Hungary’s Founding Day: A Three-Day Program in Budapest

A colorful cavalcade of mini-festivals will be held in Budapest between 18 and 20 August as part of the St. Stephen’s Day series of events  reports Kultúra.hu.

Nine special events, the Csárdafesztivál (Festival of Taverns), Panorama Classical, Heroes’ Way, Vigadó Piano, Road Movie Live, Varázsliget (Magic Grove), Szabadrét Festival, Fashion & Design Festival and the Golden Train Exhibition will make the celebration of the founding of the state a lasting memory. There will be classical, popular and folk music concerts, gastronomic adventures, historical performances and exhibitions, children’s and family programs over three days.

Stews simmering in a huge cauldron, roasts cooked in a spectacular oven, fish soup prepared in a giant bread – these are just some of the gastronomic delights that will return to Vörösmarty Square during the Csárdafesztivál. Between 18 and 20 August, alongside the taverns offering delicious dishes of traditional Hungarian gastronomy, there will be a three-day program of stage performances: folk music, gypsy music and folk dance performances.

The gastronomic experience is guaranteed with nearly 150 different dishes from seven taverns.

The menus include Csángó steak, Gemenci venison stew with forest mushrooms, Hargitai BBQ, juniper-berry and blueberry beef stew, as well as goulash, Pig’s trotter and Hungarian sausage.

From 18-20 August, from early afternoon until late evening, the Vigadó Square will be filled with piano music: French chansons, Edith Piaf, Frank Sinatra and Tony Benett classics, bossa nova, American bar music, hits by Hungarian pop music artists, film scores and Latin tunes performed by the finest bar pianists can be heard.

Children can meet the giant puppets of Hungarian cartoon figures during a live music concert at Vajdahunyad Castle during the St Stephen’s Day celebrations.

For three days, the Magic Grove will be a place of wonders, with a fairy-tale exhibition, a circus theater and artists from national and international festivals entertaining the little ones.

There will also be fun with a group of magicians and jugglers performing fairground tricks.

At the Fashion & Design Festival, visitors can take part in a variety of craft activities, sustainability programs and round-table discussions in the company of Hungarian designers. Through the programs, children and adults alike can get to know Hungarian fashion and designers.

The history of seven fate-turning decisions and the stories of seven heroic deeds of seven Hungarian heroes from the past 1000 years will be told in the Heroes’ Journey program series at Buda Castle, on the Árpád Tóth promenade. On 19 and 20 August, nearly 150 traditionalists and actors will perform 10-15 minute scenes that bring the heroic moments of Hungarian history to life.

Under the cozy light of lanterns and beanbags, relax to classical tunes and enjoy one of the most beautiful panoramas of Budapest. This is the unique live music experience that Panorama Classical will offer its visitors between 18 and 20 August in the Garden of Philosophers on Budapest’s Gellért Hill. The program includes the most famous film scores by Nino Rota and Ennio Morricone, compositions by Art Blakey and Ferenc Liszt’s Passion, Via crucis.

The Golden Train, a national treasure, will be on display again this year with a life-size replica of the Holy Crown and Scepter and the Holy Right.

The imposing carriage was built in 1938 to commemorate the 900th anniversary of the death of the founder of the state, but during the Second World War the carriage carrying the Holy Right (Stephen I. actual hand) on a national tour was destroyed. The presentation of the resurrected Golden Train took place on 20 August 2020, and will be on display this weekend.

Along the Golden Train, visitors can walk along the Promenade of Cities between 346 flags of Hungarian towns.

There will be electronic and live music, fun, sunshine and a picnic atmosphere in a natural setting from early afternoon until evening for three days at the Szabadrét Festival on Elisabeth Square.

Popular Hungarian bands will perform at the Műegyetem quay, performing songs inspired by a Hungarian region, town, village or even a street or building. The performers include local stars such as Tamás Horváth, Bagossy Brothers Company, Lord and Tankcsapda.

The program for 20 August will start with the flag-raising and the St Stephen’s Day parade, followed by an air parade, then the Holy Mass and the St Right procession, and the fireworks display in the evening.

The evening program, that has become a tradition over the decades, will see 34,000 pyrotechnic effects light up the sky from 230 launch points along the river Danube

between Margaret Bridge and Petőfi Bridge, and on Szabadság and Erzsébet Bridges.

Featured image: Facebook/Szent István Nap