Gergely Gulyás, the head of the prime minister’s office, said culture, by its nature, is like peace “in that it connects us”.
“Culture … does not destroy and tear us apart,” Gulyás said in Dunajská Streda (Dunaszerdahely) on Sunday, marking the Day of Hungarian Culture, at the commemoration organized by the Pazmaneum Association. “Neither does it rewrite history or names engraved on tombstones or events in history books”. “When we nurture our culture, we thereby also nurture our cohesion. Every community has their own culture and every culture will only live as long as its community will make it thrive,” he said.
Gulyás gave a brief summary of the history of the Hungarian national anthem Himnusz (Hymn), commemorating the 200th anniversary of its composition by poet Ferenc Kölcsey, saying it “had been with Hungarians all along” throughout the nation’s history.