Perhaps the best-known and one of the most beautiful buildings in Ferenciek tere (Square of the Franciscans) in Budapest, the Párisi Passage, has been recently renovated and its original beauty restored. The history of the magnificent edifice dates back to the early 19th century.

Similarly to the French president, German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck also spoke sharply in his assessment of Europe’s place and competitiveness. In his view, the progress made in the first decades of the existence of the EU has made Europe complacent, ignoring the pace of development in the US and Asia, as a result of which it is far behind its competitors today.

A brief review of the European policy of the Hungarian Government and of that of the domestic opposition.

‘There is something in our national anthem that makes it mean something important and inexplicable to every Hungarian. The hallmark of great pieces of art is that the reader or listener feels as if they express something very important that they cannot. As if they speak from their heart, expressing their innermost, most sincere desires and dreams. It is this mysterious quality that Hungarians feel when listening to the National Anthem: that it really comes from our hearts, it is our prayer, the prayer of every single Hungarian to the Creator.’

The ‘coffee house cult’ in Hungary started to take off in the 1800s. From that time onwards, they functioned as a community space, the main arena of cultural and political life, and a place where visitors could easily access all the information they needed and wanted.

January is the saddest month of the year for many: the holidays are over, but winter really begins only then—long, cold, and dark days one after the other. Let’s make sure we have something to look forward to in January: Magyar Krónika has collected some great activities to fill our grey days with light and colour.

As for 2024: once we have passed the most difficult and dangerous year, we can move on to the next one, the year of sovereignty protection. We who are interested in Hungary remaining a Hungarian country.

We can say, albeit cautiously, that 2023 was a year of struggle for many of us, but a year of achievements and success, too. If we take the word ‘struggle’ out of the previous sentence, we could even turn this assessment into a New Year’s wish.

In the year 2023, a political mechanism was broken in Hungary: even downturns and runaway inflation could not dramatically alter the balance of political power.

‘It may very well be that in a few decades’ time, it will become clear to all analysts that the US’s rise to being a hegemonic power has carried the seeds of its downfall, too.’