One of Hungary’s largest political festivals, Tranzit, took place again in Tihany over the weekend. Now in its seventh year, the event featured speeches by prominent government politicians such as Péter Szijjártó, Balázs Orbán, and Antal Rogán. While the festival primarily focused on the Hungarian economy, it also addressed crucial issues such as sovereignty, migration, and foreign policy.
The Hungarian prime minister has granted an interview to sports daily Nemzeti Sport to discuss the country’s performance at the Paris Olympics this summer. While he believes that the six gold medals won is a ‘respectable showing’, he also thinks that Hungary’s rightful place is in the top ten in the medal table. Also, while he is proud of his country being the best-performing in Eastern Europe, he thinks that it is the interest of Hungary that other countries in the region be successful in sports as well.
András Halbritter, founder of the foundation promoting school gardens in Hungary, recalled that the movement began in Germany after the Chernobyl disaster and started in Hungary following the regime change, accelerating in the early 2010s. The expert listed several goals of the school garden programme, including instilling a love of the land in children, promoting a focus on sustainability, encouraging young people to consider agricultural careers, and practically imparting ecological literacy.
Although it must be acknowledged that King Rudolf of Germany owed his victory primarily to his perseverance and strategic talent, there is no doubt that the Hungarian auxiliaries compensated for the small size of his army and seriously confused the Bohemian King Ottokar II. It is highly probable that without the thousands of Hungarian auxiliaries, the German King would not have undertaken the clash at the time and place he did.
Hungary’s first smart kindergarten has opened its doors, providing children with the opportunity to learn the skills they need to start school in the most modern conditions. However, the kindergarten is not just smart in terms of its equipment; the education offered is also digitally focused and tailored to meet the demands of the digital age.
The audience in Zsámbék will have the opportunity to see János Lackfi’s play Medveles (Bearspotting) for the first time, thanks to the collaboration between Allee Management and the Zsámbék Summer Theatre. The play will be performed on 24 August on the outdoor stage of the Zichy Castle in Zsámbék. Based on Gyöngyi Porkoláb’s podcast series apamondta.hu, the play explores the fascinating aspects of father-son relationships.
Puskás Akadémia achieved an amazing 3–3 draw away to Fiorentina in the Conference League qualifying round on Thursday. The Hungarian side, relatively new to the European stage, is now in a promising position for next week’s return leg.
The campaign remembers the victims of 20th-century totalitarian regimes in Europe, on the 85th anniversary of the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union on 23 August 1939.
In 2015 Dániel Balogh followed his dream and moved to Iceland to work. The Hungarian restaurateur, who began his journey in the Northern country as a chef, has now opened his own food truck. Together with his Icelandic partner, he sells lángos in a fairytale setting at the foot of the Sólheimajökull glacier.
The MCC Debate Academy offers a free training programme for those interested in enhancing their critical thinking skills and applying their newly acquired knowledge in various debate settings. Interested participants can apply for the one-year debate leadership training until 22 September.
‘Families are the foundation for coherent political communities. Indeed, they are the foundation for nations. Nations are usually tied together by a set of common origins based on history, geography, traditions, and blood ties. A person’s ties to their nation are usually familial ties, primarily shaped by the home they grow up in.’
Alongside students from 14 other countries, a Hungarian student is participating in a scientific expedition to the Arctic, sponsored by Russia’s Rosatom. The expedition aims to equip participants with a broad range of knowledge about the northernmost region of our planet. On 17 August Levente Varga raised the Hungarian national flag at the North Pole, which he described as the experience of a lifetime.
Since some data indicated that a storm was inbound, a task force gathered to assess whether or not the fireworks show could be safely held. Albeit with an hour delay, it was eventually allowed to move forward, with over 45,000 individual pyrotechnical effects and 1,300 drones entertaining the crowd.
The European Film Academy honours the most significant works of European cinema, with the prestigious European Film Awards being presented in Berlin every odd-numbered year and in another European city every even-numbered year. From the recently announced selection, Academy members will vote for the nominees for the European Film Awards. The 37th awards ceremony will be held in Lucerne, Switzerland, on 7 December.
The Hungarian economy could grow by 2 per cent this year, a downward revision from the 4 per cent forecast at the end of last year. This adjustment is attributed to the population’s caution in spending, which is only gradually diminishing after last year’s high inflation. Nevertheless, consumption growth is driving the Hungarian economy this year, even though the savings rate remains at a historically high 15 per cent. Márton Nagy noted that while investment and exports are exerting a negative impact on growth, sectors such as retail sales, tourism, and services are contributing positively.
Hungarian theatres from within the country and beyond its borders, as well as independent troupes were invited to submit their performances for the festival, which will also feature live, freely accessible online roundtables.
In 1824 Andrew Jackson received both the most popular votes and the most electoral votes in the presidential election. However, since he failed to win a majority of the latter, the decision went to Congress. There, his nemesis, House Speaker Henry Clay used his influence to get John Quincy Adams elected instead of Jackson, for which President Adams rewarded him with the Secretary of State position in a ‘corrupt bargain’. The furious Jackson came back to defeat Adams in the 1828 election, then founded the Democratic Party in 1832, the party that occupies the White House today.
‘Father Thomas rises at six each morning and sounds the bronze bell of his church. He celebrates mass in the Bahasa Indonesia language in the Paroki Santa Perawan Maria Yang Diangkat Ke Surga, that is, the Parish Church of the Assumption of Virgin Mary. Beside the traditional psalms, the church resounds with a song lauding Saint Stephen, sung ardently by a choir of one hundred to one hundred and fifty children. In Flores, where 90 per cent of inhabitants profess the Catholic faith, the long-term viability of Christianity is signalled by the fact that more than two hundred Verbite novices studying at the Saint Paul Major Seminary at Ledalero have chosen to serve God as their lifelong calling.’
István Horthy, the son of Miklós Horthy, lost his life in a plane crash on the Russian front barely six months after he was elected Vice Regent of Hungary.
The foundation of the Hungarian State by King Stephen I created unprecedented stability in the Carpathian Basin, setting the region on the path of Western-style modernization and development.
‘By initiating crucial policy frameworks and achieving tangible successes in alleviating child poverty, the [Polish] government set a precedent for future administrations to consider holistic strategies that would extend beyond immediate demographic calculation, fostering instead a resilient and inclusive society for generations to come.’
‘The programme took place in the idyllic settings of the Royal Agricultural University in the Cotswolds and Sundey Hill Farm, where Sir Roger lived and worked for three decades. The week’s agenda was filled with intellectually stimulating lectures, vibrant discussions, and culturally rich activities that provided insight into Sir Roger’s life and work as well as into broader conservative values.’
‘This priest-king, of reputable phenomenal wealth and power, who was thought to reign somewhere in the East, galvanized monarchs and explorers throughout the High and Late Middle Ages up to the early Modern period just as the mythical city of El Dorado had done for the Conquistadores. The consensus, however, among medievalists is that the story seems to have originated during the twelfth century. The narrative of Prester John had the practical effect of reinforcing the religious stamina of the crusaders by holding out the promise that a fabulously rich and mighty oriental king-priest was due to march against Islam from the East in support of his fellow Christians.’
‘To invite Gen Z to take responsibility over their own lives, is to be able to transcend our own shadow. Providing Gen Z with a meaningful life means living one ourselves. To invest in family and community. To have transcendence in abundance, instead of merely material goods. Where there is hope, instead of simple bashing those who are aimless or confused, Gen Z, like previous generations, can rise like a phoenix from its post-romantic ashes.’
Following Hungary’s defeat in the First World War, the victors’ intentions were clear concerning our country: to impose punishments that would result, if not in the short term but in the long term, in the total disappearance of the former Central European superpower…The pain caused by Trianon and the desire to do something about it prompted Nándor Urmánczy, the ‘uncompromising Hungarian’ and a member of parliament of Transylvanian origin, to initiate and announce the National Flag Movement in 1925.
The M5 channel will be airing such films as the 1996 historical drama about the Magyar tribes settling into the Carpathian Basin titled The Conquest (Honfoglalás), and the 2023 documentary The Rise of the Árpáds (Az Árpádok felemelkedése). Meanwhile, the commercial TV channel TV2 will have the 2023 historical drama Now or Never! (Most vagy soha!) about a different, but equally significant time in Hungarian history, the 1848–1849 Revolution and War of Independence against the Habsburgs.
Paks are facing the Czech Mladá Boleslav, and Puskás Akadémia are facing the famous Italian team Fiorentina in the play-offs of the Conference League. Meanwhile, Ferencváros are the heavy favourites to beat the Bosnian side Borac Banja Luka and thus reach the newly established league phase of the Europa League.
The country’s premier motorsport venue is now unrecognizable, with the main building and the grandstands at the finish line already dismantled. The entire renovation will cost 105 billion HUF and will be completed by the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix.
The iconic McDonald’s at Budapest’s Nyugati Railway Station has reopened after over six months of renovation work that cost 1.8 billion HUF. Widely regarded as one of the most beautiful McDonald’s outlets in the world, the renovation was carefully designed to preserve its unique and historic features.
The US News & World Report 2024/2025 higher education ranking evaluated 2,250 universities across 100 countries, based on 13 indicators. Among Hungarian universities ELTE achieved the highest ranking, securing the 485th position.