5 interesting facts you may not have known about the connection between Veszprém and the March 15 holiday

March 15 is one of the most important days in Hungarian history. It marks the beginning of the 1848-49 civil revolution and war of independence, and is also Hungarian Press Day. The reason for this is that the first publications of the free Hungarian press appeared on March 15, 1848.

On the morning of March 15, Sándor Petőfi, together with several others, compiled the Twelve Points, a political manifesto setting out their demands. This was read aloud to the young people gathered at Budapest's most famous historical coffee house, the Pilvax, and recited Petőfi's poem 'Nemzeti dal' ('National Song'), before setting off for the University of Pest. They read the Twelve Points at several locations, recited and inspired the gathered crowds, and in the afternoon they held a large rally in front of the Hungarian National Museum in front of a huge crowd.

The council finally accepted the Twelve Points, immediately abolished the existing censorship, and that evening, activists celebrated the victory of the Pest revolution at the National Theater.

As a result of these events, the first responsible Hungarian government was formed on March 23, headed by Count Lajos Batthyány, and on April 11, the monarch ratified the April Laws, thanks to which the country was able to embark on the path of civil development.

• 1. Sándor Petőfi visited Veszprém several times while studying at the Reformed College in Pápa, and visited his brother, who was a butcher's assistant in Várpalota. In early March 1848, he arrived in Veszprém with his wife to spend two days in the city. It was here that he learned that a revolution had broken out in Paris.
  • 2. Today, Veszprém County Archives hold the letter that General János Damjanich wrote – a farewell letter he wrote to his wife at dawn on the day of his execution.

• 3.    Károly Francsics, a master barber from Veszprém, witnessed the events of 1848. He collected all the news from his customers in his downtown shop and wrote down the revolutionary events in Veszprém in his small chamber by candlelight. His entertaining diary is well worth reading.

• 4. Veszprém had an outstanding Kossuth-supporting politician, Antal Hunkár (1783-1862), who fought for the creation of a bourgeois Hungary as the chief magistrate and government commissioner of Veszprém County in 1848-49. He was also one of the authors of the Declaration of Independence. On March 15, 1848, he was in Pozsony (Bratislava) at the National Assembly, and upon returning to Veszprém, he directed the establishment of the National Guard. 

• 5.    During the revolution and war of independence, Veszprém soldiers were sent to the fortress of Komárom, where they fought to the bitter end until 1849 even after the surrender of arms in 1849. Many of them are buried in the Alsóváros cemetery in Veszprém.

Wine barrel source: Matthieu Levé / Unsplash