Day Of Remembrance And Salutation

“After the name of God, the word honvéd (soldier) is the second most beautiful and holiest name" – wrote Sándor Petõfi in his poem titled Honvéd. The narrator read out an excerpt of this poem at the memorial ceremony held by the Ministry of Defence on the Day of Hungarian National Defence at the soldiers’ memorial on Dísz Square.

At the venue of the ceremony it was said that 160 years ago, on May 21 1849, at this hour, there were already Hungarian flags waving in many places of the Buda Castle. Not only had the siege launched on May 4 and lasting 14 days ended with this, but one of the most successful operations in Hungarian military history, the spring campaign had finished as well. The campaign in which the only one-year-old army, breaking out from a situation that was absolutely hopeless from a military perspective and relying on its own forces, liberated most parts of our country. In the clash in the Buda Castle 368 servicemen had died and some 700 were wounded. In 1871, the assembly of the Buda and Óbuda association of servicemen had decided to erect a statue on Dísz Square. The memorial was inaugurated in 1893.

In remembrance of the deceased soldiers, Brigadier General Dr. Róbert Fröhlich, Chief Rabbi, delivered a memorial speech. He said: today we have come to remember the heroes, all those servicemen who were ready to sacrifice their lives for the freedom of the country, the future of their children.

Lieutenant Colonel Sándor Máté, Secretary of the Bishop of the Lutheran church added in his prayer commemorating the soldiers that the heroes who had fought with death-defying courage 160 years ago, deserve to be remembered.

The Catholic Chief Military Chaplain, Major Dr. Béla Hankovszky emphasized in his prayer, citing the words of the Holy Scripture: “Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound". And on the 160th anniversary of the capture of the Buda Castle, the heart of every Hungarian is filled with pride.

At the soldiers’ memorial on Dísz Square – in front of the line of hussars on horseback and people dressed in the uniforms of the fight for freedom – Minister of Defence Dr. Imre Szekeres and General (Eng.) László Tömböl, MoD Chief of Defence Staff laid a wreath. In the name of the Buda Castle Local Government, Mayor Dr. Gábor Tamás Nagy laid a wreath, and the military attachés accredited to Budapest, as well as the representatives of social organizations with links to the Ministry of Defence also laid the flowers of remembrance.

After the ceremonial march and Il Silentio, the attendees went to Fehérvári rondella (barbican) and laid wreaths on the statue of General Artúr Görgey. At the monument it was said: 160 years ago, on May 21 1849, the first soldiers who invaded the Castle that was occupied by the imperial army, had broken through a hole here. This is the place where the first Hungarian flag was hoisted. Opposite the rondella, from the Hungarian headquarters on Svábhegy, General Artúr Görgey was monitoring the events. The soldiers, having completed the order of their leaders and their country, recaptured the Castle. Görgey, their leader, died on the same day in 1916 in one of the houses on the opposite bank of the Danube.

The Day of National Defence ceremony continued at the Esztergomi rondella where the colours of the Republic of Hungary were hoisted, accompanied by the tunes of the national anthem and the ceremonial volley of a 1848 cannon. The attendees of the event were greeted by Dr. Imre Szekeres in the Marble Room of the Institute and Museum of Military History (HIM).

The defence minister said: today it was good to remember that 160 years ago the soldiers of the Hungarian freedom fight had won. This is important for the Hungarian Defence Forces of today, which were established 160 years ago, in the very same fight for freedom. It is important for the Hungarian troops of today, for this crucial event had defined the future of the Hungarian Defence Forces for a long period.

– Thanks to the soldiers of the period and military historians of later days, we know exactly what happened. On May 21, there was a fog at dawn when General Artúr Görgey, whose headquarters were on Svábhegy, ordered the battle. By the time he noticed the flag waving in the middle of the Fehérvári rondella in red-white-green, the weather was already brighter. By that time it was obvious that the imperial troops could not hold the Castle. And they laid down their arms here, where this building is – said Imre Szekeres.

The head of the portfolio added: it is a strange turn of history that on the same day, and perhaps in the same hour, the young emperor, Franz Joseph bent his knees before Emperor Nicholas I in Warsaw. In return for bending his knees, he was given the army he had requested, with the help of which only six months later the arms were thundering in Arad. The same arms that were used to take revenge on officers, and in a series of executions for the defeats the imperial army had suffered.

– I say that this bending of the knee in Warsaw was a bending of the knee before the Hungarian Defence Forces, for without this, no one could ever defeat the Hungarian soldiers – emphasized Imre Szekeres.

The defence minister also stressed that this day is especially important for the Hungarian Defence Forces. And not only because we are remembering those who died, but because we also express our gratitude for the soldiers and the troops who are serving either in the country or abroad. This day is the day of remembrance and salutation. We are saluting the soldiers and those Hungarian citizens to whom the cause of national defence is important or who assist it externally.