New anti-Hungarian voices in Romania: now they demand the demolition of the new Kölcsey statue

Hungarian President Katalin Novák inaugurated a statue of Ferenc Kölcsey in Nagykároly (Carei), Transylvania, Romania on 12 April. The head of state was greeted by anti-Hungarian chants in the municipiu in Satu Mare County. Now, the Directorate of Culture of Satu Mare County has requested the demolition of the recently inaugurated Kölcsey statue due to the “irregular stone foundation”. As a reaction, the mayor of Nagykároly firmly stated that they could not lay a finger on the monument.

Statue inaugurated by Hungarian President Katalin Novák

On 12 April, Katalin Novák inaugurated the seated statue of Ferenc Kölcsey in Nagykároly (Carei), Transylvania. The head of state was greeted by anti-Hungarian chants, with Romanian media claiming that the president was the one who provoked anti-Hungarian nationalists.

By “provocation”, the Romanian news television channel Digi24 meant that Katalin Novak started to walk towards the people shouting. A video of this action was also published, Főtér writes.

The Hungarian head of state, however, had no intention of angering the nationalists. There was no confrontation, Index writes: Novák did not bother with the obscenities thrown at her, but rather changed direction. Before the arrival of the Hungarian president, protesters unfurled a huge national flag. They also chanted patriotic and anti-Hungarian slogans in anticipation of the statue’s inauguration.

The Directorate of Culture fined the Mayor’s Office

A few days later, the Directorate of Culture of Satu Mare County fined the Mayor’s Office of Nagykároly for the inscription on the statue. The statue of Ferenc Kölcsey bears the third line of the Himnusz (“Nyújts feléje védő kart” – “Extend over it [Hungary] your guarding arm”) as well as the poet’s name, together with a musical score from Ferenc Erkel’s music.

The regional authority has imposed a fine of RON 10,000 (EUR 2025) on the mayor’s office. The reasons is that the monument bears only Hungarian inscriptions and no Romanian ones, Index reports

That was still not enough for the organisation. They claim that the site inspection found that the sculpture did not comply with the Ministry of Culture’s permit. “The Mayor’s Office of Nagykároly has not removed the stone foundation and there is an inscription on it. There is no inscription on the application for a permit,” Libertatea quoted the Culture Directorate’s findings as saying.