László Mód (University of Szeged):

From the First Assembly to the National Togetherness. Changing Meaning and Use of a Hungarian Cultural Heritage Site

Ópusztaszer Heritage Park is situated in the southern part of Hungary which is often identified from the late 18th century with the first assembly of the Hungarian tribes. On the 1000th anniversary of the Hungarian conquest a so called millenial monument was erected there, so the memory of the historical event henceforth was connected to a specific place.  Since the inauguration it has gone through many changes: associations, members of political parties attributed different meanings to it. The research tried to take stock of all the organizations which regularly held memorial rites at the Árpád monument. The written and visual sources offer a great opportunity to draw conclusions on the practices of remembrance from the late 19th century to present time. The official opening of the memorial park in 1996 did not bring an end to the planning of new memorials in Ópusztaszer, in fact this activity gained new impetus. The presentation would like to deal with the recent practice of erecting monuments as well.