Cultural Season Honoring Kuno Klebelsberg, Reformer of Education

A cultural season has begun on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Kuno Klebelsberg, Minister of Religion and Public Education.

The commemorative year’s series of events was officially opened on Monday in Budapest at the Klebelsberg Castle by Balázs Hankó, Minister for Culture and Innovation, and Zsolt Semjén, Deputy Prime Minister and President of the Foundation for Civic Education.

“In the wake of the trauma of Trianon, when some deliberately sought to diminish Hungary, Kuno Klebelsberg raised it up, uplifted it, and made it great. This is the legacy he left us, and we can do no less than continue to elevate our nation,” emphasized Balázs Hankó in his welcome speech.

Zsolt Semjén highlighted that the understanding of Klebelsberg’s personality and life’s work is only possible through the prism of the Treaty of Trianon (1920, established the division of historical Hungary after World War I – ed.).

“His genius lay in recognizing that while our resources may be limited, the Hungarian spirit cannot be limited,” he stressed. He recalled that

following Trianon, Klebelsberg launched unprecedented university development projects, supported the finest elements of Hungarian culture, and initiated educational reforms.

“Klebelsberg saw the arc of Hungarian history as a whole, not in isolated fragments. We must learn from him that we are a chapter in a thousand-year-old history that began with Saint Stephen,” pointed out Zsolt Semjén.

Kuno Klebelsberg. Photo: Wikipedia

The aim of the Klebelsberg 150 Cultural Season is to present the rich legacy of the former Minister of Religion and Public Education and its lasting impact on culture, education, intellectual life, and national cohesion,

as was stated at the event.

The series of events, spanning the entire Carpathian Basin and also includes foreign Collegium Hungaricum institutions, is coordinated by the Foundation for Civic Education, which operates the Klebelsberg Castle in Pesthidegkút. Several background institutions of the Ministry of Culture and Innovation are participating, along with the National Széchényi Library, the VERITAS Institute for Historical Research and Archives, the Hungarian Academy of Arts, the Lakitelek Folk High School, and the Institute of Historical Studies at the Faculty of Theology of Eötvös Loránd University.

The season will feature numerous exhibitions presenting Klebelsberg’s life’s work, academic conferences, and the reissue of several of his publications in jubilee editions.

Since the beginning of the year, an outdoor panel exhibition about Klebelsberg’s life has been on display in front of the Hungarian Academy of Arts’ headquarters. The National Theatre will stage a play about Sarolta Botka, Klebelsberg’s wife. The history magazine Rubicon is planning a special issue in his honor, and the Klebelsberg Digital Archive will also be updated and expanded during the season.

The National Heritage Institute is producing a new animated film about Klebelsberg’s life. The Lakitelek Folk High School is planning an art competition and a professional conference for young people in honor of the jubilee. A commemorative mass and concert will be held in the Cathedral of Szeged, and wreath-laying ceremonies will take place at key locations from Klebelsberg’s life.

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