Orbán said in his opening speech that Europe faces unprecedented challenges which represent a ?test of strength and character.?
?Our civilisation, at least in Europe, seems to be abandoning some of the main driving forces behind our ascent and economic success: the spiritual depth in life, the joy of marriage and offsprings, and the intellectual energy of our national culture,? he said.
Orbán described the exhibition paying respect to the new constitution and reviewing the communist past grand and yet intimate. He noted that ?the two-thirds revolution in parliament? has resulted in the new constitution which creates ?foundations firm as granite.?
He said that during thousands years of history, the Hungarian nation has always been guided and assisted by two principles: Christianity and the sovereignty of state. ?These principles have proven so strong that they have not been corroded for as many as ten decades,? he said.
The exhibition pays tribute to those great historic figures who devoted their lives, strength and talent to the nation, Christianity and independence.
The prime minister said the coming into effect of the new constitution was also a ?moment of re-foundation? which will ?renew the community that we call Hungarian nation.? ?Today our hearts are filled with hope that the Hungarian nation will gain the respect it deserves in the 21st century,? he added.
Historian Tamás Katona said that throughout history Hungary has been a constitutional state. Praising the significance of the new constitution, he said it enabled Hungary to reclaim its own history.
Curators Gábor Bellák and Zsuzsanna Bakó said at a guided tour of the exhibition which preceded the opening ceremony that the show created under the chief patronage of President Pál Schmitt presented centuries of the Hungarian nation from a cultural historic aspect, through paintings, statues, codices and manuscripts.
The exhibition comprising 84 art objects and 27 documents includes several works by such famous artists, as Bertalan Székely, Gyula Benczúr, Viktor Madarász, Miklós Barabás and János Fadrusz, which have been on show before but never in this context. Art historians highlighted Munkácsy?s painting Conquest (The entry of the Hungarians in the Carpathian Basin) which is 13.55 by 4.58 metres and had never before been taken out of the parliament building.
In addition to art objects, important documents of the Hungarian state are also on display, such as the 12th-century Admont codex including the oldest inscriptions of Saint Stephen?s laws, Stephen Werbőczy?s Tripartitum (a collection of Hungarian customary law presented to the Hungarian diet in 1514), János Sylvester?s Bible translation from 1541, the Pragmatico Sanctio of 1713 (an edict issued by Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI to ensure that the throne of the Archduchy of Austria could be inherited by a daughter), the April laws of 1848, the original manuscripts of the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 signed by the king and a copy of the 1949 constitution signed by Rákosi.
The series of celebrations linked to the new constitution also includes a competition of children drawings entitled The Past, Present and Future of our Home Country. Prime Minister?s Commissioner Imre Kerényi earlier said that thirty winning works from this competition and fifteen neo-historic paintings made for a special edition of the new constitution will be on show as an accompanying exhibition to Heroes, Kings and Saints, at the National Gallery.
Kerényi presented the special edition before the opening of the exhibition and visitors had a chance to page through it.
The exhibition created in cooperation by the Hungarian National Gallery, the Hungarian National Museum and the National Széchényi Library and Hungarian National Archives will be open until August 26, 2012.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI) / Photo: MTI
