Share

Kindergarten Pioneer Honored with Four-Day Celebration for 250th Birthday


A four-day series of events is being held in Martonvásár (central Hungary) to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Teréz Brunszvik’s birth, who was a Hungarian countess and the founder of the first kindergartens in the country. 

The program is part of a national commemorative year supported by the Hungarian National Commission for UNESCO and coordinated by the Tokaj-Hegyalja University and the Hungarian Women’s Union. The commemorations will take place in Sárospatak, Bratislava (Pozsony), Paris, and Martonvásár, which was closely connected to the countess’s life.

The series of events began on Thursday evening at the Brunszvik-Beethoven Cultural Center, where portraits were presented and Teréz Brunszvik was posthumously made an honorary citizen of Martonvásár. The award was accepted by one of her descendants, Félicie de Gérando.

On Friday evening, visitors were treated to a summer evening picnic, while on Saturday, the program will be enlivened by a ballet performance, interactive children’s activities, a live historical walk, and a concert by the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra. Murals depicting Brunszvik and Beethoven will be unveiled at the Martonvásár railway station, while a new exhibition on the countess’s life will open at the Kindergarten Museum.

On Sunday, Teréz Brunszvik’s birthday, a festive mass will be held at St. Anne’s Church, followed by the presentation of a commemorative coin from the Hungarian National Bank and a stamp from the Hungarian Post. The commemoration will conclude with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Brunszvik statue and the countess’s grave.

Fact

Teréz Brunszvik (1775–1861) was a Hungarian countess and pioneering educator who founded the first kindergarten in the Habsburg Empire in 1828, inspired by the ideas of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi. A close friend and admirer of Beethoven, she was also one of the earliest advocates for women’s education and social reform in Hungary.

Related article

Stolen 17th-Century Manuscript Returned to Hungary by New York DA’s Office

Stolen 17th-Century Manuscript Returned to Hungary by New York DA’s Office

Minister Péter Szijjártó praised U.S.–Hungarian cooperation and hailed the return of the Jesuit-authored ‘Nervus Opticus’ as a historic gesture of goodwill.Continue reading

Via MTI; Featured photo: Wikipedia





Source link