A large-scale cultural program series will be launched in March to mark the 350th anniversary of the birth of Ferenc Rákóczi II at venues in Hungary and beyond its borders, the Foundation for the Research of Central and Eastern European History and Society announced on Monday in Budapest. The aim of the program series, which will last for almost nine months, is to present the living traditions of Rákóczi.
As part of the series of events, nearly fifty programs are expected to take place at almost thirty locations in Hungary and abroad, including short films, a series of articles and a book presenting the prince’s life and historical significance, a scientific conference, a tableau exhibition, a video competition, and special history lessons.
Zsolna Ugron, artistic director of the Imre Kertész Institute, emphasized at Monday’s press conference announcing the event that the great heroes of national history play an identity-forming, symbolic role in every culture, and that the grand narratives about them are shaped by memory. As she put it, Ferenc Rákóczi II’s loyalty to his homeland is such a defining narrative that it has reinforced the ideal of Hungarian independence for centuries.
The aim of the commemorative year is to further strengthen the prince’s legacy and memory.
Sándor Őze, director of the Habsburg History Institute, emphasized: “As the prince of freedom, Ferenc Rákóczi II represented the unity of faith, morality, homeland, and freedom. His actions and life story remind us that sovereignty is not a gift, but the result of sacrifice and courageous stand.”
He added that the House of Traditions, the Rákóczi Association, and the László Teleki Foundation are also joining the institute’s program series as external partners.
Rákóczi Ferenc House, Tekirdag (Rodostó). Photo: Hungary Today.
The announcement quoted Miklós Both, director general of the House of Traditions, who said that on March 27, the birthday of Ferenc Rákóczi II, programs will be held at 26 locations in 19 counties of Hungary, as well as in seven settlements across the border, including Borsi, Kassa, Beregszász, Nagyvárad, Szatmárnémeti, Marosvásárhely, and Óbecse. The program includes craft workshops, dance houses, exhibitions, guided tours, historical walks, and special singing and music lessons for students.
Csongor Csáky, president of the Rákóczi Association, announced that on March 15, 5,500 students from Hungary and abroad will set out to visit a Rákóczi memorial site or take part in a commemoration related to the prince.
He added that this summer, 20,000 students from Hungary and 30 countries around the world are expected to attend the Rákóczi Camp in Sátoraljaújhely, and on March 27, a traditional commemoration will be held in Kossuth Square in Budapest with the participation of some 5,000 young people.
According to László Diószegi, director of the Rákóczi Castle Center in Borsi and the Teleki László Foundation, on March 22, a pilgrimage train will depart from Budapest with hundreds of high school students on board, bound for a ceremony to be held at the castle in Borsi.
An international conference will be held on March 27, and on May 26, a five-day horseback tour will depart from Sárospatak to Borsi, passing through Felsővadász, Regéc, and Kassa.
Over the next year, the traveling exhibition of the Borsi Castle Museum is scheduled to visit 300 small towns. On October 26, on the occasion of the 120th anniversary of the reburial of Ferenc Rákóczi II in Kassa, a study trip will be organized for students from Slovakia, Transcarpathia, Transylvania, Southern Hungary, and Hungary.
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Via MTI; Featured photo: Public Domain
The post Nationwide Cultural Events to Mark the 350th Anniversary of Ferenc Rákóczi II appeared first on Hungary Today.
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