Busó festival draws crowds, 2015 - Photo Gallery

Budapest (MTI) – Locals have managed to keep the tradition of the Busó festival alive in Mohacs, south Hungary, Zoltán Balog, the Minister for Human Resources, said on Sunday.

The minister said he hoped the spectacular end-of-winter show, which attracted crowds this weekend, will survive for generations to come.

Enjoy our photo gallery:

Buso festival draws crowds - Photo Gallery — Buso festival draws crowds – Photo Gallery

The popular festival included in UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list since 2009 featured 1,200 “buso” this year — frightening-looking costumed people wearing wooden masks and big woolly cloaks — who march through the city after arriving in boats on the Danube.

Among visitors this year were ambassadors Colleen Bell of the US, Jonathan Knott of the UK and Niclas Troube of Sweden.

The first record of the Busó is from 1783 and according to legend it was these costumed people who scared off the occupying Turks when they surprised them in a raid from over the Danube.