What does the lower reach of the River Garam mean to Hungarians? For some, it is just a region of the Uplands, for others, a beautiful, wide, flat, and fertile valley surrounded by hills, while many people do not even know where to look on the map when they hear its name. For ethnic Hungarian local historian Gábor Juhász, it represents his homeland, a place where his ancestors had lived for hundreds of years.

Losing the World War and the experience of the Treaty of Trianon triggered a discourse in Hungarian public life that was not without precedent, but had never been so vehement before. Perhaps the opinion of many was reflected by the renowned writer Ferenc Herczeg, who declared that ‘Europe, free press, liberalism—all these are slogans that have deceived us.’

It would be incorrect to say that Hungarian prowess in sabre-fencing began only in the modern era, when the sport of Olympic fencing was invented. Even before the Conquest period, sabres were extensively used by Magyar nomads, and were found in graves dated prior to their arrival in the Carpathian Basin.

Russia’s military presence in Crimea is a major element in Moscow’s efforts to project power in the Black Sea region and beyond, and the annexation of the peninsula has given it a strategically valuable foothold in the area.

A line-up of expert historians presented the story of how the many different nations living by the River Danube had collaborated with each other over the tides of history and of the ambitions to create a confederation of independent Danubian nations.

The early twenties in Hungary brought about not only a fervent nationalist discussion about Trianon, the Romani or antisemitism, but also illusory concepts regarding the Eastern roots of the Hungarian people.