A new national memorial site to visit in Hungary

According to szeretlekmagyarorszag.hu, the Castle Hill and Watertown of Esztergom were inaugurated as national memorial sites last week. The symbolic stele erected between the Castle Museum and the Basilica was ceremonially introduced to the public last Saturday.

“The Hungarian and European culture and the spirit of Christianity are what make this site unquestionably deserving of propagating as a memorial what Esztergom – starting with Saint Stephen – means” said Mayor Etelka Romanek.

Saint Stephen was crowned in Esztergom, this is where the centre of the Hungarian Catholic Church was developed, and it is still the main diocese of the Catholic Church. This is where poet Bálint Balassi fell against the Turks, and this is also where Cardinal József Mindszenty is buried. The oldest copy of the Golden Bull, the original 1233 Pact of Bereg are found in the primatical archives. Moreover, the renaissance Bakócz Chapel is a unique spectacle, just like the treasures of the Christian Museum.

Benedek Varga, director of the National Museum said that the Castle Museum’s next significant exhibition will be an international one, centred around the era of the Árpáds. The exhibition will be accompanied by a one and a half-two year long programme series, in which Esztergom and the Castle Museum will play an important role.