site.btaHungary's National Day to Be Marked in Sofia with Exhibition Paying Tribute to Poet Sandor Petofi

An exhibition in Sofia will mark Hungary’s National Day, March 15. Titled "Petofi: Around the World" will be on at the Sts. Cyril and Methodius National Library and run from March 12 to April 1, the Hungarian Liszt Cultural Institute in Sofia said.

The exhibition will pay tribute to Hungarian poet and revolutionary Sandor Petofi (1823-1849). It was commissioned by Hungary’s Foreign Ministry with the support of the Petofi Literary Museum.

"At the time of Petofi's birth, the Kingdom of Hungary was part of the Habsburg Empire, a dominant power in Central Europe, and its national independence was heavily compromised. However, it was precisely during this time, in the first half of the 19th century, that a new intellectual spirit emerged throughout Europe, influenced by the ideals of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. Economic and social reforms began: it was the era of bourgeois transformation and national awakening, whose aspirations were summed up by contemporaries with the motto of homeland and progress," the organizers said. They further add that, in this environment, a young revolutionary and poet appeared in Hungary. With his direct voice, new themes, and evocative power, he disrupted conventions, mediocrity, and salon poetry. "In his short life of barely 26 years, he wrote nearly 1000 poems. As a Hungarian-language poet with a distinct identity, he had an unprecedented impact on world literature. His works were actively translated into both major and minor European languages, and many translators learned Hungarian because of him. His poetry contributed to the awakening of self-consciousness among smaller European nations striving for their freedom. Victor Hugo referred to him, and later, Nietzsche set several of his poems to music. He played a significant role in shaping the image of Hungarians living abroad to this day," the organizers noted.

"A revolutionary, a national hero, a myth: with his poetry, dynamic personality, and heroic death, Sandor Petofi is the full-fledged embodiment of Romanticism," the Hungarian Liszt Cultural Institute in Sofia said.