Wide Range of Programs Organized for the National Holiday

Several events are organized in the capital to mark the March 15 national holiday. In addition to the official state commemorations and celebrations, the National Museum and the Parliament is also hosting free programs.

President of the Republic Tamás Sulyok (L) and László Kövér, Speaker of the National Assembly (R) raising the national flag in military salute on Kossuth Lajos Square in front of the Parliament on 15 March 2024. Photo: MTI/Zoltán Balogh

The state events, as usual, began in the evening of March 14, with the presentation of the Kossuth and Széchenyi Prizes. Also on the occasion of the national holiday, promotions to the ranks of generals were handed out at the Sándor Palace by President Tamás Sulyok, the Minister of Defense and Chief of the General Staff.

The Ministry of Defense held its central commemoration on March 14 at the Bálna conference center.

Central commemoration of the Ministry of Defense. Photo: MTI / Mónus Márton

On March 15, the official programs started with a military salute and flag-raising in front of Parliament at 9 a.m.

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Following the flag-raising ceremony, a procession of hussars will march to the National Museum, where Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will give a speech at the commemoration ceremony, starting at 10:30 a.m.

File Photo: The National Museum in festive lights. Photo: Facebook / Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum

During the rest of the day, several museums and the Parliament’s building are open to the public free of charge. The National Museum will also host family programs for children and film screenings from 2 p.m. In the evening, the emblematic buildings of the capital will be covered with light paintings in the theme of the national holiday. For those who would prefer to spend the day in nature rather than in the city, a 20-kilometer daytime performance hike will be organized in Buda on the Children’s Railway track.

Due to the festivities, several public transport services will be rerouted, and closures can be expected around the events.

File Photo of PM Viktor Orbán speaking at the National Museum. Photo: Facebook / Magyarország Kormánya

The lower quay of Pest is also closed (for the first time this year) between Margaret Bridge and Elisabeth Bridge. Only cyclists, scooters, and pedestrians are allowed to use this area.

It is important to note that trains and long-distance buses will run according to the timetables valid on Sundays and public holidays.

Most shopping malls and supermarkets are closed on the 15th of March. You can shop in 7/24 stores, petrol stations, and their convenience stores, tobacconists, and newsagents.

State Ceremony for the 176th anniversary of the 1848/49 Revolution the National Museum Garden on 15 March 2024. Photo: MTI/Zoltán Máthé

Fact

On March 15, we celebrate the outbreak of the 1848-1849 Revolution and War of Independence in Hungary. On that prominent day in 1848, the winds of the Viennese Revolution reached Pest-Buda. A series of events unfolded across the city, the most important of which was the mass rally at the National Museum, where the poet Sándor Petőfi (1823-1849) read his symbolic poem “Nemzeti Dal” and declared the 12 claims of the uprising (so called “12 bullet points“), marking the beginning of a modernizing Hungary, casting off the feudal system. From the summer of 1848, events turned into a war of liberation against the armies of the Habsburg Empire. The Hungarian struggle for freedom was eventually defeated in 1849, with the help of the Russian Tsar Nicholas I. The events of 1848 reached their final outcome in 1867, with the establishment of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the signing of the Act of Reconciliation.

State Ceremony for the 176th anniversary of the 1848/49 Revolution and War of Independence in the National Museum Garden on 15 March 2024. Photo: MTI/Zoltán Máthé

Three Days of Free Activities at the National Museum on the Occasion of March 15

The ceremonial programs will start with a speech by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán at 11 a.m.Continue reading

Via: Magyar Nemzet, Világgzadaság, MTI, honvedelem.hu; Featured Image: MTI/Zoltán Balogh