200 Years of ‘Great Storyteller’ Mór Jókai: Bicentenary Year Concludes with Gala

In 2025, Parliament declared a commemorative year to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Mór Jókai, one of the greatest figures of 19th-century Hungarian literature, a novelist, journalist, editor, and politician. President Tamás Sulyok opened the closing gala of a series of events marking the 200th anniversary of Mór Jókai’s birth on Thursday.

Mór Jókai was a great Hungarian writer, said President Tamás Sulyok on Wednesday at the closing event of the “Jókai200” commemorative year at the Papp László Sports Arena in Budapest. He added: Jókai was an eternal storyteller who could never be unhappy because he remained cheerful in every situation.

“The commemorative year began last year on this day, the birthday of Mór Jókai, and ends today with his fictional heroes, because the stories that sprang from his imagination are being brought to life on stage in the form of a musical,” Tamás Sulyok recalled.

Jókai was a writer who sat down at his desk every day and wrote novels and prose works by hand, drawing on his vivid imagination. The total length of his novels, novellas, and short stories amounts to tens of thousands of pages,”

the head of state pointed out.

“Mór Jókai wrote because he had a lot to say,” emphasized the President, adding that he was enthusiastic about the regions of the Carpathian Basin, fascinated by the eventful history of Hungary, full of love for his homeland, experienced the struggle for freedom and independence, and wanted to pass on its spirit.

He loved the Hungarian language to the point of enthusiasm, his stories are passed down from generation to generation, reborn, and still appeal to us today,”

said Tamás Sulyok, emphasizing, in his works, Jókai speaks about the truth, our Hungarian identity, our destiny, and issues that affect our daily lives.

Created as part of a nationwide public art program announced on the occasion of the “Jókai200” anniversary, this mural depicting Mór Jókai is located on Kis Diófa Street in Budapest. Photo: MTI/Balogh Zoltán

“He enjoyed not only literary but also historical recognition; he was a person whose word could be relied upon,” he recalled. He always remained young at heart because he believed in the power of beauty and goodness under all circumstances, the head of state noted.

The President emphasized that it is important to remember the values of the past, but even more important to make them part of our own lives and integrate them into our worldview. “Read and write as much as possible. Love the Hungarian language and Hungarian culture as much as Jókai loved Hungary,” the President emphasized at the event.

Fact

Mór Jókai was born in 1825 in Révkomárom (now Komárno, Slovakia). Raised in a Protestant family, he later married the actress Róza Laborfalvi.

He studied in several towns and became a close friend of Sándor Petőfi, Hungary’s famous national poet and a leader of the 1848 Revolution, whom he met at the Reformed College in Pápa. Although he studied law, Jókai chose literature. His first novel, Hétköznapok (Weekdays), was an immediate success in 1846, followed by major works such as Az arany ember (The Man with the Golden Touch) and A kőszívű ember fiai (The Baron’s Sons). His works deal with themes of Hungarian national identity, history, and romanticism, and his rich, colorful prose style sets him apart from other great writers.

During the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, he actively participated in political life and supported the cause of the revolution as a journalist. After the Compromise, Jókai took on a political role and represented national affairs as a member of the National Parliament.

The renovated tomb of Mór Jókai in the Fiumei Road Cemetery, Budapest, on October 11, 2025. Photo: MTI/Illyés Tibor

He died in Budapest in 1904. His funeral was a national day of mourning, and his memory is preserved through statues, monuments, and literary events.

Mór Jókai’s life’s work is an outstanding treasure of Hungarian literature. His novels are still read and taught today, and his figure has become a symbol of national culture, often earning him the title “the most Hungarian writer” and “the great storyteller.”

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