December 1883 – 25 August 1977) was a Hungarian architect, writer, illustrator, ethnologist and politician of Austria Hungary and Romania.

Born as Károly Kosch in Temesvár, Austria Hungary (now Timișoara, Romania), he studied engineering at the Royal University of Technology József, and only afterwards turned towards architecture (graduating from the Budapest Architecture School in 1907). 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 to Kalotaszeg and the Székely Land. Alongside Lajos Albrecht and others, he was one of the founders of the Transylvanian People's Party in 1921 — the group later formed the Magyar Party. Kós also edited its illustrated political journal Vasárnap. In 1924, he and several of his friends founded a publishing house under the name Erdélyi Szépmíves Céh ("Transylvanian Guild of Fine Arts"). From 1931, he was editor of the Erdélyi Helikon, and manager of the Miklós Barabás Guild (an independent interest group of Hungarian artists in Romania). In 1944 his house in Sztána (part of Northern 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 the Hungarian People's Union (Magyar Népi Szövetség, MNSz), and afterwards member of the Assembly of Deputies (1946–48). Kós taught at the College for Agriculture in Cluj until 1953, filling the post of the dean in 1945, and contributed to the journal Világosság between 1948–49. He died in Cluj.