The building serves as a village hall and a museum of Croatian folk costumes and old utensils.Continue reading
Hungary and Croatia are linked by a thousand-year relationship, that has always had its highlights, joys and difficulties, said the Parliamentary State Secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration and Regional Development on Sunday in Őrtilos (western Hungary, at the Croatian border).
Speaking on the occasion of the Croatian-Hungarian Friendship Day, commemorating the first temporary opening of the border thirty years ago, Csaba Latorcai said that the two nations had fought countless battles together, including against the Tatars and the Turks. However, more than thirty years ago, the relationship between the two countries took on a new dimension, as “Hungary was almost the first to stand by Croatia, which was fighting for independence,” the politician said. He added that Hungary was also at the forefront of Croatia’s accession to the European Union, and since our neighbor joined the EU, both countries have new opportunities to develop their relations.
The state secretary noted that in this relationship, “Hungarians in Croatia and Croats in Hungary are at our side as catalysts.”
It is no coincidence that the Hungarian government has more than doubled its support for Hungarian nationalities to HUF 21 billion a year (EUR 53.6 million), with Croats benefiting from this amount in particular,
he added.
Csaba Latorcai also pointed out that the confluence of the Mura and Drava rivers in the region is not only a natural border, but also a geographical one, and border regions are always in a more difficult situation than those in the middle of the country. However, the people of the region are exemplary in showing how a peripheral region can be placed in the center, because only in this way is there a chance and an opportunity to catch up, he stressed.
He also spoke about the planned pedestrian and cycling bridge between the two neighboring settlements of Őrtilos and Legrad, which will be built in the framework of regional cooperation.
This bridge will symbolize the millennial history of the two countries, it will be a bridge of cultural ties, but it will also serve as an example of catching up along the Croatian-Hungarian border,”
the State Secretary said.
In his speech, László Szászfalvi, Member of Parliament for the region, also emphasized the common history and culture of the two countries, but pointed out that this relationship has even deeper roots, namely Christianity. It is not only our common culture, faith and history, but also our survival and future, he added.
Via MTI, Featured image: MTI/Katona Tibor