Hungary is hosting a selection of events in Budapest and across the country to mark the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018.
At the opening event, Tibor Navracsics, Hungary’s European commissioner, said the greatest achievements and heroes of Hungarian culture are rightfully listed among the most important achievements of European culture.
He added that neither Europe nor European culture could exist without the European Union’s member states and their individual cultures. He said that Hungary is known as a “cultural superpower” in Europe and all over the world.
Meanwhile, Nándor Csepreghy, cabinet state secretary, said that the strength of Europe and European culture lay in the fact that the continent had always considered diversity a means for progress rather than an obstacle.
The European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018 series of events aims to raise awareness about Europe’s diverse cultural heritage and to strengthen European identity.
Hungary also celebrated its own cultural celebrations yesterday - the Day of Hungarian Culture.
According to MTI, Hungarians marked the day by celebrating the anniversary of poet Ferenc Kölcsey’s “Himnusz”, the poem which later became the national anthem.
Zoltán Balog, minister of Human Resources, handed over prizes in recognition of achievements in public education, and welcomed that “culture reaches more and more people” and hailed the increase in ticket sales for theatre, cinemas and museums.