anniversary

Government cancels March 15 state celebrations over coronavirus concerns

Hungary’s government has decided to cancel next week’s state celebrations of the March 15 national holiday because of the new coronavirus, at the recommendation of the operative board overseeing the response to the virus, the Government Information Office said on Saturday.

Though Hungary so far has only identified individual coronavirus cases and there are no major centres of infection, the state commemoration of the 1848 revolution held in the garden of the National Museum would attract people from all parts of the country, the statement said.

“Therefore the government has decided to accept the operative board’s recommendation and will cancel the March 15 celebration at the Museum Garden for security reasons,” it added.

Local commemoration events will be decided on by the local organisers, the centre said.

Two cities in the provinces followed suit, with Szeged, in the south, and Székesfehérvár, in the west, cancelling celebrations of the national holiday.

Read also6 facts you may not know about the 15th of March

Soon after the government’s cancelling of the celebrations, Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony also announced that a March 15 event planned for City Hall would be cancelled.

“Nothing is more important than the safety and health of Budapest residents,” the mayor said on Facebook. He said he hoped the virus hazard could soon be eliminated and “our cancelled reunion could be made up for”.

Meanwhile, the opposition Momentum Movement announced on Facebook that the leftist Democratic Coalition, conservative Jobbik, the Socialist Party, Parbeszed, green LMP and the Liberal Party had also decided to cancel their joint March 15 event “in the interest of protecting the health of attendees”.

Earlier, Tibor Lakatos, the head of the operative board told a news conference that the board had recommended the cancellation of the state celebrations.

He also said steps have been taken to suspend the operation of Milan-Budapest and Milan-Debrecen flights.

Read alsoSURVEY – 56% of Hungarians concerned about coronavirus

Lakatos added that any suspected patient who fails to submit to the necessary medical procedures could face criminal charges. He said proceedings were under way against two Iranian citizens who were refusing to comply with the rules of quarantine. Lakatos said that unless they checked themselves in, they would be taken to hospital by police.

He said anyone who deliberately infects someone else could be charged with causing serious bodily harm. If their actions lead to someone’s death, they could face homicide charges, he added.

As regards the operative board’s most recent measures, he noted that visa issuance has been suspended to Iranian citizens for an indefinite period, the South Pest Central Hospital has begun making room for more potential patients and prisons have been instructed to prepare a specific epidemiological plan.

Lakatos said several corporations have released their own action plans and the ban on lorries has been lifted for this weekend at the request of retailers and shops. In addition, schools have been sent a list of recommendations of epidemiological response measures. Transit zones at the southern border are still on lockdown, he said, adding that there are currently 306 people staying in them.

Lakatos noted that Hungary has so far identified five coronavirus cases, with four of those infected being treated in Budapest and one in Debrecen.

János Szlávik, head of the National Institute of Hematology and Infectology at South Pest Central Hospital, said the two Iranian students who tested positive for the new virus on Wednesday were doing well and awaiting the results of their latest tests. If those come back negative, they will be released from hospital. The condition of the Iranian girl who tested positive on Thursday had worsened on Friday but is doing better today, Szlávik said.

He said the 11 secondary school students and their teachers who returned from Italy at the end of February were doing well and would be released from quarantine on Sunday. Two health workers are also under observation, he said, adding that they, too, were doing well and would soon be let home.

Miklós Kásler, the human resources minister, said that the most important thing was to prevent an epidemic of the virus in Hungary, noting that only individual cases had been identified so far.

He said that if necessary, more space would be made available for quarantines at the Kútvölgyi hospital block.

Chief medical officer Cecilia Müller said the fifteen Japanese tourists who were taken to St. Laszlo Hospital late on Thursday had tested negative and have been released from hospital.

The health authorities are currently looking into whom the Covid-19 patients had come into contact with, she said.

March 7, 2020

Anniversary – Holy Crown of Hungary returned to its homeland 230 years ago

Buda was full of festive decorations, shining in floodlight on that special day in 1790. Everybody was so excited – the entire leadership of the city lined up at the gates of Vienna, in full regalia; greeting the return of the Holy Crown with a string of fire.

Joseph II had controversial fame in the past. Actually, good intentions led him; his excessive haste and sense of mission impeded him to introduce his reforms in the country. At the end of his ten years long reign – 28^th January 1790 – all his regulations were withdrawn, only three of them maintained, including the one that concerns the Holy Crown.

Read alsoThe Holy Crown of Hungary has never touched the head of any queen

Originally, the Holy Crown was guarded in Bratislava. In April 1784, based on the regulation of the king that was opposed to the Hungarian law, it was transported to Vienna. The Hungarian nobility considered this as an offence and complained about the action.

On 28^th January 1790, Joseph II published the patens that include the withdrawal of all his regulations, except three of them.

These patens concluded the future of the Holy Crown – after providing the right guiding conditions, it must be delivered to the Buda Castle.

Preparations began immediately, and finally, the Holy Crown was delivered from Vienna on 18^th February, within the framework of strict restrictions and ceremonial features. The route and every tiny detail of the procession were precisely determined.

Thanks to the event, the return of the Holy Crown has become a national celebration.

The procession arrived at Buda on 21^st February; for that day, the whole city was well-prepared. Everyone was extremely excited, dressed up in new regalias in order to express their honour.

The crown arrived at Buda on 21^st February. On the special day, the city’s civil guards lined up at eight o’clock in the morning at the gates of Vienna; the ceremonial procession was celebrated with several speeches and string of fire. At four o’clock in the afternoon, the procession reached Buda Castle.

As the Hungarian news portal Pestbuda reports, the event was followed by a historical moment – between 22^nd and 24^th February the Holy Crown was displayed to the public in the chapel of St. Sigismund.

Why was this public moment so important? Today, every Hungarian knows what the Holy Crown looks like, as it can be seen not only on the coat of arms, but several photos also recorded the national symbol; in fact, it can be viewed by anyone.

Read alsoWOW! Hungarian crown jewels built out of Legos – VIDEO

However, before 1790, this could not be realised. Until this time, the Holy Crown could be seen very rarely, and only a few people had the opportunity to take a closer look. Therefore, no pictorial representation had been created before.

Due to his death on 20^th February, Joseph II could not eyewitness how the Holy Crown was delivered to Buda. His successor, II. Leopold set the act; according to which, Holy Crown cannot be taken from Hungary anymore.

March 3, 2020

Trianon peace treaty 100: was there a chance to preserve Greater Hungary?

It will probably be an ever-lasting debate among Hungarians whether there was a chance or not. The author of the latest publication regarding the issue argues that what had happened was not only the government’s fault and that preserving the multi-ethnic Kingdom of Hungary would have been impossible.

Those interested in the post-WWI events know that there are success stories in modifying the peace treaties that concluded the bloody war. The successor of the Ottoman Empire, Turkey, led by Kemal Atatürk, not only became a secular, modernised republic but also managed to rewrite the peace treaty of Sevrés (1920). Therefore, they could gain some of their lost territories, such as Izmir and its neighbourhood in the Treaty of Lausanne (1923).

Many say in Hungary that, provided the country

followed the Turkish example in 1918-1920,

it could have received a better peace treaty, meaning it would not have lost 2/3 of the Kingdom of Hungary with more than 3 million Hungarians.

Now, 24 asked Tamas Révész, a Hungarian historian dealing with the issue in his latest publication, what the chances of fighting back were. He said that in November 1918,

1,328 million Hungarian soldiers were fighting on three fronts:

the Western and the Italian fronts where there were brutal fights and the Eastern one where they were occupying territories that the Brest-Litovsk treaty (March 1918) granted for the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. Most soldiers wanted immediate peace, and the chance for that came on November 3, 1918, when the armistice agreement was signed. Then, 1 million of them came home unorganised, incapable and unwilling to continue the fight while 320 thousand travelled home with their officers in closed ranks. However, they did not want to fight either.

Meanwhile, the pacifist Hungarian democratic government held only the 5 youngest generations in arms which resulted in the fact that, at the end of November,

there were only 37 thousand soldiers against the invading Romanian, Serbian, and Czechoslovak forces.

The government did not have a defence concept, and in its foreign policy, they trusted that a democratic Hungary granting wide-range autonomy for its minorities would not only be attractive for the Serbs, Romanians, or Slovaks but also for Paris and the winning powers there to write the peace treaties.

The Károlyi government could not have been more wrong. In Paris, France gained the right to dictate the new order of Central Europe, and they wanted to strengthen their local allies (Romania, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Serbia) as much as they could.

Furthermore, since the Kingdom of Hungary was centralised, there were no Hungarian local leaders who had the prestige to start a fight against the intruders. Balassagyarmat, where locals took up the fight and won against the Czechoslovak army in January 1919, or the story of

the Szekler Division fighting on the Western border of Transylvania between December 1918 and April 1919 are just episodes but not parts of a central project.

The Károlyi government believed that if they had taken up the fight, the great powers would have thought that Hungary wanted to continue the war, so they would have never invited it to the peace conference.

Károlyi realised too late that if they wanted to preserve the borders of Hungary, they had to fight even if they grant territorial autonomy for the ethnic minorities because that, in itself, was far from enough.

It was not until March 2, 1919, when PM Mihály Károlyi said openly that

the government is resolved to fight.

Three months later, the Social-Democrats agreed with the Communists, and Hungary became the second Socialist republic in the world after the Soviet Union. Therefore, it did not receive an invitation to the peace conference.

Tamas Revesz said that, provided the Hungarian army fought back, some of the lost territories could have been preserved in Transylvania or Czechoslovakia, but there was no chance to maintain the borders of Greater Hungary.

February 23, 2020

Establishment of communist-era labour camp commemorated

Confronting the fates of the survivors of the forced labour camp in Recsk, in northern Hungary, is never easy, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office told a conference marking the 70th anniversary of the camp’s establishment on Thursday.

The event organised by the National Remembrance Committee is the opening conference of a series of events commemorating the Hungarian Gulag.

The commemorative events aim to establish a greater awareness and understanding of an important part of history, “the breaking of the country” and the “retribution taken against the enemies of the regime”, Gergely Gulyás said.

Read alsoThe country of secret agents: Hungary in the communist era

He said it was important not to let Hungary’s four decades of communist rule be forgotten, adding that there were always stakes when it came to remembrance.

“Finding the common ground in national remembrance that serves as a cohesive force for everyone despite all our disputes and differences is in part dependent on our ability to remember,” Gulyás said.

Gulyás thanked the generation of historians who were “the first to break through the wall of silence” and got “murderers, conspirators, victims, the little man and subservient beneficiaries” to open up about the communist era.

The PM’s Office chief said there were still some in Europe attempting to deny or justify historical tragedies. “Those who do not remember the past are destined to relive it,” he said.

Read alsoForeign minister: Hungary to initiate international day for victims of Communist dictatorships

Murder and murderers can never, under any circumstances, be justified or vindicated, Gulyás said.

“We cannot portray an ideology in whose name tens of millions of people were murdered worldwide as nice, good, or just,” he added.

Réka Kiss Földváry, head of the National Remembrance Committee, called the Gulag a symbol of inhumanity, exploitation and the communist dictatorship.

Concerning the upcoming memorial day, she said it should be remembered that the dictatorship overshadowed not just the lives of the people of the era, but also those of their descendants.

The year’s commemorative events will include exhibitions, conferences and student competitions, Kiss Földváry said.

February 20, 2020

Holy See ties with Hungary resumed 30 years ago

Diplomatic relations between Hungary and the Holy See resumed in February 1990 after a period during the Cold War in which dialogue was maintained, Eduard Habsburg-Lorraine, Hungary’s ambassador to the Holy See, said in a statement.

Habsburg-Lorraine said on the rare occasions he addressed the pontiff, “Pope Francis replied in Hungarian, saying God bless.”

He noted that

ties between Hungary and the papal state are more than a thousand years old, and this year marks the 100th anniversary of modern-day diplomatic relations,

as the first nuncio began a stable mission in Budapest and the Hungarian Embassy in Holy See opened in Rome in 1920.

Seventy-five years ago, diplomatic ties were broken, in April 1945, when nuncio Angelo Rota had to leave Budapest, he noted. But diplomatic dialogue never ceased, he added.

The re-establishment of formal diplomatic relations was confirmed in February 1990.

Since then, milestones include visits to Hungary by John Paul II in 1991 and 1996, and in 2001 the Vatican Museum hosted an exhibition dedicated to the thousand years of Hungarian Christianity.

As the holder of the European Union’s rotating presidency in 2011, Hungary organised a festive concert in the Vatican for Pope Benedict.

Unknown documents about the history of Hungary are found in the Vatican

On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of interstate relations, President Janos Ader will be visiting the Vatican, Habsburg-Lorraine said, noting that Ader was last received there by Pope Francis in September 2013.

Read alsoHundreds of Szeklers singing in the Vatican – VIDEO

February 11, 2020

Former PM Gyurcsány: Hungarian republic ‘is dead’

Ferenc Gyurcsány, the leader of the opposition Democratic Coalition, in a speech commemorating Day of the Republic on Friday, declared the Hungarian republic “dead”.

Speaking at the statue of István Bibó — a political theorist who wrote the proclamation “For Freedom and Truth”, and was the last minister standing before the Soviets crushed the 1956 revolution — the former prime minister said that a republic was embodied in its constitution, rules and institutions. “But it also has a soul carried by its citizens,” he said, arguing that the republic consisted in citizens who thought, lived and believed differently from each other as part of a diverse and vibrant community.

Read also1st of February – Memorial day of the Republic

Gyurcsány insisted that a country which accepts the diversity of its citizens, and protects it, is stronger than one that demands homogeneity. He said that supporters of the republic must not surrender to “violent, homogenising people and groups that seek their exclusion”.

Gyurcsány was also asked to comment on Thursday’s demonstration against Budapest’s 7th district mayor Péter Niedermüller over his recent description of “white, Christian, heterosexuals” as “a scary formation”. The former prime minister said he recommended to his “Christian friends” that if they believed that “our brother Péter is lost” then they should not be sending him dead rats but rather prayers to “help him find his way back to the flock”.

He also said acceptance should be achieved not via violence or threats but rather with “words of patience and understanding”.

Asked if he believed Niedermüller had used the right phrasing in his remark, Gyurcsány said the mayor’s critics should pay attention to his actions rather than his words. Niedermuller “has always represented a culture of acceptance”, he said, adding that those who knew the mayor “knew what he meant and I think his views are completely fine”.

Gyurcsány said only Niedermüller could say why he has not apologised for his comment, adding that the mayor had reason to hope that his remarks and their context were understood.

Asked if Niedermüller’s remarks would create tensions between himself and the voters of his district, Gyurcsány said Nidermüller would answer this question through his work and actions over the coming years.

January 31, 2020

UNESCO’s Eötvös 100 Project ends with success

Baron Roland Eötvös (1848-1919; in Hungarian: báró Eötvös Loránd), an outstanding Hungarian scientist (three times nominated for the Nobel Prize), a public figure and a sportsman, “a prince of physics”, “the father of geophysical prospecting” was recognized by UNESCO, proclaiming the centenary year of his death to be commemorated in association with UNESCO. The centennial project carried out by the Library and Information Centre of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA KIK) represented the core of the whole Eötvös 100 Commemorative Year.

Project no. ED_18-1-2018-0011 has been implemented with support from the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund of Hungary, financed under the ED_18 funding scheme. Each of the planned twenty-five tasks has been completed. The direct partners of MTA KIK in the project were: BEAC, Eötvös Loránd University, Eötvös Loránd Physical Society, Eötvös Loránd Geophysical Foundation, Hungarian Mining and Geological Survey (MBFSZ), Association of Hungarian Geophysicists, Hungarian Geological Society, Hungarian Academy of Sciences / CSFK, SZTAKI, Wigner FK, Hungarian Tourist Association, MOM Memorial Foundation, and the Hungarian National Commission for UNESCO (UNESCO MNB).

Eötvös 100

The site www.eotvos100.hu, created specifically for the Commemorative Year, provides information about its events and results in a uniform graphic design, in both Hungarian and English. 127 commemorative events have taken place from the opening event in early 2019 to the December 5 evaluation session (and 129 to the final stop of the Eötvös Commemorative Sport Marathon Series). Their implementation is due in part to this project financed by the National Research, Development and Innovation Office and partly to other organizations supported by the National Cultural Fund of Hungary (NKA), the Ministry of Human Capacities (EMMI) and the Ministry for Innovation and Technology (ITM).

The Eötvös 100 Coordinating Committee, set up by UNESCO MNB and operated by MTA KIK, endeavoured to coordinate the various initiatives. The success of the Commemorative Year, which went beyond the original expectations, is due to the dynamically developing cooperation of all participating organizations. One of the focal points was the Roland Eötvös Commemorative Day on April 8 (beginning with the issue of commemorative coins and stamps, followed on the next day by a wreath ceremony and a thanksgiving mass). Another “fruit-yielding” program series was related to the
World Science Forum and the Hungarian Science Festival: student quiz, book presentations and an exhibition opening.

The sections of the website www.eotvos100.hu give full information about all these events and activities.

National and international events

Eötvös 100 exhibitions were held at major international congresses such as EGU
(European Geoscience Union) in Vienna, EAGE (European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers) in London, IUGG (International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics) in Montreal, and AGU (American Geophysical Union) in San Francisco. Eötvös was the Surveyor of the Year 2019, as declared by CLGE (Comité de Liaison des Géomètres
Européens). Eötvös’s oeuvre was the focus of many international events in Hungary, too (Modern theories in gravitation and Eötvös the Earth Scientist at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, GIREP (Physics Teacher Conference held at BME),
Precision Physics Conference in Tihany, Eötvös 100 Special Session at the World Science Forum).

An Eötvös 100 Honorary Board was created with the participation of the most prominent gravitational physicists, geodesists and geophysicists of the world. The most important foreign research institutions were regularly informed through them. Eötvös 100 presentations were held at conferences in Mexico, Canada and Germany. In Heidelberg a wreath was placed on the Eötvös plaque.

Toblach (Dobbiaco, South Tyrol, where the „ungarischer Baron” was a regular mountaineering guest for four decades) organized an exhibition of recently restored 3D photographs took by Roland Eötvös, which was open during the summer tourist season. The friendship with the people there was further strengthened by a cycling tour (following a cycling route of Eötvös and his daughters from Székesfehérvár to the Misurina Lake along the river Drava) and climbing the Eötvös Peak, where an Eötvös 100 plaque was installed.

A Slovak-Hungarian-Romanian-Croatian joint scientific conference summarized Eötvös’s geophysical heritage at Gbely (Egbell, SK, Moravian Basin, the world’s first petroleum field discovered by using field geophysical method). At the starting point of the once famous hiking trail (Eötvös-road) above Banská Štiavnica (Selmecbánya, SK) an Eötvös
memorial plaque was installed. There were Eötvös 100 conferences and lectures in Timișoara (Temesvár, RO), Cluj (Kolozsvár, RO) and Novi Sad (Újvidék, RS). At a Levice (Léva, SK) high school, a memorable Eötvös Day was organized. Important Commemorative Year events took place also at the Eötvös milestones in Hungary: Celldömölk (quiz, instrument demonstration) and Balatonfüred (installation of a memorial plaque and planting of a tree in the Nobel Prize winners’ promenade).

Debrecen, Gyöngyös, Kaposvár, Miskolc, Nagykanizsa, Nyíregyháza, Ráckeve, Sopron,
Tihany, Szolnok, Szombathely, Veszprém, Zalaegerszeg were also venues of at least one Eötvös 100 event. Half of the events took place in the capital of Hungary. For example, on the closing day of the World Science Forum (WSF), 14 teams competed for the prizes of the Eötvös Loránd Jubilee Competition at the Palace of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. (224 four-person teams entered the high school-age competition; 181 completed the five online rounds. About 10 percent of the teams applied from neighbouring countries.)

Outcomes of the Commemorative Year

With the support of the Eötvös Centenary Project, two representative books
were published in both Hungarian and English: the “Roland Eötvös Memorial Album” for the average reader, and “The Eötvös Experiment in Its Historical Setting” for professionals. Until May 2020, the ELTE University Library and Archives hosts an
exhibition about the life and work of Eötvös, entitled “Under the Spell of Accuracy.” In 2019, a number of studies were published about Eötvös (journal articles, complete journal issues and other volumes).

Most of these, as well as video recordings and illustrations of the lectures given, are directly accessible from the archives of the Eötvös 100 website. All documents were also added to the REAL repository of MTA KIK. One of the tangible results of the Commemorative Year is that from now on all publications by Eötvös can be read on www.eotvos100.hu. Moreover, an MTMT (National Hungarian Scientific Bibliography) profile for Roland Eötvös was created. Another spectacular result of the Commemorative Year is the fact that a number of stereoscopic photos made by Roland Eötvös in Budapest, his field geophysical measurements and his climbings in the Dolomites have become widely known.

Virtual guided tours to the MBFSZ Eötvös Loránd Memorial Exhibition and to the Ság Hill near Celldömölk were completed. Both photos and virtual presentations can be viewed anywhere in the world; with anaglyph glasses or on 3D TV, even in stereoscopic form.

An eye-opening conclusion of the Commemorative Year: the name “Roland Eötvös” is an even greater brand in international science than it was thought a year ago. Roland Eötvös was an exceptionally visionary researcher. His experimental results survive any theory. In gravitational physics, the famous Eötvös experiment has become a focal and
reference point again. There is a great deal of interest in the re-measurement of his experiment, which was indeed started in Hungary in 2019.

For Earth scientists living and working in the Carpathian Basin, his name represents a cohesive force. Roland Eötvös can be a veritable role model for young people. A concise summary of his oeuvre was published in four languages in leaflet and poster versions. The poster photo can also be viewed in 3D.

The popularity of electronically downloadable documents was also due to the uniform appearance of all Eötvös 100 documents, and even a HungarianEnglish Eötvös 100 puzzle postcard for Christmas was sent to and multiplied by all contributors. Two excellent student presentations, enhanced by English subtitles, at the final of the high school competition have received internationally recognition.

Closing of the Commemorative Year

Although in 2020 a full-scale statue of Roland Eötvös is to be erected in Hegyvidék (Budapest, 12th district) with financial support from EMMI, the Eötvös centenary project has been completed by now. The project gives us many things to be learned. By making Eötvös’s oeuvre more accessible to the public, anyone can now approve Frigyes Károlyházi’s statement in 1998 (the 150th anniversary of Eötvös’s birth):

“On the gravestone of the great forerunner Newton reads: Humani generis decus – the ornament of humankind. We should write here that Roland Eötvös is the ornament
of the Hungarian nation: Hungarae gentis decus.” January 15 is the name day for Loránds in Hungary.

On this occasion we hope that Károlyházi’s words will be known to
everyone until the next Roland Eötvös anniversary year, 2048.

January 15, 2020

Palace of Arts to celebrate 15th anniversary in 2020 with star-studded season

Budapest’s Palace of Arts is celebrating its 15th anniversary in 2020 with an array of acclaimed performers and programmes, director Csaba Káel told MTI on Wednesday.

Jazz legend Chick Chorea will perform a new piece written for the occasion and honouring of the work of Béla Bartók, on March 24.

Other acclaimed performers in the first half of 2020 include Ute Lemper, performing an evening in homage of Marlene Dietrich, the Dresden Staatskapelle under the baton of Christian Thielemann, and the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Kirill Petrenko

Read alsoPalace of Arts director decorated with Legion of Honour

Czech coloratura soprano Zuzana Markova will star in Bellini’s La Somnabula, directed by Csaba Némedi, Káel said.

Jazz Showcase, an event showcasing new talents in jazz, will be accompanied with programmes for professionals, he said.

Müpa is one of the main organisers of the 40th Budapest Spring Festival, opening on April 3rd and featuring artists such as Ton Koopman conducting the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, soprano Kristine Opolais, the Győr Ballet and violinist Felix Lajko as well as American tenor Lawrence Brownlee.

Read alsoThe Palace of Arts to be called Müpa Budapest

January 15, 2020

World-famous celebrities who were born at Christmas time!

According to astrology, the most important elements of Capricorn horoscope (22^nd December to 20^th January) are time and responsibility; its representatives are mainly characterised by seriousness and purposefulness. But what about the most special day of the year?! People who were born on 24^th December are characterised by optimism and loyalty. Thanks to their in-depth thinking and sensibility, they can easily adapt to new situations and circumstances. Let’s see which world-famous celebrities are included in this special category!

Humphrey Bogart (25^th December 1899 – 1957)

The world-famous Hollywood actor has become famous with the 1941’s thriller, High Sierra. Humphrey Bogart starred in more than thirty films; he played mostly bad-boy characters, gangsters, or homicide figures. His dark side was switched to a “good boy” character – starring as a private investigator in John Huston’s exciting thriller The Maltese Falcon.

His most significant success started as a small-budget romance; however, the film became the most-watched classic story of all times – in 1942, Michael Curtiz’s Casablanca converted the character of Bogart into a male idol.

As eletstilusmagazin.hu reports, with Ingrid Bergman they created a perfect duo on the screen, while the Hollywood celebrities did not like each other in the civilian life.

After three divorces, the actor fell in love – while filming The Big Sleep – with the twenty-five years younger Laureen Bacall. The womaniser, alcoholic, chain smoker Bogey continued his adventures on the screen; as a result, he was awarded as the Best Male Actor at Oscar Awards for The African Queen. In private life, he lived in harmony with his fourth wife, Bacall and their two children. After more than eighty films, his career was interrupted by his illness: he was diagnosed with throat cancer. He passed away at the age of 57.

Howard Hughes (24^th December 1905 – 1976)

As varosikurir.hu reports, the Hollywood celebrity lived an extremely colourful life – he was an American film producer, film director, engineer, a pilot in one person. He inherited a productive machine tool factory from his father, which provided a stable background for his costly film and aerospace enterprises. Besides numerous war and western movies, he was the designer of two famous aeroplane models and also set up several world aviation records.

Ava Gardner (24^th December 1922 – 1990)

Thanks to her exotic beauty, the American actress was one of the biggest stars of her age. She grew up on a tobacco plantation, being the youngest among the parents’ seven children. Her brother-in-law had a photography studio; Gardner’s photo was put in the shop-window that attracted the attention of a theatre professional. He suggested sending some pictures of Ava to MGM. The beautiful and talented actress played in many films; she was also nominated for Oscar Award (with the film Mogambo), but the prize was eventually won by Audrey Hepburn (1953) with Roman Holiday.

Ava’s third marriage was her longest and most turbulent relationship with the world-famous Grammy and Oscar-winning actor and singer, Frank Sinatra.

Ricky Martin (24^th December 1971 – )

The Grammy Award-winning pop singer, actor, writer was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, as the child of an accountant father and a psychologist mother. After his parents’ divorce, he was raised in a Roman Catholic home. His musical talent emerged in his early childhood – at the age of six, he was already singing Led Zeppelin songs. The pretty-faced boy was first observed in commercials; at the age of ten, he already starred in several advertisements. As an adolescent, he was a member of a boyband called Menudo, where he spent six years. The first musical Mama ama el was realised by a Mexican trip; after that, he played in soap operas. His soloist career started in 1991, more than 500,000 copies had been sold of his debut album. His second album Me Amarás was entirely devoted to romantic songs, by which he won the Best Latin Artist award.

He became worldwide known with his song La Copa de la Vida at 1998’s Football World Cup. His other world-famous song is the Latin rhythm-based Loca La Vida.

Besides his world tours and studio recordings, the Latin idol also devoted time – as the ambassador of Unicef – to set up a foundation for the help of sick children. The singer openly professes his homosexuality; with his partner, Jwan Yoseffel they are raising two ten-year-old boys and plan to adopt two girls as well.

Hungary

Sisi (24^th December 1837 – 1898)

Few may know that the last queen of Hungary, Elizabeth Wittelsbach ‘Sisi’ was born on Christmas Eve, who unfortunately died before the turn of the century. It is no coincidence that during Christmas time several films can be watched about Sisi’s life, starring Romy Schneider († 43).

Michael Curtiz (24^th December 1886 – 1962)

The Hungarian-born director had already been a well-known name in Europe – 64 films under his name – when Warner Bros. invited him to Hollywood in 1926.

The world-famous celebrity directed 102 films in Hollywood and was nominated for five Oscar Awards out of which 2he won 2– one for the world-renowned film classic, the unforgettable “Casablanca”.

December 25, 2019

Christian Democrat leader commemorates 75th party anniversary

The creed of Hungary’s Christian Democratic People’s Party (KDNP) has not changed for the past 75 years; and it is the duty of its members to remain faithful to its eternal values, the leader of the party said on Sunday, marking KDNP’s 75th anniversary.

KDNP was set up as a party with a special mission, namely to be a representative of the Christian message, Zsolt Semjén, who is also deputy prime minister, told MTI.

At the heart of KDNP’s principles is to realise in the day-to-day life the eternal values the party stands for, as well as to appropriately respond to today’s challenges by adhering to them.

The eternal values KDNP stands for include personal respect, solidarity, subsidiarity, mutual assistance and a community, in other words the foundations of European civilisation, Semjén said.

The allied ruling Christian Democratic party is the only long-standing political party with a genuine Christian Democrat ideology in Hungary, he said.

Speaking about the present, Semjén qualified the ruling Fidesz-KDNP alliance “the most successful political formation” in the history of Hungary, and of the European Union, saying that “it is unprecedented for a party alliance to govern with more than an absolute majority over a decade and to make such tremendous achievements.”

December 23, 2019

Orbán opens large-scale art exhibition in Tokyo

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán opened a large-scale exhibition featuring Hungarian and European artwork in the National Art Centre in Tokyo on Thursday.

“Hungarians are innovative people, capable of producing world-class artwork like the ones we see here today; because Hungarians need to prove that the world needs them, and that the world is well served if there are Hungarians,” Orbán said in his opening address.

“This is why there are so many Hungarian Nobel laureates, Olympic Gold winners and pieces of art such as these; it is all about Hungarians claiming their place under the Sun,” he said at the exhibition marking the 150th anniversary of Hungarian-Japanese diplomatic relations.

“There are more things that bind us together than what separate us. The common fabric of spirit, emotion and virtue is immediately recognised when a Hungarian speaks with a Japanese,” Orbán said.

He said the exhibition is paying due tribute, through culture, to Japan and Hungary, two nations with long-standing cultural heritage and traditions. The prime minister thanked Japan for the 150 years of friendship between the two nations.

Princess Tsuguko of Takamado said she had last visited Hungary in 2008 and looks back fondly on her memories of museums. She said the exhibition in Tokyo presents works never seen in Japan before and would further strengthen Hungarian-Japanese ties.

The exhibition presents some 130 masterpieces of European and Hungarian painting, drawing, and sculpture spanning 400 years from the Renaissance to the early 20th century.

In addition to works by such great masters as Cranach, Titian, El Greco, Renoir and Monet, it features masterpieces by Hungarian artists from the collection of the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts and the Hungarian National Gallery. It will run until March next year.

December 5, 2019

Budapest ghetto anniversary commemorated in District 7

“The tragedy of our Jewish compatriots is our tragedy,” Péter Niedermüller, the recently elected mayor of Budapest’s 7th district, said at a commemoration marking the 75th anniversary of the city’s ghetto.

The ceremony was held in Klauzal Square, in the former ghetto where “it is not enough to commemorate in silence,” Niedermüller said. “We must speak out loud about what happened in Budapest in the winter of 1944-45″.

“This square evokes death, destruction, and inhumanity,” he added.

Niedermüller said: “Hatred and animosity, the stigmatization and segregation of people, the trampling of human dignity, unbridled resentments and the generation of enemy images could lead to unforeseeable consequences such as those of Budapest circa 1944-45”.

“Society is characterised by the way it treats minorities and people that think and behaving differently,” he said, adding that “nations will not become great or strong through uniformity but through diversity and respect for that diversity”.

The commemoration was attended by Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony and Jewish federation Mazsihisz chief András Heisler.

November 29, 2019

Opposition parties demand rooting out neo-Horthyism

The opposition Socialists, Democratic Coalition (DK) and Párbeszéd parties held a demonstration in Budapest on Saturday, calling for the rooting out of “neo-Horthyism” and protesting against a planned march by the radical nationalist Mi Hazánk to commemorate the 100th anniversary of inter-war regent Admiral Horthy’s return to Budapest.

Socialist electorate head Ágnes Kunhalmi told the event in Szent Gellért Square that a memorial dedicated to the victims of the white-terror would be erected next to the recently restored monument for the victims of red terror near Parliament if the opposition “pro-republic parties” win the 2022 elections.

“Horthy rejected the republic and democracy and pursued anti-Budapest policies during his reign,” Kunhalmi said.

He created a regime that current Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and ruling Fidesz openly consider an example to follow, she added.

The Horthy regime lifted anti-Semitism to the level of state policy and obstructed political alternation, Kunhalmi said. In the current Orbán regime, the name of US financier George Soros “is used as an expletive”, and new laws are being prepared to prevent opposition politicians from effectively raising their voice in parliament, she added.

Horthy led Hungary to war and Orbán said only a few days ago that by 2026, the Hungarian army would be well-prepared to fight a local war, Kunhalmi said.

Socialist leader Zsolt Molnár accused Fidesz “and its ally [the radical nationalist] Mi Hazank” of building “a neo-Horthyist society” but the Socialists and its opposition partners want to lead Hungary back to its European, democratic and social-democrat roots in 2022.

DK lawmaker Zsolt Greczy said Horthy headed a regime that was guilty of killing great artists, chasing away scientists, introducing the world’s first Jewish laws and sending some 200,000 Hungarians to their death in the Don River bend in the Soviet Union.

“Our task is to completely root out neo-Horthyism by 2022,” he added.

Local Újbuda district Mayor Richárd Barabás, of the Párbeszéd party, said “neo-Nazis” were planning a march along the cultural thoroughfare of the district in support of “evil ideologies”.

November 16, 2019

Parliamentary conference marks Christian Democrat anniversary

A conference was held in parliament on Thursday to mark the 75th anniversary of the Christian Democratic movement in Hungary.

In his address to the conference, Parliamentary Speaker László Kövér said that European politics, the economy and culture saw “a fight between destroyers and champions of identity” and added that “Hungary’s fundamental law ensures a possibility for self defence against civilisational attacks“.

“No other national constitution in Europe has deeper Christian foundations, a stronger national character or a more modern approach to family protection,” Kövér said.

Deputy PM Zsolt Semjén, leader of the co-ruling Christian Democrats, told the conference that his party was “the only Christian Democratic and Christian Social party in Hungary” adding that it was also the only party organised on a religious basis.

Péter Harrach, group leader of the Christian Democrats, said it required “great courage” to be Christian in politics.

“The word is an obligation one must meet,” he said and argued that politicians of Christian morals suffered many attacks.

October 31, 2019

Orbán greets Jewish communities on Jewish New Year

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán greeted the leaders of Hungary’s Jewish communities on the Jewish New Year on Sunday, the prime minister’s press chief, Bertalan Havasi, told MTI.

In a letter sent to Eduard Deblinger, president of the Autonomous Hungarian Orthodox Jewish Community, András Heisler, head of the federation of Hungarian Jewish communities (Mazsihisz), Slomo Köves, chief rabbi of the Unified Hungarian Jewish Congregation (EMIH), and György Szabó, head of the Hungarian Jewish Heritage Foundation,

Orbán wished the Hungarian Jewish communities “peace, prosperity and blessings in the new year.”

Orbán said he was “happy to see the largest Jewish community in central Europe living … in peace and security and even organising cultural and sporting events that draw their brethren from other parts of the world.”

September 30, 2019

Budapest – 25th anniversary of the renovated Great Market Hall! – PHOTOS

Budapest’s magnificent palace at Fővám Square was designed by Samu Pecz, representing a unique and breathtaking style that fascinates all its visitors. The Great Market Hall has been operating for 122 years with the same purpose – to provide fresh food and beverages to citizens. This year is the 25th anniversary of this special architectural treasure which has become an important tourist attraction as well.

In the 19th century, a new trend emerged in Europe – market halls were established where residents from urban areas could acquire the necessary groceries in one place. Emperor Napoleon can be considered the mastermind of this renewal.

In Budapest, the idea of building market halls cropped up at the end of the 19th century, by which several small markets could be replaced. Charles Kammermayer, chairman of the Public Services Committee, took the task so seriously that he made a study tour around Europe in order to observe other market halls of the continent.

The Great Market Hall (2) — *Image: www.facebook.com/Múltidéző+/*

The location of the hall was appointed in 1884 – this was the time when they decided to place the central hall to Fővám Square (formerly Sóház Square). This was followed by long debates about the appropriate location of the building, which came to an end in 1890.

Therefore, the public tender was published only in 1892, which received a total of nine entries. Despite the fact that the public wanted works from domestic designers, the contest became so international that – apart from Hungarian applicants – several Bulgarian, Czech, French, and German architects applied for the tender. After a long, multi-round evaluation, the jury selected the winner: Samu Pecz.

The construction started in June 1894, and in February 1897, the building was opened to customers. The hall had exceptional features – all important warehouses, freight stations, and the Danube bend were in its vicinity.

The Great Market Hall (4) — *Image: www.facebook.com/Múltidéző+/*

During the Second World War, the hall was severely damaged. Its reconstruction had to be realised urgently; therefore, stored materials were also utilised for the process.

After the war, the hall was transformed and “modernised” several times; however, these works had detrimental effects on the structure of the building, to such an extent that the situation became life-threatening by March 1991. As a result, the market hall was closed.

As pestbuda.hu describes, its renovation started in October 1991, which was preceded by a complete redesign of the hall. It had to be resolved how a monument building from the 19th century – located at a pedestrian-centric zone – could operate as a real market which can provide modern commercial goods under proper hygienic conditions.

The Great Market Hall (3) — *Image: Pixabay*

The Great Market Hall in Budapest was described as such by Bojár András Iván (Népszabadság):

“This program is a combination of ancient and modern industries: the former Zsolnay pyrogranite cover elements are also replaced with Zsolnay products. The original iron structures are mainly preserved. A unique attraction of the reconstruction is the large modern refrigerator in the basement and the enlargement of the modernised delivery opening. For the realisation of these features, the structure of the building could not be moved.”

The investment – which cost EUR 11.7 million at that time – was obstructed by several factors. In the first period, the organisation of the work was quite chaotic – there was no tender for the renovation of the rooftop, which was followed by merchants’ protest and leaks few days prior to the inauguration. Fortunately, they managed to overcome all these difficulties, and on September 15th, the building was opened for the public.

The Great Market Hall (5) — *Image: Pixabay*

The hall is still one of Budapest’s most popular tourist attractions; in 1999, its renovation was awarded by FIABCI Prix d’Excellence prize in the category of public buildings.

September 19, 2019

Hungarian rock bands Tankcsapda and Junkies give concerts in Hollywood!!!

Hungary’s two most famous rock bands will celebrate their jubilee in America – their first stop is San Francisco where the two Hungarian bands – the 30-year-old “Tankcsapda” and the 25-year-old “Junkies” – will give a concert on 4^th October, followed by Los Angeles on 5^th October.

“Tankcsapda” announced their return to America last autumn. This will be their third time in the US after previous years’ tours – in 2015, US-Canada; in 2017, Toronto-New York tours.

The band celebrates its three-decades jubilee this year; their show can be viewed in San Francisco on 4^th October, followed by Los Angeles on 5^th October at “Whiskey a Go Go” – the Hollywood club gives place to the band’s official birthday concert. The celebrated group will be accompanied by “Junkies”; the 25-year-old rock band will open the show.

“During the history of the band we had a lot of fantastic shows that we are really proud of; just think of the circular-stage concerts that we gave not only in Budapest but in Debrecen as well. However, we do not want to fall into the trap that we always want bigger than the previous one, so we decided to have our 30-year-old birthday in a club. This is a surprising story again, something that we have never done before. Concerning rock music, Whiskey is a place of worship where such bands started as – Metallica, Mötley Crüe, Guns N’ Roses. Celebrating our birthday at such a symbolic place is very elegant”– reported Tankcsapda’s drummer, Tamás Fejes.

The Junkies’ singer, András Szekeres said: “This year is an important year for the band, and we are trying to make it memorable for the audience as well. We are glad that this summer, we had the opportunity once again to give a live concert in South Korea; while, the fact that for the first time in our career we can perform in the United States crowns this year of jubilee. Every rock star dreams of standing on stage in America; thanks to Tankcsapda, this dream has come true. We practice a lot since Whiskey is a legendary place where Hungarian musicians usually do not have the opportunity to perform.” As the Hungarian news portal Index describes, the Hollywood concert is extremely important for one of the members – as Junkies’ bassist, Riki Church grew up in Los Angeles.

“DNA Lounge” in San Francisco and Hollywood’s “Whiskey a Go Go” are all familiar to Tankcsapda – the band’s US tour in 2015 was the first time when they performed in both of the bars. Those parties were so successful that this year’s concerts could be organised relatively smoothly; furthermore, the band’s show will be visible in Los Angeles on the “main day” – on Saturday, instead of the previously scheduled Sunday’s date.

Featured image: www.facebook.com/Tankcsapda/

September 10, 2019

Have you ever seen the fireworks of Budapest on 20th August? – VIDEO

If you want to celebrate the anniversary of founding the Hungarian state, the best thing you can do is to visit the capital of Hungary and watch the world-famous fireworks of Budapest. We will let you know of the best spots where you can enjoy it the most, and give you some advice you would find useful.

Fireworks in Budapest — Photo: https://www.facebook.com/pg/firework.augusztus.20/photos

It is not recommended to take kids under the age of six. They can easily be frightened of the crowd, noise and the sound of the firework rockets. They can get tired quickly, and in case you have to take them home, it is tough to get out of the crowd. Together with kids at this age, it is better to watch the fireworks on TV – it is much more comfortable.

The situation with dogs is similar. The fireworks are a nightmare for them even at New Year’s Eve.

On that day, it is better to keep the dog inside the house in an environment as noiseless as possible.

Make sure to have enough food, drink and medicine if needed. Get dress accordingly to the weather and leave your umbrella at home – it is better to wear a raincoat because of the crowd, and you do not need to hold it for hours. We recommend wearing comfortable shoes, no matter of the outlook. Slippers are not suitable to wear either because stepping on your foot in such a crowd is unavoidable.

Going there by car is also a bad idea.

If everyone decides to do so, a never-ending traffic jam is inevitable. Choose to go there by public transport, bicycle or walk to keep going.

Lánchíd - Augusztus 20. — Photo: https://www.facebook.com/pg/firework.augusztus.20/photos

The most recommended and well-known spots are the wharves of the city – e.g. Id. Antall József wharf, Jane Haining wharf, the lower wharf of Pest and the Salkaházi Sára wharf –, between Batthyány and Szent Gellért squares – the Sztehlo Gábor wharf, Friedrich Born wharf and the Raoul Wallenberg wharf – according to Híradó.hu (news agency of the state). Besides these places, there is a list of spots, where you may catch even more spectacular views:

Elizabeth Bridge
Várkert Bazár (Castle Bazaar)
The top of Buda Castle’s tunnel
Zikkurat (in the park in front of the National Museum)
Fisherman’s Bastion
Bar 360
Garden of Philosophers
Margaret Bridge
Petőfi Bridge
Nagy-Kevély (in Pilis mountains)
Hármashatár-hegy (on the border of Pest, Buda and Óbuda)
Tomb of Gül Baba
Top of Corvin Club

You can see the video about the 2019 plans of the fireworks, with the explosion locations below:

August 19, 2019