Hungarian Conservative

In the West, there are a number of remarkable, colourful traditions linked to Christmas that vary from country to country. But what cannot be missing from any home where Christmas is celebrated is a decorated pine tree.

Péter Pázmány, Cardinal Archbishop of Esztergom, was born on this day in 1570. Despite being born into a Protestant family, he became the leading figure in the Counter-Reformation, and had a major impact on the development of the Hungarian language and the establishment of higher education in Hungary.

The Habsburg Court regarded Protestantism simply as the ideological expression of the nobility, that is, the ‘spirit of rebellion’. In addition, it was part of the absolutist thinking of the era that only a mono-religious country could be politically united.

‘Veszprém is clearly looking for its place. However, it is close to Budapest, Vienna, Győr, and Lake Balaton, the landscape is also beautiful and its location and millennia of tradition all predestine it to be a cultural capital and a gastronomic centre. It has all the necessary ingredients.’

505 years after Martin Luther published his Ninety-five Theses the Reformation remains one of the pillars of European cultures and societies.

One of the greatest achievements of the new Protestant belief was delivering the first complete Hungarian translation of the Holy Script and promoting literacy and the use of Hungarian to the general population.