The same exhibition, entitled ?Sigismundus - Rex et Imperator -- Art and Culture under the last ruler of the Luxemburg Dynasty, 1387 ? 1437?, recently closed at Budapest?s Museum of Fine Arts.
?Hungary has only recently joined the European Union, but we have been part of European culture for a long time, and of this we must make people aware,? President Sólyom said.
The objects on display include items from the collections of the British Museum, the Louvre, the National Gallery in Washington, the Vatican's Biblioteca Apostolica, Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum, and the Hermitage. Many have never been lent before, including the sword of the City of York, which Sigmund presented to King Henry V as a gift.
Grand Duke Henri noted that Sigismund?s unparalleled collection of art had enabled historians to reconstruct his activities as well as his personality. He added, ?It is our great fortune that times are not as troubled today as they were in the 14th and 15th centuries.?
Before the opening of the exhibition, President Sólyom had a meeting with Grand Duke Henri during which the two talked about the situation of ethnic Hungarians living outside of Hungary?s borders as well as that of ethnic minorities ? especially the Roma ? living within Hungary?s borders.
At a dinner in the evening, the President toasted his hosts, thanking the state for taking in Hungarians who fled during the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and citing examples of the two countries? cultural and historical ties.
