Transylvania

New Romanian airline launches services from Cluj-Napoca, Bucharest to Budapest

airconnect romania

New Romanian airline AirConnect will launch regular services between Cluj Napoca (Kolozsvár) and Budapest, and Bucharest and Budapest on Tuesday.

The company is also starting services between Bucharest and several cities in Transylvania, including Sibiu (Nagyszeben), Baia Mare (Nagybánya) and Targu Mures (Marosvásárhely), from Monday, the company said in a statement.

Airconnect will fly from Cluj Napoca and Bucharest to Budapest twice weekly, on Tuesday and Saturday.

The airline will launch new international and domestic flights in June. These will target popular foreign resorts, such as Dubrovnik in Croatia, which is served from Bucharest. It will also have regular flights to the Romanian coast from Romanian cities far from Constanta, such as Oradea, Cluj Napoca, Timisoara (Temesvár) and Suceava, it said.

According to Tudor Constantinescu, AirConnect’s director general, their aim is to make their flights the first option for passengers from south-eastern Europe. “We are pleased to be able to offer Romania’s citizens an advantageously priced, safe, fast and comfortable connection between the capital and the country’s largest cities,” Agerpres quoted the director general as saying.

As he said, once the flights are launched, they will aim to diversify them and, in addition to launching seasonal flights, they will introduce new domestic and foreign destinations in autumn.

The company has two ATR 72-600 aircraft with 68 seats. They plan to add two more aircraft to their fleet.

AirConnect announced the launch of its Budapest and domestic flights in August last year, before informing its passengers of a delay in September due to a delay in the delivery of its second aircraft.

The airline was set up by five Romanian private investors to serve the regional market, according to its website. The airline started operations in July last year with a 68-seat ATR-72-600 aircraft and charter flights to Greek and Turkish coastal towns popular with Romanian tourists.

As we wrote on Saturday, it seems the International Airport of Brașov in Transylvania, Central Romania, is getting more catchy for budget airlines. A Romanian company, Dan Air, announced before that they would fly from Brassó (Brasov) to Hungary. Now Wizz Air said they would also launch some flights from there, read details HERE.

Wizz Air will launch new flight to Budapest

Wizz Air Hungary

It seems International Airport of Brașov in Transylvania, Central Romania, is getting more catchy for budget airlines. A Romanian company, Dan Air, announced before that they would fly from Brassó (Brasov) to Hungary. Now Wizz Air said they would also launch some flights from there.

Dan Air is very self-confident

According to Krónika Online, a Hungarian news outlet in Romania, the chairman of the Brassó County Council, Adrian Veștea, could not confirm that Dan Air could launch several flights from the Brașov International Airport. The airline told Krónika that 90 percent of the airports they approached replied positively. Thus, an official announcement will happen soon.

The airline added that they did not have to negotiate with the airports because they aim to use some free slots. They said they waited for positive replies from other airports before starting talks with the Brașov International Airport. Since there is not a crowd of flights, Matt Ian David, the airline’s CEO, expects them to send their answer quickly. He highlighted that he talked with Alexandru Anghel, the director of the Transylvanian city’s airport.

The international airport:

He also cleared that they did not yet make an official announcement about their flights. Some media outlets acquired the information. Boardingpass.ro wrote last week that Dan Air would operate the following routes:

Brassó–Barcelona–Brassó (every Tuesday)
Brassó–Brussels– Brassó (every Wednesday)
Brassó–Budapest–Brassó (Tuesdays and Sundays)
Brassó–London LGW–Brassó (on Fridays)
Brassó– Milan LIN–Brassó (on Mondays)
Brassó–Munich–Brassó (on Saturdays)
Brassó–Nürenberg–Brassó (on Thursdays)
Brassó– Stuttgart–Brassó (on Thursdays)

Wizz Air also expanding in Brassó?

Based on a reliable source of mytex.ro, Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air also plans to launch flights from the Transylvanian city from 15 June. No routes have yet been officially announced, but the source talked about Brassó-Budapest and Brassó-Frankfurt flights.

The chairman of the local council neither denied nor confirmed that. Air Connect, HiSky and Animawings already announced they would operate flights from Brassó, where regular air traffic can start from 15 June.

The Brașov International Airport is the first airport built after the fall of Communism in Romania. It cost EUR 130 million, and its capacity can be extended. Here are some photos about how the project started:

Hungarian government to complete all investment projects started in Carpathian Basin

Daily News Hungary Logo Új

The government will complete all investment projects already started throughout the Carpathian Basin, the state secretary in charge of policies for Hungarian communities abroad said on Monday.

Árpád János Potápi said at the opening of a daytime care facility for children in Odorheiu Secuiesc (Székelyudvarhely) that large investment projects are not planned to be started this year, but all projects that have already been started including nurseries, kindergartens, schools, university projects, church renovation and community venues, will be completed.

The government launched a Carpathian Basin kindergarten development programme in December 2016 which is currently in its fourth phase, he said. The government has allocated over 56 billion forints (EUR 147m) for regions beyond the borders which enables the construction of 153 new kindergartens and nurseries, and revamps in 720 institutions, he added.

Investment projects in Transylvania are implemented in partnership with the association of Hungarian teachers in Romania (RMPSZ) and Hungarian historical churches, with the involvement of local councils, he said. Some 368 investment projects are currently under way from total funding of 6.3 billion forints, he said.

Read alsoVIDEO: Tens of thousands of Hungarians will get a new metro

VIDEO: Tens of thousands of Hungarians will get a new metro

Tens of thousands of Hungarians will be able to use a brand new metro line thanks to EU, government and local funds. The first phase will be ready by August 2026.

The new Kolozsvár metro under construction

According to iho.hu, Kolozsvár (Cluj Napoca, Romania) is to build a metro line. The first step on the road was a tender concerning a possible metro line’s development and the suburban railway system of the Transylvanian metropolis in 2018. The city council accepted the paper in 2020 and calculated costs worth EUR 2 billion in end-2021. That is more than HUF 750 billion.

The European Union’s recovery and resilience fund (RRF), the Romanian government and the local government signed the relevant financial contract in December 2022. According to a Romanian deputy prime minister, Sorin Mihai Grindeanu, the construction project will be the greatest in the last 30 years. The contractor is a consortium of the Turkish Gülermak, Alstom and Arcada.

They plan to build 19 stations, while the line will be 21.03 km long. The project’s first phase will concern a 7.5 km segment connecting the Monostor (Mănăștur) district with the VIVO! Cluj-Napoca mall, the Györgyfalvi district (Gheorgheni), the Szopori district (Sopor) and will reach the Europa Unită (European Union) station. This segment contains 10 stations. The rail track has to be finished until August 2026.

Majority of the new metro’s cost covered by the EU

The metro will cross Cluj Napoca in a West-East direction and will remain under the surface on the entire line.

The second phase will contain the construction of seven stations between Sfânta Maria station and Szászfenes’s (Florești) Țara Moților. Furthermore, they will build an offset to an industrial district in the Northeastern part of the city. That segment will only be finished by February 2031.

The entire project will cost EUR 2.6 billion, and 2/3rd of that money will come from the European Union’s RRF fund. That is the money pocket Hungary cannot access because of Brussels’ concerns regarding the rule of law situation. In Romania, there are no such concerns. As a result, they not only dream but can initiate such megaprojects using community financial sources.

In Hungary, similar projects exist only on paper yet. There are many examples, from the modernisation of Budapest’s Nyugati railway station, the construction of a superfast train line to the capital’s international airport to the renewal of the Csepel HÉV and its connection to the Gödöllő HÉV, creating the brand new M5 metro line in Budapest.

The capacity of the Kolozsvár metro line will be between 15,200 and 21,600 passengers per hour and direction. The trains will follow each other every 90 seconds. Kolozsvár is one of the Transylvanian Hungarians’ cultural, economic and education centres. There are thousands of university students, and the Hungarian population still reaches 45-50 thousand.

HERE is a video of the new metro.

budapest 109 bus bkk
Read alsoThis Budapest bus service will be closed: here are the alternatives

Danger in Transylvania? Tension between the Hungarian and Romanian government

palace of culture

G4 Media, which regularly reports on the Hungarian government’s investments in Transylvania, contacted the Romanian Foreign Ministry with questions about Hungarian investments in Romania. The answer was that Romania has not given any level of consent to Hungary’s investment programmes in Transylvania.

Large Hungarian investments in Transylvania

G4 Media contacted the Romanian Foreign Ministry with questions after Mónika Kozma, head of the Pro Economica Foundation, said in February that Hungary would launch a tender for rural development support in the region for farmers in counties along the Hungarian-Romanian border, TransTelex.ro reports.

At the same time, Kozma also reported that the implementation of around one hundred large investments of the economic development programme financed by the Hungarian government in Szeklerland is progressing well.

The majority of the agricultural and food processing plants that have been awarded tenders are already in operation. Meanwhile, the rest are due to be handed over to entrepreneurs by the end of December 2023. After the small-scale farm tenders in Szeklerland, the Pro Economica Foundation, which runs the programme, is waiting for the green light to launch the farm tenders in Partium, Kozma said in mid-February.

Not everyone agrees

However, Romania doesn’t think it’s such a good idea. “There is no bilateral agreement at any level between Romania and Hungary for the Hungarian state to implement financing programmes on Romanian territory. In the absence of such an agreement, there is no consent on the part of the Romanian side for the Hungarian side to run such programmes in Romania,” Foreign Ministry representatives told G4Media.

Mónika Kozma also acknowledged that a Romanian-Hungarian agreement is still needed to launch the programme in the Partium region. Negotiations on this are ongoing between the two sides, her statement revealed.

Since Viktor Orbán’s speech in Tusnádfürdő (Baile Tusnad), Hungarian investments in Transylvania have been a recurring theme in the Romanian press. Newspapers claim that over the past ten years, the PM has spent billions of forints, mainly on the Hungarian community in Transylvania. Referring to the lack of transparency of the funding, they note that a significant part of the funds ends up in various foundations.

BMW
Read alsoHungarian government’s new nationalising plan could violate EU law

PHOTOS: Breathtaking snow blanket in Transylvania

Aiton transylvania romania snow

Transylvania is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful parts of Europe. Now, winter in Hungary struggles to make itself shown. However, that is not the case in Transylvania. In this article, we are bringing you some breathtaking photos taken in snow-covered Transylvania today.

Gallery

These photos were taken today in Aiton, Cluj county, Transylvania, Romania.

 

Budapest
Read alsoPHOTOS: Extreme cold to come next week in Hungary, snow, frost covers the country

Discovery: Light shed on the eastern origins of the Szeklers

szekler székely búcsú kismányok

According to a new study, the population of Szeklers in the Odorheiu Secuiesc (Székelyudvarhely) region is predominantly Central and South-Eastern European in composition, MTI reports, citing a statement by the Eötvös Loránd Research Network (Eötvös Loránd Kutatási Hálózat, ELKH). In the study, led by colleagues of the ELKH Humanities Research Centre Archeogenomics Institute (BTK AGI), ancestral paternal and maternal lineages were analysed.

The researchers evaluated the results using population genetics and phylogenetic methods in the context of modern and ancient populations geographically or historically related to Szekler, Origo reports. In a paper published in the journal Genes in January 2023, they published the first complete mitochondrial genomic database and detailed Y-chromosomal profiles from the region.

The villages

The experts examined samples from people whose ancestors came from this region and lived in villages around Odorheiu Secuiesc for generations. The sample collection took place in 2019 in the villages of Inlăceni (Énlaka), Firtănuș (Firtosmartonos), Ulieș (Kányád), Mugeni (Bögöz), Goagiu (Gagy), Avrămești (Szentábrahám), Cechești (Csekefalva), Dobeni (Székelydobó), Văleni (Patakfalva) and Forțeni (Farcád).

The history of the Szeklers can be traced back to the 12th century in the region. There are several scientific theories about their origins, 24.hu reports. Recent findings show a predominantly local, i.e. East-Central and South-East European, composition of the population, with moderate mixing with neighbouring populations.

European and some eastern genes

The researchers found a high degree of heterogeneity in both maternal (mitochondrial) and paternal (Y-chromosomal) genes within and between villages. Among both maternal and paternal lineages, they identified mainly European types in similar proportions. However, in both cases, some eastern lineages were also present.

Phylogenetic analyses have confirmed the presumed eastern origin of some maternal and paternal lines. And, in some cases, they can be linked to ancestral DNA data from the Migration Period (5th-9th century AD) and the Hungarian conquest period (10th century AD).

Dataset of Szeklers in line with previous studies

According to the experts, the current Szekler dataset complements previous studies in Szeklerland and is broadly consistent with their observations. They added that, in addition to revealing the genetic diversity of the present-day Szekler population, it is of great importance to investigate the genetic continuity or transformation between the present-day and ancient populations and to trace the population history of the Szekler people.

Bronze Age Sword Hungary USA Chicago
Read alsoSensational discovery: 3,000 years old Hungarian sword found in a US museum

Match suspended in Romania due to anti-Hungarian slogans

football match suspended in romania

A football match was suspended in Romania due to the anti-Hungarian slogans of away fans. The match between Sepsi OSK and U Craiova 1948 in the 23rd round of the Romanian Football League was first interrupted for 10 minutes and then suspended due to anti-Hungarian demonstrations by away fans.

In the 26th minute of the match in Sfântu Gheorghe, referee Andrei Chivulete decided to stop the match for 10 minutes due to anti-Hungarian slogans from the visiting fans from Craiova, TransTelex reports. The referee sent both teams to the dressing rooms. The stadium’s loudspeakers warned that the match would only resume if the racist remarks stopped.

After the 10-minute break, the two teams took to the pitch again and the referee restarted the match. A few seconds later, Chivulete decided to suspend the match due to the continuation of anti-Hungarian shouting. It is not the first time that the match of the team from Sfântu Gheorghe had to be interrupted. However, such a drastic step has never been taken before.

The mayor of Sfântu Gheorghe, Árpád Antal, also published a video of the incident, which you can watch below. In his post, he calls it intolerable and unacceptable that “extremist fans are making a mockery of football and sport with their atrocious Hungarian-hating behaviour”. He adds that today, the referee made a very important and good decision “for the first time” by suspending the match.

The case will most likely be referred to the Football League Disciplinary Committee, TransTelex writes. The committee will investigate the circumstances of the match. There is a good chance that Sepsi OSK will be declared the winner.

Viktor Orbán EU member Hungary
Read alsoUkrainian mayor to Viktor Orbán: “We’ll get you, you bastards!”

Lost emperor discovered in Transylvania!

Csomád

The coin bearing the name and image of Sponsianus was discovered in what is now Transylvania more than three hundred years ago, along with several others. In the second and third centuries BC, the western and southern parts of Transylvania belonged to the Roman province of Dacia.

“We found an emperor”

After it was deemed a fake, the coin was locked away in a museum cabinet. However, scratches on the coin, which can be seen under a microscope, prove that it was in circulation two thousand years ago. “In fact, we found an emperor. Experts had previously believed it to be a fictional person and had “erased” it from history. However, we believe he was a real person,” MTI quotes Paul Pearson, professor at University College London, as saying.

Ridiculous design?

The coin was part of a small hoard discovered in 1713. Until the mid-19th century, it was thought to be an original Roman coin, 24.hu reports. However, its simple design led to the assumption that it was the work of contemporary forgers. The final blow to Sponsianus’ coin was delivered by Henry Cohen, chief coin expert at the National Library of France (BNF), who said that these Roman coins were not only modern forgeries, but also poorly worked and “ridiculously designed”.

He remained out of literature until today

Other experts agreed with this, and Sponsianus has remained out of the literature until today. However, Professor Pearson, who saw photographs of the coin while researching for his book on the history of the Roman Empire, subjected it to meticulous scrutiny. The researchers examined the coins under a high-resolution microscope and found that there were indeed scratches on the coins, consistent with the movement they had undergone in the pouch.

Sponsanius and his military success

It is thought that Sponsianus was a military commander who crowned himself Emperor of Dacia. Around 260, the province was cut off from the rest of the Roman Empire, which was fragmented by epidemics and civil war. Sponsianus is thought to have assumed supreme command during the chaos and civil war and defended Dacia until order was restored and the Roman legions and administration withdrew from the province under the reign of Emperor Aurelian.

They probably printed their own money

In the interests of the functioning economy of the province, they may have chosen to issue their own money. This theory may explain why the coins examined differ from the coins commonly used in Rome. And because of the civil war, it was hard to know who the emperor was: in the absence of real Roman power, a supreme military commander was needed, and Sponsianus could take command when he needed to.

Árpád the Conqueror
Read alsoSensational discovery! An 18th-century map may help find the secret tomb of Árpád, the Conqueror

State secretary: Hungarian communities in the diaspora are fortresses of the nation

potápi árpád jános

Hungarian communities in the diaspora are “fortresses of the nation” and key to its survival, Árpád János Potápi, state secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office, told MTI on Tuesday, on the occasion of Hungarian Diaspora Day.

“If the diaspora is weakened or disappears, the core of the nation will follow, that is why supporting ethnic communities is a top priority for the Hungarian government,” Potápi said.

Ethnic Hungarian communities in the Carpathian Basin make up nearly half of the Hungarians living outside Hungary, he said. Those communities were drastically reduced in number in the 20th century, but the past decade has “proven that no process must be declared irreversible”, he said.

15 November, the birth and death anniversary of Gábor Bethlen (1580-1629), prince of Transylvania, was declared Diaspora Day in 2015.

Read alsoRomania: Hungarian inscriptions will be mandatory on public buildings and works of art

Tragedy: a 12-year-old Hungarian boy dies after football training

candle lights

A 12-year-old boy has died following a football training session in Gyimesközéplok, Transylvania. His family has told what may have caused his death.

The tragic news was first announced by the Gyimesközéplok football team Loki SC, Index.hu writes.

“Áron T. passed away today after training. The cause of death is not yet known. The incident happened at the end of training when the children were leaving. Áron got sick on the sidelines. We pray for the family, but we can do no more,” the team wrote.

The boy is said to have become unwell after training and the ambulance was called, but they were unable to save his life. According to maszol.ro, the boy’s death was also commemorated before Thursday’s FK Miercurea Ciuc-Bukarest Dinamo championship football match, which started with a minute of silence.

The portal also contacted the little boy’s team, which said that the child’s death was caused by a congenital, hidden heart disease. According to the family, death was inevitable according to the current state of medical science. The heart defect caused a heart attack, the club wrote in response to the inquiry.

Meanwhile, Bors managed to reach the child’s family. His aunt said that Áron was a lively, kind boy whose role model was Ronaldo and wanted to play for the Hungarian national team when he grew up. The boy’s family also said that there were no signs of the tragedy. The boy went to school on Wednesday morning, returned home for lunch and went to training in a cheerful mood. During the training session he ran a lot, and after it, he suddenly felt sick and collapsed.

The coach immediately informed the ambulance service, and the doctor rushed to the field from a nearby clinic. The paramedics fought for an hour to save Áron’s life, but could not help him, the boy’s relative told Bors.

budapest bad weather
Read alsoAlert issued for the weekend in Hungary – weather forecast

Did Elon Musk have a massive Halloween party in Dracula’s Transylvanian castle for real?

Elon Musk

For days, the media was loud with the news that Elon Musk, one of the richest people in the world threw a massive Halloween party in Transylvania. He was allegedly accompanied by several billionaire friends and well-known actors. However, according to the latest information, it may have been just all made up.

The Halloween party took place in Bran Castle

According to foter.ro, Elon Musk, one of the richest people in the world celebrated Halloween with many businessmen and famous stars in Bran Castle, Brasov County in Transylvania. The news portal wrote that some of the guests already arrived on Saturday evening to attend the spooky party held on Sunday evening. However, this turned out to be untrue. No one at the venue actually saw Elon Musk or another reported guest Angelina Jolie, reports transtelex.hu. Other celebrities, including PayPal founder Peter Thiel and his partner Matt Danzeisen, were indeed spotted in Brasov though.

Dinner in Brasov

Although it was said that Elon Musk and his guests allegedly indulged in a traditional Transylvanian dinner and went to enjoy a local folk performance afterwards, it all turned out to be false information. Instead, only Peter Thiel and his partner Matt Danzeisen were caught on camera having lunch in the city center on Sunday, where they tried the traditional Romanian Telemea cheese and other local specialties.

High-profile Halloween party in Transylvania

For all we know, a number of high-profile guests did visit Transylvania. However, the fence of the premises was covered by a layer of film so that prying eyes would not be able to gander upon it. Nevertheless, leaked photos suggest that the guests were dressed in Halloween costumes at the restaurant. The invited celebrities started pouring into “Dracula’s Castle” around 10 pm. To ensure an authentic Halloween atmosphere, the organisers installed various thematic bars and lounges in the halls.

Will “Elon Musk’s party” boost tourism in Transylvania?

According to tourism experts, this high-profile Halloween party may prompt worldwide interest in the region. In addition to the large one-time income, it will put Transylvania in the spotlight, as many people will share the viral pictures and videos taken there. Actor Adrian Grenier, whose best-known role was Vincent Chase in the Entourage series, and who played Count Dracula at the Tórcsvár Halloween party, was also photographed on the spot.

budapest_christmas
Read alsoOfficial: no Christmas lighting in Budapest this year

Orbán: Transylvanian Reformed kindergartens and schools are the guarantors of Hungarian survival

palace of culture

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán greeted Transylvania’s Hungarian Reformed Church community in a letter on Monday, marking the completed renovation of the Reformed College of Targu Mures (Marosvásárhely), in western Romania, the prime minister’s press chief said.

“The time for joy and thanksgiving has come,” Orbán wrote in his letter. “The huge amount of work that has been done and the years-long struggle have paid off: the Reformed College of Targu Mures has been restored to its former glory.” The prime minister thanked Transylvania Hungarians for their perseverance, work and prayers.

He said the Reformed Church community had followed their conscience despite all the difficulties they had faced. “Because we Hungarians were already fighting for our survival when the Reformation first made its way to Hungary and Transylvania,” he said.

“The homeland that had been ripped into three parts lay in ruins and hope for prosperity and glory was all but lost when the Word of God preached and read out in the mother tongue was able to fill people with strength again.” New congregations and schools were set up, including the Reformed College of Targu Mures, which over its five centuries of existence produced many eventual scientists, teachers as well as church and secular leaders, Orbán added.

“As we look around today on the anniversary of the Reformation, we see that Reformed kindergartens and schools are being built and renovated in Transylvania,” the prime minister said, adding that those institutions were crucial to the survival of Hungarians. He said all the conditions at the Reformed College of Targu Mures were in place for the school to have more graduates committed to their homeland like their renowned predecessors.

artis pabriks latvian defence minister
Read alsoLatvian Defence Minister calls Hungary a traitor, Hungarian counterpart reacts

King Charles’s Hungarian cook shared secrets about his visits in Zalánpatak

King Charles Zalánpatak visit

Blikk, a Hungarian tabloid, found the Hungarian cook of King Charles III. Aunt Éva (Éva néni) is proud of the walking stick she received from the former Prince of Wales. She shared some secrets about the king’s visits to the tiny Hungarian village of Zalánpatak in Transylvania. She said they hoped the king would continue his visits to Transylvania, where locals would always welcome him. Here are some stories about Charles you probably never read before.

Zalánpatak, where the king bought a house

According to blikk.hu, Charles III visits a tiny Hungarian village in Central Romania if he seeks time and opportunity for recreation. He “fell in love” with a small Hungarian village, Zalánpatak, fifteen years ago. The village is at the end of a side road, in the middle of some beautiful forests where only the barking of the shepherd dogs disturbs tranquility.

96 percent of the locals are Hungarians, and the village looks as though time stopped there. The king bought an estate in the settlement years ago. He renewed it, but it remained a small farmhouse-like building with a beautiful garden with flowers and endemic trees and plants. Instead of numerous staff, there is only Aunt Éva. She is the cook but also does the washing up, the washing, and the administration.

Anybody can book a room in the house. Furthermore, you can even sleep in King Charles’s bed, and you only have to pay 100 EUR per night.

Hungarian relative King Charles III Count Tibor Kálnoky
Read alsoEverything you should know about King Charles III’s Hungarian relative

Locals shared some secrets about his visits

“I have known the prince since 2012. He visited us every year except the years of the pandemic. We met in May for the last time. He behaves simply, not flamboyantly. He has a good sense of humour, he is friendly, and his staff always thanks everything. He never goes to sleep without saying goodbye to us in the kitchen. We always wait for that”, the king’s Hungarian cook said.

Charles regularly arrives with 9-10 of his staff and in secret. Of course, locals know when he comes, so they swarm the entrance. But that never disturbed Charles. On the contrary, he shook the hands of the children and greets everybody. “He likes our village and finds our dishes attractive. I cook for him and he regularly tastes everything. His favourites are tomato soup and pörkölt. There is a small table in the back of the garden where he paints and draws. He likes wildflowers and takes long walks on the hills. He drinks tea at 5”, she added.

Even the king’s room is cheap

Blikk visited the king’s room, and they experienced the lack modernity, maybe for the lamp. “He respects traditions and likes to preserve what is old”, Éva said. She added the king always sleeps in one corner of the bed and puts the photos of his wife and children on the cabinet. He never brings too many clothes, only what he needs. There is always enough space for his clothes in the wardrobe, she told Blikk.

King Charles
Read alsoVIDEO: King Charles III greeted Hungarians partly in Hungarian

King Charles regularly organises parties inviting local musicians. Aunt Veronka, another local, said his father was one of the king’s favourites. They shook hands many times, and Charles adored how he played the violin. Sometimes he brought Veronka with him to sing some folk songs for Charles. She was surprised that Charles tasted every dish he was offered. He liked even the poppy seed polenta.

Charles bought another house in Szászfehéregyháza, another village close to Zalánpatak but populated by Romanians. He also supported the settlement to renew its buildings through his foundation. His house is like a museum in the village since he does not sleep there. Charles always visits his friend, Count Tibor Kálnoky’s mansion in Miklósvár.

A firm handshake

Zsolt Ambarus, the mansion’s manager, said the king had a firm handshake, worthy of a king. He was nice and direct. He also tried their apple pie and elderflower syrup. He has a room in the mansion, too. It is like the others, but its bathroom is a bit bigger and has a sauna and an ice machine inside.

Charles will not get rich from his Transylvanian estates. His room in his estate in Zalánpatak can be booked for 100 EUR per night. The entrance ticket to his other house in Szászfehéregyháza, operating as a museum, is 2.83 EUR. His suite in Miklósvár is more expensive. But it is also better equipped compared to his room in Zalánpatak. You can book it for 263 EUR per night.

Government: Hungary, Romania are engines of development

Government Potápi hussars

The only solution to the crisis in Europe is maintaining cooperation, the state secretary for policy for Hungarians across the borders told the Transylvania Economic Forum held in Targu Mures (Marosvásárhely) on Saturday.

In his welcoming address, Árpád János Potápi said the Russia-Ukraine war and the European response to it “made economic development impossible” in Europe at a time when Hungary, Romania and the region had become the engine of that development. The region saw a high rate of development, falling unemployment and growing wages before the war, he said.

Hungary has used economic development as a policy to boost national cohesion, by supporting training and organised mentor programmes in Hungarian communities across the borders, he said.

Centre for Hungarian children Slovenia
Read also PHOTOS: Centre for Hungarian children opened in Slovenia

Besides the development schemes, the government continues to support entrepreneurs in an attempt to create a community and network strengthening ethnic Hungarian communities across the borders, he said.

Romanian Deputy Prime Minister Hunor Kelemen of the ethnic Hungarian RMDSZ party said the war, “which seemed regional at first”, shook the foundations of European economy, prompting states to interfere with market trends to protect their citizens and companies. The disruption of global supply chains makes it likely that world economy will be reconstructed on a regional level in the case of a ceasefire, he said.

“A crisis is always an opportunity for those able to think flexibly, innovatively and creatively,” he said. Sharing knowledge and experience among entrepreneurs of the Carpathian Basin is a good way to find those opportunities, he said.

paprika
Read also10+1 signs you are definitely Hungarian – or Hungarian at heart

Romanian airline AirConnect postpones flights to Budapest until spring

airconnect romania

The newly founded Romanian airline AirConnect will postpone the launch of its domestic flights in Romania and Budapest until the end of March, the Profit.ro portal reported, citing a statement by the company.

The company explained the postponement by the delay in the delivery of the second aircraft it had ordered, as well as a delay in the operational preparation of the launch of the flights.

AirConnect also said that it would inform by e-mail and telephone those who had already booked tickets for the period from 15 October 2022 to 25 March 2023. They will be able to get a refund or book a later date of travel. They will also receive a free ticket as compensation, which they must book by 15 January 2023.

The airline AirConnect announced at the end of August that it will launch flights between Cluj-Budapest and Bucharest-Budapest from 15 October. However, following its announcement, the Hungarian airline Aeroexpress Regional has also launched flights connecting Budapest with Cluj-Napoca and Debrecen with Cluj-Napoca (Kolozsvár) and Targu Mures (Marosvásárhely).

The Romanian airline AirConnect was created by five Romanian private investors to serve the regional market, according to its website. The airline started operations in July with a 68-seat ATR-72-600 aircraft, operating charter flights to coastal destinations popular with Romanian tourists. It had previously announced that it would add two more ATR-72-600s to its fleet in August. These would be used to operate domestic flights to Romania in addition to flights to Budapest. By mid-October, it planned to launch flights connecting Bucharest with Sibiu, Sibiu, Târgu Mures and Suceava.

In related news, the debt-ridden discount airline Blue Air has postponed the resumption of its flights for the second time, with no flights taking off from 10 October, the Romanian airline said on Friday. In the Romanian air transport market, Blue Air is a competitor to Wizz Air and Romanian state-owned airline Tarom.

Budapest Airport queue useful
Read alsoAirAsia X is opening a new route from Budapest!

Romanian mayor had the Hungarian sign covered with a Romanian flag – VIDEO

The Romanian mayor covered the Hungarian sign

At the Chestnut Festival in Nagybánya, a Hungarian chimney cake seller’s Hungarian sign provoked anger. After Cătălin Cherecheș, the Romanian mayor had it covered with a Romanian flag, the deputy mayor took it down and got fired. 

“What the Romanians do not understand, must be covered”

The Chestnut Festival in Nagybánya was held this year between 23-25 September. Every year, numerous stalls await visitors while the mayor makes sure everything goes according to plan. However, this time, one of the stalls displayed the words “kürtős kalács” (chimney cake) in Hungarian, reports foter.ro. “I have a request. Get me a tricolour and put it up nicely.”, said the mayor when he caught sight of the writing. “Where we [Romanians] do not understand what it says, we put a Romanian tricolour.” The tricolours were not placed over the Hungarian writings, in fact, but on the front of the stall. On both sides of the façade, the word kürtős was covered with a sign that read cozonac (sweet bread in Romanian).

The vendors should receive an apology

As hvg.hu reports, Adrian Szelmenczi, journalist and human rights activist, had commented on the issue. He believes a sensible politician should have removed the Romanian writings and apologised to the vendors who were subjects of discrimination due to their origin. In addition, the RMDSZ of Nagybánya (Romanian Hungarian Democratic Association) has also reacted. Deputy mayor István Pap Zsolt described the mayor’s action as incomprehensible and unacceptable and ordered the removal of the flags. “Until now, there have been no examples of this kind of occurrence in Nagybánya. We consider it regrettable that the city’s mayor has resorted to such behaviour. We are convinced that such actions do not serve peaceful coexistence and, moreover, deepen the differences between the city’s Romanian and Hungarian communities. And this should not be in anyone’s interest.” – wrote the deputy mayor.

The deputy mayor has been fired

Meanwhile, the mayor has reacted to the incident. He said that it was a big enough gesture that they accepted the Hungarian name Nagybánya for the city, when in fact it was called Baia Mare in Romanian. Furthermore, he defended the Romanian language. According to him, if a baker did not put the word pâine on the sign, but the word kenyér (bread), “he, the Romanian” could not enter the bakery. The mayor added that since Pap Zsolt István removed the Romanian flags, his services as deputy mayor would no longer be needed.

Watch the video here:

Everything you should know about King Charles III’s Hungarian relative

Hungarian relative King Charles III Count Tibor Kálnoky

Count Tibor Kálnoky is not only the relative of the new British king but also a distant ancestor of Bram Stoker’s famous Dracula, Vlad Țepeș. The Hungarian count regularly welcomed the late Prince of Wales in Zalánpatak (Valea Zălanului), in Transylvania, Romania. Charles always said he loved to experience how nature and village people could live in a harmony. Here is what you should know about count Kálnoky.

“Well, I’m related to Dracula. Luckily, only very, very, very distantly“, Count Tibor Kálnoky told The Telegraph when he was interviewed about the regular visits of Charles III to the Transylvanian village of Zalánpatak.

The Kálnoky family received its title from the Habsburg emperor and Hungarian king Leopold I (1657-1705) in 1697. However, Tibor Kálnoky was not born in their renaissance castle in Miklósvár because the family had to flee after the communist takeover in Romania (1945). He was born as the third child of Silesian German Marianne Kernbach and Count Farkas Kálnoky. He was only six months old when they emigrated to the USA and one year old when they moved back to Europe.

He grew up in Germany, went to kindergarten in the Netherlands and started school in South France. At 11, they moved to Paris, where he started a “bird hospital” when he was only 16. He graduated as a veterinarian in Hannover and München, muvelodes.net wrote.

Charles III
Charles III. Photo: MTI/AP/PA Pool/Victoria Jones

In 1987, when he was only 21 years old, they paid a visit to Sepsikőröspatak with his father, from where his father had to flee at the age of 8 more than half a century earlier. They saw that the building they once called home was devastated.

Interestingly, Tibor Kálnoky did not speak Hungarian then, so he started to learn the language enthusiastically. He wanted to understand his family heritage, so he skimmed through old diplomas.

First, he moved to Budapest and worked for a French pharmaceutical company. He met his wife, Anna Boga, in the Hungarian capital. They organised their wedding in 1995 in the ruinous castle of Miklósvár, his family’s ancestral home. Three children were born from their happy union: Mátyás (1994), Vince (1996) and Miklós (2000).

Count Kálnoky
Tibor Kálnoky. Photo: PrtScr/Youtube

They later moved to Bucharest, where he worked for a German pharmaceutical company and regularly visited Miklósvár, Zalánpatak and Kőröspatak, where he wanted to start a new life.

In 2014, he won an application from the Norwegian Fund, so he could start rebuilding the castle. “I would work for the count until my hands and legs fray”, one of the locals working on the project said. Kálnoky built a museum (The Museum of Transylvanian Life) and opened a store selling local products. Soon, Zalánpatak and Miklósvár became well-known worldwide: The New York Times, The Guardian, CNN Travel and Duna World all reported about his place. And he invited Charles III to the village, where the British monarch bought a small peasant house lately.

He organized equestrian tours, started rural tourism and even a school program with the help of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.

Here is a video of his castle in Miklósvár:

III. Charles
Read alsoHis Hungarian relative sent a message to King Charles III