Even a city with a history of a thousand years or more can renew itself if it is well managed by a community that pays attention to the past, Deputy Prime Minister Tibor Navracsics said. He said the recent developments in Veszprem have resulted in a renewal of the past, noting that the photographs in the historic monument show the neglected state of the castle fifty-sixty years ago and they also demonstrate the bleakness of the communist era, he added.
The many refurbished buildings in the castle district offer a re-discovery of the past and ?buildings becoming increasingly colourful hopefully also symbolise the increasingly colourful life of the local community,? he said. A number of projects recently completed are likely to attract more and more Hungarian and international tourists in Veszprém. He referred to the modernisation of the Veszprém zoo, the renovation of the Dubniczay palace in the castle quarter, the completion of the cloisters and gardens project, as well as the recently started refurbishment of the city centre.
Navracsics said the citizens of the European Union have also contributed to the opening of the Biró-Giczey palace. It is fashionable these days to criticise the EU and accuse it for shortcomings that are in many cases our fault, he said. But we should not forget that ?the money of Danish, Dutch, Romanian and Bulgarian taxpayers has also contributed to? making this renovation possible, he added. ?This is how the country can benefit from the benefit of Veszprém and Europe can benefit from the benefit of Hungary, symbolising that we are one community after all,? Navracsics said.
Even if many things divide us in a diverse community, the mission of this building shows that ?culture and Christian culture link the nations of Europe,? Navracsics said at the inauguration ceremony.
Archbishop of Veszprém Gyula Márfi consecrated the new institution.
Abbot and Vicar-general József Mail said before the inauguration ceremony that the one-storey Baroque palace built in 1733 includes several exhibition areas, a screening room, a souvenir and book shop, and a cafeteria on a total area of a thousand square metres. An entire room is dedicated to Bishop Márton Padányi-Bíró who started the construction of the palace.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
