Anniversary of October 23, 1956 Hungarian Revolution

Hungarians visit and decorate the graves of their loved ones around November 1st, All Soul’s Day. Many Hungarians visit the Municipal Cemetery in Budapest on or about October 23rd since that day is the national holiday in Hungary that commemorates the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.



To get to this cemetery we took tram #28 to the end of its route. Forming a solid line along the tram route for several blocks as we approached the stop we saw lots of tombstone and monument dealers.



After the gravestone and monument dealers there were lots of flower stalls. These flower stalls also stretched for several blocks before the cemetery gate.



People use mostly fresh flowers but you see a few silk flowers here and there.



Businesses such as these surround the entrances of every cemetery in the city and since this is the largest cemetery in Budapest, this one is no exception.




In this picture you can see the cemetery entrance in the background.

We went through the gate with the many others who were there that day. (We visited on Saturday, October 25th.)



We had to walk to the very back of the cemetery to view the 1956 revolution graves and memorials. We passed many graves in this large cemetery.



As we walked we noticed that nearly every grave in this very large cemetery was decorated. Most of them had fresh flowers on them.

We saw many visitors taking away wilted or dead flowers, sweeping or raking the area around the grave or just sitting quietly near a grave.



It seemed that the majority of the visitors drove to the cemetery and there was considerable traffic as cars waited for an opening to turn into or out of the main stream of traffic.



The guide books were accurate with their estimate of a 30-minute walk to the back of the cemetery to the plots where the 1956 revolutionaries were buried.

To get to plots 300 and 301, the plots where the 1956 victims were buried, we certainly noticed that these plots were in the very farthest corner where the government officials thought they would not be detected.

We were happy to see any signs for plots 300 & 301 since the road became very quiet and secluded. There were occasional cars and a few folks walking along with us.



Many thousands died during the revolution and thousands more were arrested, tortured and later executed.

The bodies of the leaders of the uprising were buried in secret mass graves at the very back of the Budapest Municipal Cemetery on the southeastern edge of the city.

Of these thousands, some are honored with their pictures displayed at the cemetery.







Hungarians began placing flowers at this remote spot in the 1970’s.

In 1990 after the fall of Communism, the bodies were reburied with a state ceremonial funeral and memorial markers were placed to mark the site.





Notable is the grave of Imre Nagy, who was the prime minister of Hungary in 1956. He was arrested, tortured and shot to death after a bogus political trial in 1958.



We had seen videos on TV of the current Hungarian prime minister and his wife bringing flowers to his grave on October 23rd.



Most of the victims who were not killed during the revolution were arrested, tortured and executed later and have a 1958 date of death listed on their tombstones.



We couldn’t help but notice that there were several women and young people among those whose pictures were displayed at the cemetery.

Student Living

The dormitory where the students live is located on Temesvar utca on the Buda side of the Danube and a little south of the center of the city. It's operated by Karoly Gaspar University and is named for the Hungarian Bethlan Gabor. Everything in Budapest has bars and locks and so does the dorm. We need to enter a code into the pad near the door in the gate.



The restaurant across the street is the Saint Florian, named for the patron saint of firefighters. There is also a coffee shop a few doors away, but most of the street is a quiet spot. The dorm is in the middle of the block with a tram stop on the nearest corner.



The yard inside the fence is large and full of trees. As you face the dorm the classroom where we had the Hungarian classes and where the Calvin classes are held is on the top floor above the entrance. The student rooms are on a dedicated hallway to the left of the front door on the ground floor.



This is the coffee shop that is just down the street. It is a favorite spot for the students.



This is one of two of the four-person rooms that half of the girls live in. They are very large with closet space, a bedside stand and a desk for each person. The kitchen and bathrooms (with a washing machine) are across the hall.



The guys have a separate apartment with a kitchen, laundry room, bathroom (with shower) and a large bedroom for the three of them. They enjoy their own kitchen, washing machine and space.



Then the remaining eight girls live in the girls' apartment at the end of the hall. There are two bedrooms (one with four beds and one with two beds) with doors and an alcove where two more students sleep. It also has bathrooms, shower, a washing machine and a living area. The living area has three extra beds that are used as couches to relax on while studying, desks, bookcases, and a TV.



These students are sitting in the opposite end of the common living area of the apartment. There is wireless Internet. We've had some difficulty with the strength of the signal and adding routers has helped a little. However, the programs that are most often used today take a lot of band width and the service seems slow.



The kitchen in the girls apartment is the largest with two refrigerators, tables, stove and cupboards. Both apartments as well as the interior of the four-bed rooms have been newly remodeled. The hallway, however, remains poorly lit and reminiscent of the Communist era.



The students are welcome at our apartment every Wednesday night. We usually have soup and bread. It always turns out to be a nice time to visit and relax.



Here's Paul at the stove checking out the soup. I think it has his approval. Everyone brings a hearty appetite and sometimes there are leftovers to take back to the dorm.



For the first three to four weeks the students attended a compressed Hungarian language class. The class met for several hours most days of each of those weeks. Here we are with our language teacher, Ms. Kati Fugedi. This picture was taken at the last class in late September. Kati has the white jacket on. It was amazing just how much Hungarian we all learned. It turned out to be very helpful in Budapest.



One of the English speaking churches that the students have attended is St. Columba's Scottish Presbyterian Church. This congregation is jointly sponsored by the Presbyterians and the Hungarian Reformed Church. One pastor is Scottish and one is Hungarian. You can check it out at www.scotskirkhungary.com



This church has a practice of serving lunch to anyone who wants to stay after church. At one of these lunches several of the Calvin students volunteered to prepare the lunch for the next week.



These students were very hot that September Sunday. The kitchen area is very small and the stove could have been faster!



The reports were that the lunch was very good and much appreciated.

Parking

Hungary seems to be trying to accommodate cars that are much larger than the streets were originally designed for.



It is interesting to see how the parking spaces are painted onto the sidewalk.





Went streets don't have painted spaces, drivers seem to adapt by parking wherever there is room.





In addition, they do not appear to have rules about parking near a fire hydrant.