The exhibition, to open on April 11, will display a number of never-before-seen objects that belonged to Batthyány (1807-1849), including his pistol, the lamp he used in prison and a blood-stained piece of a cot from his cell.
The part of the exhibition at the Budapest History Museum will include the piece of Batthyány's prison cot as well as a number of paintings and sculptures.
At the Military History Institute and Museum, visitors will be able to see a pistol Batthyány presented to Foreign Minister Ferenc Pulszky after his resignation and a sword bearing the name of freedom fighters engraved on its blade.
The exhibition at the Budapest History museum will be open until October 30. The exhibition at the Military History Institute and Museum can be seen until October 14.
The Military History Institute and Museum will hold a conference on Batthyány's influence on Hungary's military starting May 8. Batthyány was the founder of Hungary's Armed Forces.
The exhibition and conference are part of a larger programme of events organised to mark the anniversary of Batthyány's birth. The Ministry of Education and Culture will spend HUF 100 million on conferences, exhibitions and publications to commemorate Batthyány and his work during the year. The programmes will pay respect to the great statesmen as well as reinforce national pride and reaffirm national identity, Minister of Education and Culture István Hiller said when opening the programme in February.
A special Batthyány album will be published, Parliament will hold a memorial session in April, and a Batthyány tent will be set up at the Sziget Festival, a week-long music festival which attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors. The National Bank of Hungary will mint 20,000 Batthyány memorial coins and the Hungarian post will issue 300,000 Batthyány stamps. A full-size statue of Batthyány is to be erected in Batthyány Square sometime in October.
Source: Múlt-kor/MTI
