Pécs

Munkácsy exhibition extended in Pécs

An exhibition showcasing the biggest and most comprehensive private collection of works by 19th-century Hungarian painter Mihály Munkácsy has been extended to run until December 1 in the Zsolnay Cultural Centre in Pécs, in southern Hungary, the organiser said on Monday.

It presents 60 of Munkácsy’s paintings, drawings, sketches along with 20 photos documenting his life from the collection of Hungarian-born art collector Imre Pakh, Zsolnay Örökségkezelő (ZSÖK) told MTI in a statement.

Among the pieces on display is the Yawning Apprentice, from 1868, one of Hungary’s most famous paintings.

The exhibition in Gallery m21 also shows 6 drawings put on public display for the first time.

They include a compositional sketch from Munkácsy’s early period, a self-portrait from his late period, a portrait of composer Ferenc Liszt and sketches for his monumental piece Golgotha.

The exhibition has been organised to mark Munkácsy’s 175th birth anniversary. It has so far attracted 21,000 visitors, ZSÖK said.

Day trip to Pécs – a quick guide and itinerary

November 4, 2019

Hungary’s best beers on tap – a guide

As we reported, in recent years Hungarian breweries have been conjuring up award-winning craft beers. However, what do Hungarians drink on a day-to-day basis at the bar? We look at some of the most popular Hungarian beer brands in the country.

Arany Ászok

Created in 1924 by the Dreher Brewery, this light pilsner is one of the most iconic brands in the country. Its manufacture was stopped in 1948, but resumed in 1989 after the fall of the communist regime. Named after its golden colour, it has a bitter taste and a high carbon dioxide content. Due to its popularity, Arany Ászok is one of the few Hungarian beers that you may be able to find in a store abroad which sells Eastern European products.

Borsodi

The Borsodi brewery is one of the most popular breweries in Hungary. Founded in North-eastern Hungary near Miskolc and named after the county it is located in, the local population are very proud of their pilsner, which has a slightly grainy taste.

Relative to other breweries, Borsodi was established very recently. The company began operations in the 1970s and since then it has become one of the most recognisable products in the country.

Similarly to Arany Ászok, Borsodi is big enough of a brand to be found outside of Hungary if potential customers are looking in the right place. The brewery also produces the best fruit-tasting beers, with lemon being the most popular one. Borsodi beers can be found on tap in every bar or pub in Hungary. If you are after a stronger lager, the Borsodi Bivaly (Borsodi Buffalo) is the beer for you.

Soproni

Another beer that can be found in all bars on tap is Soproni. The main product of the Sopron brewery, the company was bought by Heineken in 2003. Since its establishment in 1895, the company has become one of the most recognised beer brands in the country.

The brewery’s brown beer product – called Soproni Fekete Démon (Soproni Black Demon) – has a really unique taste and a rich flavour. Similarly to Borsodi, the Soproni brewery also offers a range of fruit-flavoured options. They also have a Tankcsapda beer, named after one of the most successful Hungarian rock bands.

Pécsi Szalon

We saved the best till last. Made by the Pécsi brewery, Szalon beers are very difficult to find in areas far away from Pécs, including in Budapest. However, it is worth the hunt as it has a very rich taste for a lager. The brewery itself was established in 1848 and has created a range of products. One of their best beers is the Szalon Barna (Szalon Brown), a dark German-style beer with an alcohol percentage just below 6%.

Budapest was listed among the best cities to drink craft beer.

October 21, 2019

WOW! – 6 Hungarian towns among Europe’s most cultural and creative cities

Six Hungarian towns – Budapest, Győr, Veszprém, Pécs, Szeged, and Debrecen – have been ranked on the list of Europe’s most cultural and creative cities. The ranking was carried out by the European Commission; the body awarded 30 towns from 190 European countries.

Budapest

*Hungarian National Gallery (Image: Pixabay)*

Budapest achieved outstanding results in the area of job creation in the creative sector – 87.3% – which is a remarkable percentage not only in its own category (population over 1,000,000), but it highly exceeds the 37% EU average as well. According to the report of Cultural and Creative Cities’ Monitor,

in the area of creative economy – namely, how creative industries contribute to the employment capacity of the city – Budapest (47.3%) also outperformed the EU average (34.5%).

Győr

As far as Győr is concerned, the city’s dynamic development and its innovative features have been emphasised, by which it has become one of the largest economic and industrial centres of Hungary. Besides several cultural events and festivals, they highlighted The Ballet Company and The National Theatre of Győr due to their outstanding role in the region.

Pécs

In the case of Pécs, the city’s multi-ethnic and multicultural composition has been emphasised, which “opens the door” to non-EU Balkan countries. They acknowledged the city’s effort to protect the cultural values of minorities and its attitude towards refugees of the Balkan wars. Besides this, the city’s Early Christian monuments listed among UNESCO World Heritage Sites have been highlighted as well, along with the well-developed Zsolnay Cultural Quarter.

Szeged

Szeged was described as a significant historical heritage and a university city with numerous cultural treasures.

Among several cultural festivals, the 85-year-old Szeged Open-Air Games has been pointed out as one of the most outstanding cultural scenes of Hungary.

Veszprém

Veszprém – designated as European Capital of Culture until 2023 – has been ranked on the list of cultural and creative cities for the first time. Several cultural institutions can be found in the city, including museums, art galleries, and theatres, as well as numerous world-famous music festivals, including VeszprémFest and Street Music Festival of Veszprém.

Debrecen

Debrecen was also ranked for the first time – described as one of the most important cultural centres of Hungary. Here, they highlighted the largest exhibition space of Hungary – MODEM Modern and Contemporary Arts Centre – and several cultural events, including the Béla Bartók International Choir Competition, Debrecen Flower Carnival, and Campus Festival.

According to nullahategy.hu, the report also revealed that within the cultural and creative sector, employment has grown particularly in Northern and Central-Eastern European cities.

On average, an annual growth of 12% has been experienced in Budapest (Hungary), Tallinn and Tartu (Estonia), Vilnius (Lithuania), Krakow and Wroclaw (Poland).

They pointed out that the cultural venues of the cities are perfectly accessible from the residential area – 30 minutes by walk, or only 5 minutes by bike. However, they also noted that future EU cohesion funds should promote further convergence of socio-economic and territorial cohesion by focusing on creative jobs, innovation, and transport connections. The latter areas experience the biggest deficiencies.

They also added that the listed settlements are characterised by prosperity; in the case of these cities, a positive correlation can be observed between cultural and creative indicators and the income level.

October 10, 2019

Magnus Aircraft inaugurates 5,100sqm production hall

Hungary’s Magnus Aircraft on Monday inaugurated a 5,100sqm production hall at its base at an airport on the outskirts of Pécs (SW Hungary).

Magnus Aircraft has invested some 6 billion forints (EUR 18m) at the base over the past two years, supported by 2 billion forints in government grant money. In addition to the production hall, the company has built a 1,900sqm assembly hall and a 300sqm office building.

The company started test production a year ago of a composite body aircraft. It plans to reach full capacity next year, turning out more than 200 of the aircraft. Magnus Aircraft also wants to produce composite material parts for business partners in other industries.

Magnus Aircraft employs 70 people at the base, but headcount is expected to rise over 100 by year-end, and to 150 by the second half of next year.

László Palkovics, the minister of innovation and technology, told the event that the government considered the aircraft industry a sector of special importance.

Over the past one year Airbus, Lufthansa Technik and Rolls Royce have launched investment projects in Hungary, he added.

As we wrote before, the Hungarian Magnus Aircraft Ltd. created the world’s first all-electric airplane and, after reaching China, started to expand its market to the US, read details HERE.

Aldi announces EUR 3.9m investment in Pécs

October 7, 2019

Day trip to Pécs – a quick guide and itinerary

Most tourists to Hungary flock to Budapest. In this series we will put together a range of daytrip getaways from the capital to encourage visitors to explore more of Hungary. First up, Pécs!

Located in Southwest Hungary, Pécs is nestled amongst the Mecsek Mountains. It was founded by the Romans as the city of Sopianae and since then it has been influenced by Christian and Muslim cultures. Its rich cultural history earned the city the European Capital of Culture designation in 2010.

How to get there

For a day trip the best way to get to Pécs is by car or train. The drive itself takes around 2 hours. The train takes 2.5-3 hours each way and leaves from Budapest Keleti station. From Pécs station visitors can choose to either walk to the city centre or catch a bus. Tickets can be bought on the bus and do not require the purchase of a travel card.

Things to see

Pécs Cathedral’s foundations date back to the 4^th century. During the course of history it underwent several phases of reconstruction. Today’s neo-Romanesque design was completed in 1891 and the cathedral tower has a great view of the surrounding city.

A 5 minute walk away is an early Christian burial chapel. Dating to the Roman period, that area of the city was proclaimed a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000.

Head to the Szécsenyi tér, which is the cultural centre of Pécs. It is the main square of the city and during the weekends it is the setting for a range of events including musical and drama performances. At the northern end of the square is the Mosque of Pasha Qasim (Dzsámi), which has been converted to a Christian church after the Turkish occupation. Step inside to discover this hybrid building where Christian and Islamic cultures are both present.

Walk to the Barbican. The Barbican is a circular bastion built in the 15^th century to defend against invasions. In addition to being an important historical site, it has great views of the surrounding city as well.

Check out the Zsolnay Museum. The Zsolnay Porcelain factory produced – and still produces -beautiful pieces of ceramics and the museum honours and displays their work from the last 200 years. In addition to the Zsolnay Museum, Pécs also has a museum dedicated to the city’s history, an ethnography museum and natural history museum too. Discover these if you want to learn about local history, culture and the surrounding natural landscape.

Walk around the downtown area to appreciate the architecture. Notable stops include shopping opportunities on Király utca, Budai Kapu and the opera house.

Where to eat

Try the restaurants in the historic downtown area and Széchenyi tér. Here you can find pleasant outdoor eating areas and may even hear a musical performance!

We also gave you 10+1 reasons why you should visit Szeged. Want to learn some interesting facts about Hungary? Check out our post from this week.

October 7, 2019

Aldi announces EUR 3.9m investment in Pécs

David Godschalk - ALDI International Services GmbH & Co. oHG CEO

ALDI International IT Services will invest 1.3 billion forints (EUR 3.9m) in establishing its second service centre in Hungary in Pécs, in Southern Hungary, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said at a press conference on Monday.

The company, providing IT services for the local unit of German discount chain Aldi, will receive a 300 million forint government grant for the investment, Szijjártó said.

The investment will create 70 jobs raising Aldi IIT’s headcount to 150 in Hungary.

The centre in Pécs will provide support service in Hungarian, German, English, Italian, French and Slovenian.

ALDI IIT supports operations of ALDI South in 3,800 stores and 55 logistics centres.

As we wrote in 2018, Aldi dropped a ‘wage bomb’ at the beginning of the year. The company announced that from 2018 on each experienced shop assistant will receive 353 thousand (EUR 1140) monthly gross salary.

September 2, 2019

Pécs music festival to focus on marriage of classical, folk music

The Zeneszüret (Musical harvest) festival in Pécs, southern Hungary, will feature some 50 events centering on classical and folk music between September 5 and 7, organisers told a press conference on Wednesday.

Péter Fülöp, the human resources ministry’s state secretary for art, said the festival aims to “move classical music beyond concert halls”.

The festival is a forerunner of a nationwide programme returning classical music to public spaces, he said.

It aims to organise “events in front of churches, in main squares and other places where people meet,” he said.

The Pécs festival will include jazz, folk and classical concerts in various venues in the city, in addition to family events such as folk dancing, storytelling and the presentation of musical instruments.

Performers include the Jazzformers, István “Szalonna” Pál and his Band, the Szeged Symphony Orchestra, and Ertungealp Alpaslan conducting the Budapest Strings. The Philharmonic Brass Quintet, the Pécs Percussion Project and the Harmonia String Quartet will also perform.

Hungarian folklore flash mob at the Budapest’s Danube Promenade – VIDEO

August 28, 2019

Where can new university students buy flats in Hungary?

Hungarians live their lives in a bit more than 3 flats

On July 24, the official points for higher education institutions will be announced. In the next following days, students will inevitably conquer the Internet to look for an available flat in the capital and other major Hungarian cities with universities. But the big questions are: where and for how much?

Portfolio reported that the best option for new university students in Budapest is to apply for a college between 10,000–20,000 HUF (30–60 EUR). For this amount of money, students can live in rooms with 2–4 four beds with a shared kitchen and bathroom. On the other hand, the number of rooms in these buildings are limited, and the best option for the remaining students is still buying or renting a flat.

According to the numbers of Duna House, an average flat in Budapest moves between a price of 150,000–170,000 HUF (450–500 EUR). Students can find flats for this amount of money in Districts 9, 11, 13, 14, 5, 6, and 7. In August, the prices of flats always increase by a few percents but get back to the original price by the end of the year. On the other hand, it is advisable not to rent a flat alone but to look for a flatmate to decrease the amount of rent each month.

There must be other available flats beside the capital as well. For example, in Pécs flats cost approximately 100,000 HUF (300 EUR) but in the neighbourhood of the Medical School 120,000 HUF (360 EUR) because there are more international students in that area. On the outskirts of Szeged, a smaller flat costs 60,000 HUF (180 EUR) but in the centre the same as in Pécs and in Debrecen as well (300 EUR).

Unexpected increase showed in the number of flats in Hungary

The Hungarian real estate market has not stopped breaking new records. Last year approximately 17,681 flats were sold, which is a 23% growth from 2017 when nearly 14,000 units got new owners. This phenomenon only showed up intensively in 2010.

READ MORE HERE

July 23, 2019

Government official inaugurates revamped Pécs square

The state secretary in charge of church and civil affairs on Saturday inaugurated the Dóm Square in Pécs, southern Hungary, which was reconstructed with a 600 million forints (EUR 1.8m) government grant.

The square, in the shadow of the city’s cathedral, was consecrated by Bishop György Udvardy.

In his speech, Miklós Soltész said that apart from educating in faith, churches operate kindergartens and schools and thereby teach children Christian faith and patriotism. “

[Churches] also provide for the elderly and strengthen our communities,” Soltész said.

Pécs Mayor Zsolt Páva and the city’s MP, Péter Hoppál, also attended the event.

June 23, 2019

A week of culture in Pécs

There is a busy week ahead of Pécs, as both Sétatér Festival and POSZT (National Theater Meeting in Pécs) are starting this weekend! Each year during this time, the whole city sets out to enjoy the programs and culture, whether it be a play in the National Theater of Pécs, or a concert at one of Pécs’s most beautiful squares, in front of the basilica.

Sétatér Festival has been the most popular cultural and gastronomical festival in the region for years now. It offers concerts to the music lovers, plenty of wine of many kinds to wine lovers, a broad palette of delicious food for food lovers, and programs for children as well, so families get to enjoy the activities, too.

This year the fun will take place between June 6 and 16. The Opening Gala will take place at 7:30 PM on June 6. The next day there will be a Gala of Hungarian Communities Abroad. On the 8th, an International Folklore Gala will take place, then on the 9th in the afternoon the Gypsy Social and Cultural Methodological Base of Pécs will provide programs, and at night there will be the Closing Gala.

As for the rest of the week come the concerts. There will be local artists and bands as well as more well known ones from other parts of the country.

June 10 (Monday)	7 PM	Band On Da Moon
June 10 (Monday)	9 PM	Kubalibre
June 11 (Tuesday)	7 PM	Carlos Adíos
June 11 (Tuesday)	9 PM	DJ Venom
June 12 (Wednesday)	7 PM	Boggie
June 12 (Wednesday)	9 PM	Junk
June 13 (Thursday)	7 PM	Mörk
June 13 (Thursday)	9 PM	Psycho Mutants
June 14 (Friday)	7 PM	Romengo feat. Dóra Szinetár
June 14 (Friday)	9 PM	Antonia Vai
June 15 (Saturday)	7 PM	PEET band
June 15 (Saturday)	9 PM	The Blackbirds
June 16 (Sunday)	7 PM	Seven Seconds in the Future
June 16 (Sunday)	9 PM	Magashegyi Underground feat. Zoli Beck

Meanwhile, the square will be overflowing with booths filled with every wine imaginable — as well as beer and other drinks, for those not a fan of wine — and delicious food for the hungry.

Make sure to come if you are nearby and become part of the sea of people having fun.

See the beautiful Basilica of Pécs and other buildings light up at yet another festival HERE.

For those who do not like big crowds but would still like to do something on the weekend, the 19th Annual National Theater Meeting of Pécs (POSZT) will be starting on June 6, as well, and lasts until June 15. During this time the theatre will offer plays of many genres, for children, for adults, for families.

Not only theatre groups from Pécs will play, but groups from all over Hungary will come to show off their talent. The event offers free programs as well. You can check out the programs, based on your preferred genre, location and date HERE.

Theater groups of Pécs, Szeged and Budapest will come to offer their audience a good time, and children and students will present their talents as well!

June 5, 2019

University of Pécs – Visibility, attention, integration

Interview the head of the Centre for Internationalization and Connections (CIC) at the University of Pécs, Dr. István Tarrósy.

CIC well may be one of the largest newly established organizations within the cabinet of the new rectoral management. What is its purpose?

Indeed, this new unit serves as an umbrella for the former Foreign Affairs Directorate, the Marketing Department, UnivTV, UnivPécs and the Career Office. In accordance with the rationalizing and dynamizing expectations of the rectoral programme, we are striving to bring those units closer which have operated separately but all worked on making the university more visible. I expect dynamic and sped up work from the new centre, improving the visibility of the university both at the national and the international scene. When we are speaking of international and national enrolment, it is worth to think about how these surfaces meet in the fields of visibility, campaigns and communication. The same expectations are true in case of the university media: the aim is a dynamic, integrated editorial board serving the purpose of visibility. We are also planning to renew the image of the university, however, we must not hurry, and we will need to elaborate on it thoroughly.

We are only at the beginning of the process, and there are plans to call for tenders internally, expecting the participation of innovative cross-disciplinary student teams.

You have mentioned enrolment: the number of active international students has increased to 4,100, and there are even more in the rectoral programme. What are the tendencies and further trends?

A quarter of our international students taking part in full programmes are on grants. The Hungarian government opened up a new dimension in internationalizing higher education in our country by launching the Stipendium Hungaricum programme. Besides programmes that already had been international – such as medical and healthcare education – all the other fields could start to catch up, especially by developing bachelor and master programmes in foreign languages. It is a great opportunity for the University of Pécs: the Medical School had 60% of the total number of foreign students until 2015, while now this rate has decreased by 10%, while the total number of international students has nearly doubled. That is, it is not the numbers of the Medical School dropping but the other faculties catching up or improving their already existing programmes. The Medical school still remains the flagship of internationalization, the one with the most experience in international education. The other faculties can develop internationally attractive and luring programmes based on the increasing amount of experience. And while the number of students on grants has increased more significantly, the total increase is not owing only to them.

We can see that there is a demand for the international programmes offered by UP in the market as well.

By the way, similar grant programmes were implemented for developing areas, including Africa, in the ‘70s and ‘80s: a minority of those students chose to settle and start a family here, they were integrated, but most of them returned home because they wanted to contribute to the development of their own countries. By obtaining a competitive degree in Hungary, they had an advantage in the employment market, which also have brought on connections and relationships that are still active. It is an advantage for us as well when an international student studies in Hungary: it can bring commercial agreements and investments later. An alumni network has serious potentials as well.

The main concern around Stipendium is what will happen if the resources are cut back.

We can certainly see that the government has doubled the national budget of the Stipendium Hungaricum programme! We are also familiar with the development plans, which have been outlined to receiving institutions by Tempus Foundation, the organization co-ordinating the programme at a national level. On the basis of all these, we can say that the programme is stably functioning and offers an opportunity to improve our international portfolio in a way that attracts and/or keeps foreign students in our fee-paying trainings.

Parallel to this direction, we have reinforced our efforts aimed at international enrolment, since we are present at several educations fairs worldwide, and we are building up networks with the help of secondary school advisors.

We also need to invite the representatives of headhunting and recruiting companies so that they can see where the students recruited by them will study. We also have launched our Student Ambassador Programme, based on our international students already studying here. They represent UP in their respective countries during their studies and after completing them: they are the ones who can convey their experience in their own cultures and in their own languages in the best way, and convince their peers that it is worth to come to study at UP.

The development of new devices is important, too. That is why we have introduced the use of DreamApply, which is used by each faculty of the UP, moreover, Tempus Public Foundation channels the applications of every Stipendium student in this system. It is a user-friendly, transparent system dynamizing not only application but everyday contact and communication with students, making the work of the colleagues handling their administration much easier. I think it has been a big step forward.

We also need to improve our international prestige; the best way of which is to move up in rankings. The regional director of Times Higher Education visited Pécs in December, engaging in serious negotiations with the heads of the faculties and management concerning ranking. We also can see the areas where we need to improve, launch campaigns, promotions and do research.

Our student population represents well over 110 countries, and we find that the over 60 Stipendium counties that have entered in a bilateral agreement with the Hungarian government and for which the government provides quotas, can constitute target markets for recruiting fee-paying students as well.

The rectoral programme includes the objective of obtaining 5,000 more Hungarian students as well. How do you think this target can be met, what innovations could be applied to reach this target? Increasing the number of Hungarian students seems to be an even bigger challenge than that of foreign ones.

Yes, especially with demographic tendencies, a decreasing number of births and an aging population in view. The University of Pécs will be able to recruit significantly more Hungarian students – mainly from its primary enrolment area, the Transdanubian region – if the town of Pécs and the region can offer good opportunities for employment after the completion of their studies here. As long as the industrial-commercial presence is not more prevalent and a determining factor in the town and in the region, we cannot really depend on their force to keep students here. Youth pondering on higher education consider several factors from living costs to the competitiveness of actual degrees, but they take job-market opportunities into account for sure. It is not easy for us. I think the university makes a huge effort to improve on this situation; it is enough to mention the dual training in the field of engineering. What is up to UP is to offer specific and quality study programmes that cannot be found anywhere. I think the management of the university represents this demand quite definitely.

On this basis, we also have started to co-operate with secondary schools; not only in Hungary, but in the international scene as well.

What new services can foreign students expect? We already have the Stipendium Gala and the International Spring which are unique in the country. What would the next step be?

International Spring had a number of antecedents which I think we have managed to bring together and strengthen. This program allows us to introduce the town to the cultures of our students, but it is also about facilitating integration of Hungarian and international students and making them more open to mobility. There is an increasing demand for gaining experience in foreign countries, and it is an important factor in the enrolment process as well.

By the way, student teams have already started working on preparing the three-month series of programmes taking place between March and May.

Concerning the Stipendium Programme, certain services already have been launched which even go beyond expectations of the Tempus Public Foundation: legal aid, mental hygiene and intercultural training. When we see some examples of best practice at a certain faculty, we apply it elsewhere, even at university level. This was how we elevated the mentoring network of the Stipendium programme on an institutional level, involving all our international students. It also serves the aim of integration.

To what degree do the citizens of UP utilize their opportunities for mobility?

It is a nationwide problem, affecting Pécs as well, that the number of students travelling abroad within the framework of the Erasmus programme stagnates or even decreases. One of the reasons is that a lot of students do some work besides their studies and they want to complete their studies and find a job as soon as possible, obviously. But the experience that can be obtained during a semester of Erasmus studies or internship is priceless, and we should make them understand this. The mobility of administrative employees has also increased, and we have a stable mobile circle of lecturers which we wish to expand. Now that the focus of the Erasmus programme is not limited to Europe, virtually any country in the world has become available.

We also have a new programme developed by our own, which is unique in the whole country: the Travelling Ambassadors Programme.

We partially subsidize participation in professional conferences, while the travelling persons commit themselves to engage in or deepen a relationship with the actual institutions, or even organizes guest lectures for UP. Of course, these are agreed upon in advance. There is a huge interest; a hundred of our lecturers from all the faculties have utilized this opportunity during the last one and a half years; thus this programme have opened up a number of new opportunities for UP as an institution as well. I think my colleagues have done a great job!

Prepared by: Éva HARKA

Featured image and photos: Szabolcs CSORTOS and József HUBAY

March 1, 2019

Protests staged against labour changes in Pécs, Szombathely

Opposition parties and civil groups staged demonstrations to protest against recent changes to the labour code in Pécs (S) and Szombathely (W) on Friday evening.

In Pécs, LMP co-leader László Lóránt Keresztes said that “the ruling parties have now rejected all they used to promote… and have sold out the country’s independence to the Russians”.

The protesters demanded that the government should be ousted, and marched to the city centre carrying the national colours, the flag of the European Union as well as the red and white stripes associated with the extreme right.

In Széchenyi Square, Balázs Nemes, local leader of the Momentum Movement, told some 500 participants that “this is our homeland and we won’t let them steal it… 2019 will be a year for resistance”.

Some 250 people demonstrated in Szombathely, where LMP’s Gábor Vágó spoke in his address about “unprecedented corruption” in government circles.

Local Democratic Coalition deputy Tímea Glázer said that “they should have spent a lot more money on hospitals rather than on sports stadiums”.

The protesters walked to the local office of ruling Fidesz, and left a large sign that read “We are not slaves” across its windows.

As we wrote, opposition parties, civil organisations and trade unions held an anti-government protest in Szeged, in southern Hungary, on Thursday. Read more details HERE.

EXTRAORDINARY PARLIAMENT SESSION LACKED QUORUM

A special session of parliament lacked quorum on Thursday because ruling party Fidesz lawmakers stayed away from it, read more HERE.

January 5, 2019

The legendary glove manufactoring in Pécs

If someone mentions fashion, the first thing that comes to our mind is Paris. It is frequently forgotten that Hungary also played a significant role in the history of fashion since the 19th century. For example, it is worth to know that it is the famous Hungarian city, Pécs that is the capital of glove making on the European continent. The legendary Pécs gloves, or Hamerli gloves are unique and famous all over the world. Even American superstars tend to have a pair of the Hungarian invention.

In 1861, Hungarian tawer János Hamerli established Hungary’s first glove factory. He was a master in making gloves as he learned the skills for the noble craftsmanship in Austria and the Czech Republic from well-known foreign masters. He was an excellent tawer in Hungary and managed to become famous in a short period of time. His skills were the best in the whole country. He invented the first glove sewing-machine. With hard work and new inventions, the factory became the most profitable business in the country and the continent. After his death in 1895, his oldest son became his successor. In the 1930s the factory started to export the unique gloves to foreign countries in Western-Europe. Luckily, the factory survived World War II and continued the manufacturing. In the 1950s the factory became known in the United States and Japan. In 1970 it became the biggest glove making factory in the country and in the world, as well, and had an excellent strategy on how to be available on the international market.

factory, old, fashion, product — The first employees of the factory in 1861 (Photo: www.hamerli.com)

At the beginning of the 1990s, Pécs gloves started to become old-fashioned and unpopular. It was also a problem that the company did not have enough employees to manage the huge amount of export. Soon the factory had to be closed. Fortunately, the employees of the factory started their small undertakings and kept the brand alive. After 1996, many workshops opened across the country and continued the tradition of making legendary Hungarian gloves.

Why are these gloves so special? Despite the 21^st century’s modern technology, Pécs gloves are made by hand. Manufacturers usually use unique materials like the skin of lambs and deer. If we are talking about exclusive luxurious gloves the material is usually the skin of pythons, peccaries (skunk pig) and ostriches. These materials are exported from France and Italy. The production of these gloves consists of the following steps: designing, cutting, pressing, decorating, sewing, lining, and packing. The colours of these gloves are usually black, brown, blue and red.

fashion, advertisement, history — Advertisement from the 1970s (Photo: www.facebook.com/RegiPecs)

The quality and excellence of these gloves lie in the perfect materials and the 150-year-old tradition which is unique. The company always comes up with new ideas and trends trying its best to provide the highest quality.

Pécs gloves are valued Hungarian inventions and famous all over the world. Even American superstars tend to have a pair of these gloves and they are always satisfied with its quality. Here are three superstars wearing the Hungarian product:

Lady Gaga

The Grammy and Golden Globe-winning American superstar started her carrier in 2007. Her debut single Poker Face became an international hit in several countries and the official music video for the song has been viewed by 500 million people. In the clip, Lady Gaga is wearing and dancing in greyish-coloured Pécs gloves.

Madonna

The American pop icon loves to wear gloves. Not only for different kind of events, in music videos, and photo shoots, but at her concerts as well. And, of course, she is wearing the world-famous Pécs gloves.

Ryan Gosling

In the 2011 movie Drive, the American actor wears Pécs gloves on the poster of the movie and in one of the scenes while driving a car.

Pécs gloves’s official website

Featured image: www.hamerli.com

November 10, 2018

WOW! Six Hungarian universities among the top ones of Europe and Central Asia

Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) published its 2019 regional university ranking of Emerging Europe and Central Asia (EECA region) in which there are 11 Hungarian institutions. Six of them is in the best 100, the Eötvös Loránd University of Budapest is the 20^th – eduline.hu reported.

It is worth to study in Hungary

The list features 300 of the top universities in the emerging countries of Europe and Central Asia (EECA region) and is based on a methodology which

assesses each university on 10 indicators,

including academic and employer reputations, research and web impact, papers per faculty, the percentage of international students and teachers. Besides, they took into consideration even the recruitment of academic staff members qualified to PhD level or equivalent and (new for 2019) the university’s international research network.

According to the list, Eötvös Loránd University of Budapest got the 20^th place while the University of Szeged the 26^th. Furthermore, Budapest University of Technology and Economics is the 29^th, 31^st is the University of Debrecen, 48^th is the Corvinus University of Budapest while the University of Pécs became 53^rd. Sadly, Szent István University barely missed the first 100 places since it got the 101^st. Interestingly, 125^th is the University of Miskolc while Pannon University, Széchenyi István University and the University of Sopron are in positions between 150 and 250.

In fact, the

first place went to Lomonosov University of Moscow,

the second one is also Russian, the Novosibirsk State University while Charles University in Prague is the third. Among the first ten universities, there are one more Czech and Russian, two Turkish, two Polish and an Estonian university.

An objective list

Unlike the QS’s world university ranking, the regional EECA ranking is more objective since British and American universities are not included. Thus, only those institutions of higher education compete with each other that have

similar, mostly state-provided financial backgrounds.

In fact, QS compiles similar regional lists about the universities of Latin America, the BRICS countries, the Arab region or Asia.

As we reported before, altogether seven Hungarian universities made it to the world’s best 1000 on the list of the Times Higher Education in May. Among them, Semmelweis University was the only one that made it to the best 500. According to QS’s 2017 world list, the University of Szeged received the highest ranking and the best three universities were Oxford, Cambridge and Stanford.

Featured image: www.semmelweis.hu

November 7, 2018

Top 3 Faculties of the University of Pécs among foreign students

The University of Pécs is one of the finest institutions in Hungary. The original medieval institute was the first university of the country, founded in 1367 by King Louis I., or as many Hungarians may call him, Louis the Great. Today, it is one of the most popular destinations for foreign students as well, as there are almost 4000 students from other countries. Let’s see how the university became what it is today and which are foreign students’ favourite faculties.

History of the University

Today’s university was founded in 1921 when the Royal Erzsébet University was relocated from Pozsony (Bratislava) to Pécs. Throughout the last century, the university went through a lot. There was a time when the only faculty was the Faculty of Law; the Faculty of Medicine was an independent university (1951), and the Faculty of Humanities was moved to Szeged and Cluj (1940). Then, a slow but steady expansion started with the establishment of the faculty of economics (1975). Since then, the Teachers Training College merged with the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Business and Economics (1982), and thus the whole institution was renamed as The Janus Pannonius University. The training college became the new Faculty of Humanities and the Faculty of Sciences (1992). After the Pollack Mihály Technical College was merged with the Janus Pannonius University (1995), and The Faculty of Visual Arts and Music (1996) was established, the Janus Pannonus University, the Medical University of Pécs and the Illyés Gyula Teacher Training College of Szekszárd were united under the name of the University of Pécs (2000). The number of foreign students is increasing year by year: UP has 3686 foreigners from which 1306 are currently in an English and 919 are in a German programme.

Medical School

PTE, AOK, university — *Photo: https://www.facebook.com/pteaokfelvi/*

According to the statistics of 2017, it is not hard to guess that the most popular faculty at the University of Pécs is the Medical School, where as much as 2112 of students studied last year, and it is among the best in the whole country as well. Students can study General Medicine and Dentistry in English here. The General Medicine programme takes 6 years (12 semesters) and deep pockets, as the tuition fee is EUR 13 750/year. This programme provides complete theoretical and practical training in medicine. Dentistry takes 5 years and even deeper pockets since it costs a student EUR 15197/year.

An interesting fact is that The Faculty of Medicine hosted the first official international student training event of the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA) between 19th and 22nd July this year. 25 candidates took part in it, arriving from all corners of the world.

Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology

ptr, mik, university — *Photo: facebook.com/pg/ptemik*

The second most popular faculty with its 365 candidates is the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology. Students can learn Electrical Engineering, Computer Science Engineering, Civil Engineering and Architecture BSc and MSc programmes as well, all in English. EUR 2978/year in case of BSc and EUR 3328/year for MSc programmes, except for Architecture, which is a full five-year programme for EUR 3328/year.

Faculty of Humanities

pte, btk, university — *Photo: facebook.com/ptebtk*

It may be surprising, but if you think about it, it is not a miracle that the third most popular faculty among foreign students is the Faculty of Humanities. All foreign language institutes are there, from English through German to Slavic and Romanic language programmes, and, of course, the International Relations programme. This can sound very inviting for a student coming from abroad, as they can meet other students speaking their language, making the integration process easier. According to the statistics of 2017, 330 foreigners started their studies there last year. I myself studied there until 2016, and I can tell you, most students studied English and American Studies or International Relations. From the aforementioned, BA in English and American Studies costs EUR 3,600/ year, while you have to pay EUR 3,700/ year for a BA in International Relations.

Want to attend a Hungarian university, but you do not fancy the capital? Check out the foreign programmes of UP and give it a try.

Featured Image: facebook.com/PTE1367

October 28, 2018

National Basketball Academy opens in Pécs

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán today inaugurated the National Basketball Academy in Pécs, in southern Hungary.

The complex is rightly named a national academy as it is unique in Hungary, Orbán said.

The academy is designed to train young athletes as well as to host international tournaments, Orbán said, and called on Pecs University to include the athletes into its grant programme. It is important to keep talented young athletes home “so they don’t go to America to study”, he said.

László Rátgéber, the former trainer of the Hungarian national men’s and women’s teams, will lead the academy,

Orbán said.

Next to three basketball courts with bleachers seating 400 that can be extended to accomodate 1,900, the complex also houses offices and lecture halls, as well as a dormitory for 60.

In Hungarian public life as in sports management, “there is a pressure to sell ourselves small after victories”, Orbán said and added that “we should be proud of what and of whom we have reason to be proud”.

October 11, 2018

Seven Hills International Film Festival gets under way in Pécs

The Seven Hills International Film Festival (SHIFF) got underway with the opening gala in Pécs, in southern Hungary, on Monday.

More than 40 films have been selected for the festival’s competition lineup, including 25 short films, 11 feature films and 5 documentaries.

The SHIFF will award prizes in the categories of best feature film, best short film, best documentary, best director, best actress or actor and a special jury award will also be handed out.

The festival’s guest of honour is the Kingdom of Bahrain. Sheikh Khalid bin Al-Khalifa, director of Bahrain’s Isa Cultural Centre, said at the opening gala that his country has a tradition of supporting the arts. He invited the festival’s visitors to attend some of the event’s programmes featuring Bahraini talent, such as Bahraini composer Waheed Alkhan’s concert with the Pannon Philharmonic Orchestra on Wednesday.

Ádám Bősze, the gala’s host, quoted state secretary for culture Péter Fekete as saying that

the event’s organisers had “left no stone unturned” to bring a high profile film festival to Pécs.

The festival runs until Sunday.

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Photo: iranypecs.hu

September 4, 2018

Hungary’s greenest project to be found in Pécs

According to Forbes.hu, it took over six months and several rounds to choose Hungary’s greenest, most innovative projects that would win the E.On Energy Global Hungary prize. Here is a list of the most sustainable initiatives.

1. “Reborn Home”

The grand prize, a Nissan Leaf, goes to the Kistelegd 2008 Architecture Bureau’s “Reborn Home” project in Pécs. The project involves a house from the ’70s that was turned into a smart residence.

The house relies entirely on renewable resources and, incredibly, it produces more energy than it uses.

2. “Fabulous Park Kindergarten”

Budapest óvoda — *Source: energy-globe.hu*

In the ‘Buildings’ category, the winner is Archikon Architecture Ltd.’s idea of the “Fabulous Park Kindergarten”.

It can be found in the 13th district of Budapest. It is Hungary’s first qualified passive house. Its increased insulation, heat reclaiming ventilation as well as the light- and presence sensory LED lights all contribute to reducing the energy consumption to the tenth of a building of a similar calibre.

3. Ladybird Farm

katica tanya — *Source: energy-globe.hu*

In the category of ‘Future Generation’, the audience chose “Ladybird Farm” to be the winner. This leisure centre uses green energy and teaches children how to lead an environmentally conscious lifestyle. They only offer programs that rely 100 percent on renewable energy sources or that do not require energy at all.

4. Green Road Village Development – Nagypáli

In the category of local governments, the winner is Nagypáli’s “Green Road Village Development” program. This area offers no economic or natural advantages, so the aim of the project is to try and get young people to stay with the promise of environmental consciousness. Today, the centre of the village has a grounds full of princess trees, a hybrid power plant (wind and solar power) and electric cars.

Other prizes went to projects like “On-farm”, an eco-farming research network that would help local farmers and make sustainable farming as well as the consumption of bioproducts popular; the “Green Maths” website that links environmental teaching together with Mathematics tasks or the KonvekPRO product that digitalises mechanic gas convectors so that they can be controlled from any modern digital equipment.

Being sustainable was important at the award ceremony as well: there were no plastic bottles or straws and the dinner was made from local, seasonal ingredients.

Featured image: energy-globe.hu

May 11, 2018