The Seklerland club ended up beating Petrolul 2–1, thus finishing fifth in the league. But the game was not without controversy. The match had to be stopped for three minutes in the first half, after anti-Hungarian chants were started by the home fans as Sepsi took the lead. One of the players was even hit on the head with a lighter thrown from the spectators’ stand.
‘On 10 March this year, the author of these lines has only one wish: that a miracle may happen in the modern, so-called democratic Romania, and it may become like it was in the 1950s, or even like in the medieval Kingdom of Hungary, in the 13th and 16th centuries. Because, if that happened, it would give freedom and autonomy to Szeklerland as in a true 21st-century European—and a European Union—country…’
The book is extremely valuable in many aspects, for instance because it sheds light on the complex structure of the Hungarian immigrant society as well as of those of the Hungarian minorities in Transylvania and Vojvodina, and historical episodes less known to readers in the Hungarian homeland, thus providing valuable insights for those involved in diaspora studies, not only for interested non-professional readers.
The university’s public statement recalled that since 2019, researchers have been conducting excavations near the Transylvanian village of Valiora. Their findings include numerous bones from vertebrates that lived at the end of the Cretaceous period. Scientific analyses of the artefacts are still ongoing.
While political festivals are not unique per se, there is something unique about how the Hungarian right organizes its gatherings. Their continuing success is not due to populist chauvinism, or to making them mere echo chambers. In fact, plenty of world views, including opposition voices highly critical of the Orbán administration, clashed on stage in front of captivated audiences many times this summer.
Four Transylvanian friends dared to dream big and founded a sparkling winery in a small village in northern Transylvania a decade ago. This year, their Blanc de Blancs sparkling wine was recognized with a world championship title at the Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships.
‘The mamaliga (a typical Romanian boiled cornmeal dish) will not explode,’ Communist dictator Ceaușescu famously said in the 1980s, dismissing the potential of the forces that opposed him. But the discontent with the oppressive regime had been brewing for a long time by then, so the sparkle represented by the brave resistance of Hungarian Reformed pastor László Tőkés and his flock was enough to light the fire of the revolution all across Romania.
Réka Sundem is a young Hungarian American proud of her mixed heritage. Brought up in a household where Hungarian was spoken on a daily basis, she decided to apply for a Balassi Scholarship and spent a whole year in Hungary, learning about Hungarian culture and improving her language skills.
Although the unification made the dream of the Romanians come true, the aspirations of Transylvanian Hungarians for self-determination were ignored. The annexation of Transylvania to Romania was finally enshrined by the Treaty of Paris.
The event, spanning two weekends, will be hosted by the cinemas operated by the municipality located in the two major city neighbourhoods. On 11–12 November, children can watch Hungarian cartoons at the Dacia Cinema, while on 18–19 November, it will be the Marasti Cinema’s turn.
‘While establishing the Coalition in the early 1990s, I often tried to look at issues through the “other lens”. If something works in the US, why not try it in Hungary? And if it works in Hungary, why not try it in the US?’
Gábor Margittai and Anita Major, in charge of the new MCC Institute, talked about their prior research into people with Hungarian ancestry living in different parts on the world; as well as their plans for the new research centre. Meanwhile, MCC has also opened a new campus in Dunaszerdahely (Dunajská Streda), Slovakia.
‘Everything changed in his life when the immaculately dressed Lugosi stepped into the film spotlight. His forbidding way of welcoming people, the aristocratic touches, his charms and menacing looks all clearly define what everyone sees as Dracula—Béla Lugosi’s Dracula—then as well as now. This was his achievement and accolade alone, as no future vampires came anywhere close.’
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.
From September onwards, the Rákóczi Association will operate 58 school buses in Transylvania, helping more than 720 ethnic Hungarian children reach school in 48 settlements. The operation of the buses will cost 231 million forints per academic year, which will be covered by the Hungarian state, thus school attendance will impose no financial burden on the families or schools.
Géza Szőcs, a Transylvanian Hungarian poet, writer, public intellectual and politician, who resisted the oppression of the Romanian communist dictatorship, was born exactly 70 years ago today.
Baron Bálint Balassi de Kékkő et Gyarmat is celebrated as the pioneer of Hungarian romantic poetry, a valiant soldier, a daring lover and an accomplished polyglot. His life and achievements embody the true spirit of the Renaissance, and read like a tale of romance, valour, and fighting spirit.
‘Tusványos advertises itself saying “the participant coexists peacefully with the organiser, the politician with the politician, the speaker with the singer, the cotton candy with the anklet, the loudspeaker with the bright lights, the bear with the forest…” And this is precisely what I saw as I talked with locals, ranging from the elderly to young mothers with children, all enjoying this festival, some happy to attend the lectures while others openly opposing the the politics of Fidesz, but none unfriendly.’
The nation celebrated at Tusványos, the Hungarian one, drapes over various states in the Carpathian Basin and consists of a plurality of ethnic and religious groups, fully including not just Christian Magyars but also Jews, Ungarndeutschen, and Roma with roots in the region. Foreign guests like me, who come from outside the Hungarian nation or family of nations, could also feel welcome, because, if devoid of chauvinism, nationhood offers fertile ground for inter-national solidarities and sympathies.
István András Kiss spent many years playing for the Kolozsvár (Cluj) team CFR; he even won the national youth league with their youth team in 1985. In this interview he speaks about what it was like to be an ethnic Hungarian football player in Communist Romania, where ‘class warfare and chauvinism could easily co-exist’.
The PM’s press chief, Bertalan Havasi told MTI that in a letter sent on Saturday, Viktor Orbán expressed his gratitude to Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu for having received him in Bucharest earlier this week, and for having ‘ensured the safety and security of the Tusnádfürdő Free University and making it possible for me to deliver my remarks today in undisturbed and peaceful circumstances.’
After the recent repeated defiling of the Úzvölgy military cemetery, Hungarians in Romania are now bracing themselves for another provocation in Tusványos.
On Sunday, news arrived that Csaba Varga reached the summit of Nanga Parbat, one of the highest peaks in the world. After that, there was no new information about him for a while, but it has now been revealed that he successfully descended from the summit and is doing well.
It has been 174 years since Major Pál Vasvári and his Rákóczi Free Army were massacred near Havasnagyfalu (today Mărișel in Romania), on 6 July 1849. Despite all resistance forces, the memory of the young revolutionary and his fellow martyrs is a powerful cohesive force for the dwindling Hungarian community of the Kalotaszeg (Țara Călatei) region to this day.
The purpose of Cum hiis superioribus annis, a papal bull issued by Pope Callixtus III in 1456, was to exhort Christians to pray, as the success of the Hungarian crusader army against the Turks was key for the future of Christian Europe at the time. To this day, the noon bell tolls every day to remind us that, as so many times in history, the Kingdom of Hungary stood up valiantly and proved itself one of the bulwarks of Christian Europe.
Commemorating the canonisation of King Ladislas creates an opportunity to delve into the fascinating world of medieval art in Transylvania, with a particular focus on the narrative cycle depicting the legend of Saint Ladislas, an iconic figure in Hungarian history.
The Treaty of Vienna, ending the Bocskai uprising, known in Hungary as Bocskai’s War of Independence, was signed 417 years ago today, on 23 June 1606. The agreement ensured (at least in principle) the sovereignty of Transylvania against the Habsburgs in the long term and guaranteed the free religious practice of Protestants.
The newly crowned British monarch arrived in Transylvania, Romania, a few days ago. King Charles III is a frequent guest in the Eastern European country, as he is especially attracted to Szeklerland of Eastern Transylvania, mostly inhabited by Hungarians, where he owns several estates.
György Hölvényi underscored the importance of exercising caution with the concept of Schengen and open borders. It represents an economic and political opportunity that can be mishandled, potentially signalling Europe’s disintegration if not properly managed. Ensuring proper protection of external borders is essential to avoid issues emerging with internal borders, he warned.
According to poet and politician József Bajza, the Teleki House was a true bastion of the Hungarian language, which was in danger of erosion at the time. For his political activities, his role in improving public education, and his efforts in advancing Hungarian culture, Sámuel Teleki should be regarded as one of the greatest Hungarian figures in 18th–19th century Transylvania.
Hungarian Conservative is a quarterly magazine on contemporary political, philosophical and cultural issues from a conservative perspective.