World Heritage Hungary

25/02/2025

With Visit Hungary – I just got recognized as one of their top fans! 🎉

25/02/2025

https://www.hungarikum.hu/en/content/kocsi
where the word car- kocsi - came from?

23/02/2025

The hucul horse stud farm of Jósvafő

The hucul horse
Genetically, huculs are the breed closest to those horses used by the tribes (Avars, Székelys, etc.) which inhabited the Carpathian Basin before the Hungarian Conquest in the 9th century. Since that time huculs gradually got outnumbered in herds by other breeds - for example horses similar to the Akhal-Tekes of Turkmenistan - and over the course of centuries today’s indigenous species were arrived at using other foreign breeds. However, a number of huculs survived this period in the most closed-off parts of Carpathians without any crossbreeding. This period of natural selection developed the hucul into a hardy, small horse suited to rough and hilly terrain. Today, its sure-footedness and ability to work and carry loads over difficult terrain is prized over many other breeds, and the hucul’s appearance has changed little from that of the ancient wild horse it once was. Our hucul stud
After 1919, the Austro-Hungarian monarchy’s central stud was distributed among the newly formed neighbouring states and following World War II hucul breeding was largely neglected. From 1970, the Director of Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden, Dr. Csaba Anghy, gathered the remaining thoroughbred huculs, of which 10 mares were received by the Aggtelek National Park Directorate in 1986, and breeding in Hungary resumed using these horses and several specimens from abroad.
Mares and their foals can be found near Jósvafő living semi-wild 1.5km north of the village at the stud at Gergés-lápa. The horses are bred here and roam freely on 300 hectares of pasture, spending the night in an open fold. There are about 130 currently in the pasture, with 50 stallions in nearby Perkupa, and another group kept neat Színpetri.
At the main breeding stud in Jósvafő our most important job is the conservation of this ancient breed’s gene stock. Horses are carefully selected for breeding in order to raise healthy foals, which are examined around three years of age.
At the stables in Jósvafő, stallions and mares are trained. Those with the right qualities are trained to pull a carriage and to remain placid around children, while stallions are trained to tackle C category paths. Thorough examination ensures that a horse is fit for use by children and used to daily attendance by the grooms. Accomplished mares are prepared for competiton either as coach horses or for dressage while any unreliable horses are singled out from the main breed.

20/02/2025

Busó-walking of Mohács
Carnival traditions which banish winter and welcome spring can be found across Europe. Hungary’s oldest and most famous, 'Busó-walking' in Mohács starts today, with around 1000 people taking part. 'Busó-walking', a world-famous folk tradition of the Šokac population in Mohács, a town in southern Hungary, was first recorded at the end of the 18th century.

Origins
According to the legend, the native Šokac people had escaped from Mohács town to the moorland of Mohács Island to avoid Ottoman troops. Returning to the town at night, they crossed the Danube in boat, and, dressed in terrifying masks and making noise with instruments, they drove the Ottoman troops from the town.

black and white postcard, group of five people wearing folk costumes
black and white photograph, four women wearing folk costumes
There is probably little truth in the story - Mohács was liberated from the Ottoman rule in 1687, and the migration of the Šokci started about ten years afterwards. Presumably, the Balkan Šokci brought this tradition, which was further formed in Mohács to today’s celebration.

Carnival costumes
In the parade, busós are men wearing carved wooden masks, moccasins, white linen trousers stuffed with straw, sheepskin coats with their fur outside, tied at the waist by a rope or chain, on which sheep bells hang.
The most important element of the Busó costume is a wooden mask with sheepskin hood, carved from willow and traditionally painted with animal blood. The 'pretty Busós' are girls and boys dressed in Šokac folk wear and their faces are veiled.

In Mohács, veiled women and men in nuptial clothes and other people in carnival dresses are called 'maskara' (masqueraders).

Carnival spectacle
Busó-walking (also called 'poklade') has today lost many of the original traditions, but has gained a lot of spectacle for tourists to enjoy. Spectators should know that the usual moral rules do not apply to Busós, Jankeles and masqueraders during the carnival procession. During the event, there is a special 'suspended' state, often especially at girls’ and women’s expense.
The modern Busó-walking starts on the square that was named after Kóló, the Šokac dance. The disguised Busós, Jankeles and masqueraders gather here and meet other Busó groups, who have crossed over the Danube by boats. When the ancient cannon fires, the different groups walk into the main square of Mohács through the main street, where the carnival begins.
After this, a noisy carnival is celebrated on the bank of the Danube and in the neighbouring streets. At dusk, the groups return to the main square, dance around a huge bonfire and the streets clamour with people.

19/02/2025

https://hungarytoday.hu/region-in-szeklerland-receives-gastronomy-award/

The tourism fair in Bucharest will be a good opportunity to showcase the values, tourist services and unique flavors of Szeklerland.

15/02/2025

CENTURIES OF HISTORY, AND THE DOM PERIGNON OF TOKAJI ASZÚ
Long before the Tokaj-Hegyalja region was declared a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2002, it was recognized as a first-class wine region. It’s also perhaps the first region to produce wine from botrytized grapes at such a scale. If we believe the legend, then we have the invading 16th-17th-century Ottomans to partially thank for the discovery of the noble rot in Tokaj, which led to the creation of Tokaj aszú.

The story goes that Zsuzsanna Lórántffy (who was the wife of Prince György Rákóczi I and a major landowner in the region) and her vineyard manager, László Máté Szepsi, decided to postpone the harvest on the family’s extensive vineyards when the Turkish invasion was imminent. By the time they got around to the harvest, the grapes had turned into shriveled botrytized raisins. The winemakers decided to use them anyway, and Tokaj aszú was born. “The ‘invention’ of aszú wine as it is known today is attributed to Szepsi,” writes Miles Lambert-Gócs in Tokaj Wine: Fame, Fate, Tradition. “By most accounts, this happened around 1620, although others have thought it might have been earlier … However, oral tradition may be wrong as to Szepsi’s actual contribution. The fact that a 4-puttonyos wine of 1646 was exported to Poland and a law of 1655 required separate harvesting of botrytized fruit strongly suggests that aszú wine production was taking place since at least 1600, and that any innovation by Szepsi had to do with some particular detail.” “Undeniably, there is an aura about Szepsi: he ranks among the very few persons to whom a kind of wine is attributed. He could be called the Dom Perignon of Hungary,” continues Lambert-Gócs. “From all the fanfare about him in Hungarian wine history, it can hardly be doubted that he made a major contribution of some sort, a contribution that profoundly affected the fabrication of botrytis wines in Hegyalja. But just what was his contribution? Did he actually ‘discover’ botrytis or ‘invent’ botrytis aszú wine? Not likely, since over one-hundred years had passed since the very overripe grapes were being used in Hegyalja. Was he the first person to ‘soak’ the mass of aszú-grape material before fermentation? Again, not likely, since this was a Balkan method known in Hegyalja long before his time … But, in the end, without any documentation, it seems destined always to remain guesswork.”

Sometimes legends are just legends after all … We can go back even further to see that “the first mention of Aszú grape wine is in 1571, in a property deal clearly demonstrating that the aszú grapes had been kept separate from the normal grapes in the vineyard of Mézes Mály,” writes Oz Clarke in The History of Wine in 100 Bottles. “And this would at the very least imply that the producers of Tokaji were the first in the world to harvest shrivelled and nobly rotten grapes on purpose – the Germans on the Rhine didn’t get the hang of purposefully nobly rotting their grapes until 1775.”

27/01/2025

https://folkcostume.blogspot.com/2011/11/embroidery-of-kalocs

24/01/2025

https://hungarytoday.hu/producers-from-tokaj-and-eger-triumph-at-prestigious-wine-grand-prix/

The members of the Hungarian Wine Writers' Circle awarded the Hungarian Wine Grand Prix in white and red categories after blind tasting.

13/01/2025

Discover Tokaj with a private guide! Tokaj wine region has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2002. Embark on a day trip to this astonishing place and learn about the origins of Tokaji aszu, the world's oldest botrytized wine. Visit Mád and Bodrogkeresztur, the most famous places beside Tokaj in the region. We invite you also for tasting the most famous wines of Hungary!

05/01/2025

28/12/2024

https://nagyfatalkonyhaja.hu/en/typical-hungarian-new-years-eve-dishes/

As Christmas approaches, not only the festive lights, but also the delicious flavors arrive in the Hungarian kitchen, including the Hell'a Kitchen in Budapest

25/12/2024

https://hungarytoday.hu/szaloncukor-edible-ornaments-hang-on-hungarian-christmas-trees/

One of the Hungarians' favorite Christmas sweets, the Szaloncukor, is a highlight on every family's Christmas tree every year.

25/12/2024

Áldott, békés karácsonyt kívánunk!

Fotó: Régi László

25/12/2024

Christmas tables would not be complete without poppy seed or walnut beigli. It is often called walnut roll or poppy seed roll, both fillings are traditional and most of the time served together.
These days bakers make beiglis with new fillings, such as chesnuts, cherries, prunes or chocolate.

There is an old belief among Hungarians that poppy seeds, just like lentils, bring good luck to the house, so when consumed for Christmas or New Year’s Eve, people believed it would bring them prosperity in the new year, also, walnuts keep trouble away.

You can make your beigli on your own or buy it from your favorite bakery. The best to pre-order to make sure your Christmas table will not miss this fantastic cake.

20/12/2024

HOLLÓKŐ, HUNGARY
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UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE
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Köszönjük a fotót | Photo by .filakovity
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20/12/2024

HOLLÓKŐ, HUNGARY
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UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE
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Köszönjük a fotót | Photo by
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