The Committee for Hungarikums has qualified the “Egri Bikavér”, the “Kodály method”, the “Hungarian shepherd and hound dogs” and the “Fisherman’s Soup from the Region of Tisza” as Hungarikums. Another nine values have entered the Hungarian Repository of Values - the decision was announced by the minister of agriculture Sándor Fazekas in Eger following the session of the Committee on 21/03/2017.
After the press conference held in the Castle of Eger the announcement of Dr Sándor Fazekas was received with applause: the world renowned red blend “Egri Bikavér” has been entered into the Collection of Hungarikums. The Minister cited that the wine region was established 81 years ago on the very same day by decree of the then minister of agriculture Kálmán Darányi.
The “Kodály Concept”, the music educational approach developed by Zoltán Kodály that incorporates a modern pedagogy concept as well as registering and teaching traditional folk music has also been inscribed as Hungarikum. The Collection of Hungarikums has been further enriched by the “Hungarian shepherd and hound dogs”, iconic achievements of indigenous breeding work alongside with the “Fisherman’s soup from the Region of Tisza”, a characteristic dish of traditional Hungarian cuisine.
Into the Hungarian Repository of Values the Committee has elevated the life’s work of Károly Kós - Transylvanian polymath, architect and politician of culture; the “Hungarian hussar” - a light cavalry army branch deeply rooted in the history of Hungary; the “Hungarian goulash soup” – a traditional Hungarian dish of the herdsmen of the past that became known worldwide; the Statue of Liberty, by György Zala raised in the memory of the heroes of the Hungarian revolution and freedom fight in 1848-49; the „Feszty-körkép” - a unique circular panoramic painting by Árpád Feszty depicting the arrival of the Hungarians in the Carpathian Basin in 895; the “Nagybánya Artist Colony” – the harbinger of modern Hungarian painting; the “Csaba Sausage Festival” - one of Hungary's most prestigious gastronomic events; and the life’s work of Dr Károly Bakonyi - grape breeder best known for the creation of the spicy, white grape variety “Cserszegi fűszeres”.
The Hungarian Repository of Values has been extended by the “Built heritage of Torockó”. The small Transylvanian town is currently being evaluated as an UNESCO world heritage candidate - Sándor Fazekas has commented – and the Ministry of Agriculture as a responsible agency for the management of Hungarikums is strongly committed to bring the process to fruition.
The Committee’s decision reflects that the people of Hungary were capable of the highest performance in the distant past just as they are in the present – as the Minister has put it. The number of Hungarikums has increased to 64 and 152 values are counted in the Hungarian Repository of Values.
Zsolt Nyitrai Member of Parliament for Eger who initiated the process to elevate the “Egri Bikaver” into the Collection of Hungarikums emphasised on the press conference that the success is a collective achievement of local wine growers as it was a result of collaborative effort to establish the Eger wine region 81 years ago on exactly the same day. He individually mentioned Kálmán Petró once wine grower and MP of Eger and Károly Braun then major of the city, one of the most prominent wine growers of the time. Zsolt Nyitrai emphasised that cultivating grape and producing wine provide livelihood for more than ten thousand people in the region. In the past among many others Jenő Grőber, grandson of Károly Knézich, the famous army general of the 1848-49 revolution and freedom fight, exerted himself in order that the Egri Bikavér should become a protected brand and eventually the flagship of the Eger wine region.
