Hungarian “Fiume” Exhibition Will Be on Display in Croatia

MTI-Hungary Today 2022.07.01.

From July 12th, a major exhibition will present the history of the Hungarian era in the Adriatic city of Rijeka, organized jointly by the Hungarian Museum of Technology and Transport (MMKM), the Hungarian Museum of Trade and Hospitality (MKVM), and the Rijeka City Museum.

Last year, the two Hungarian museums presented a successful exhibition in Budapest about the port of Fiume and the former Hungarian merchant navy of Fiume. The exhibition will now be complemented by the collection of the Rijeka City Museum (Muzej Grada Rijeke) and private collections from the Croatian coast, the MKVM informed MTI on Thursday.

According to a statement, the Rijeka City Museum will display more than 200 artifacts covering an area of 900 square meters, illustrating the development of the city and port of Rijeka between 1868 and 1920.

The exhibition, open from July 12th to September 13th, recalls how the city and port of Rijeka developed through the Budapest-Rijeka railway and the development of the Hungarian state port, and how the modern port city was born in close cooperation with the local merchant-entrepreneur bourgeoisie.

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Among the exhibits will be unique pieces, such as original ship models sent from Rijeka for the 1896 millennium celebrations. The Adriatic flag, which once flew on the steamships of the Adria Hungarian Royal Shipping Company, is of a similar age, and only two survive.

Fact

In May, there was a conflict between Hungary and Croatia about Rijeka, after Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in connection to the oil embargo, that Hungary would “have one [a sea coast] if it hadn’t been taken from us, but we don’t have it now.” You can read more about the disagreement in this article.

Rijeka developed into Europe’s 10th busiest port before the First World War, with significant commercial traffic, on which it built up major industries and an increasingly important tourism industry.

The opening of the exhibition will be preceded by the presentation of a book on the history of the Rijeka merchant navy from 1868 to 1920 at the Hotel Continental on Thursday, according to the MKVM. The book, by Márton Pelles and Gábor Zsigmond, already published in Hungarian and English, will be published this time in Croatian and Italian.

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Complementing and supporting the exhibition, Hungarian gastronomic presentations, and a musical evening entitled Hungarikumok Fiume will be organized from Thursday to July 14th by the Hungarian Language Lectorate of the University of Rijeka.

On July 12th, on the occasion of the opening of the exhibition, a Hungaricum demonstration will be held in the garden of the Rijeka City Museum and the former Governor’s Palace, with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture, and Hungarian gastronomy days will be held at the Hotel Continental until July 14th, as per the press release.

Featured image via the Hungarian Museum of Technology and Transport’s website