When it became evident that the War of Independence was lost, Prime Minister Bertalan Szemere and his men buried the Holy Crown and the other coronation regalia near Orsova (Orșova) in August 1849, to prevent the Habsburgs from laying their hands on them. The crown jewels were only found in September 1853.
The kuruc-labanc dichotomy did not disappear during the early nineteenth century: it only assumed a different form and became stronger. During the Era of Reform, the kuruc sentiment was wedded to classical liberalism and liberal nationalism.
The kuruc-labanc dichotomy was transformed into a Hungarian version of ‘Court and Country party’ during the early modern age. This framework dominated Hungarian politics during most of the epoch, as well as in the nineteenth century.
Foreign policy is at the core of every nation’s political life. Accordingly, it was an important part of the debates during Hungary’s Reform Era between the liberal and the conservative forces.
The debates between the Hungarian government and the European Commission often grab the headlines in the international media these years, with the issues of contention between Budapest and the EC usually being co-existence, sovereignty, and shared responsibility. However, there is indeed nothing new under the sun: Hungary had to grapple with such issues under the more than 300 years of Habsburg rule.
During the last decade, an increasing academic and intellectual effort has emerged to define and redefine Hungarian conservatism. Better understanding 19th-century conservatives is crucial to this process, as these movements are where the roots of Hungarian conservatism lie.
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.
According to the organisers’ statement, the 24th Madame Tussauds production in the world brings 51 lifelike figures and their corresponding installations to the audience. The attraction features 17 Hungarian celebrities created exclusively for the Budapest production in Madame Tussauds’ workshop near London.
Although the revolution and freedom fight was crushed, 15 March is not a day of mourning, but of delayed victory. While the defeat of the Revolution and Freedom Fight was followed by ruthless retaliation and even more oppression, eventually the Habsburg Empire was forced to reform and bow to many of the demands of the revolutionaries.
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.
Hungarian Conservative is a quarterly magazine on contemporary political, philosophical and cultural issues from a conservative perspective.