Rákóczi 350
A day-long festive programme in Košice on 27 March will commemorate the 350th anniversary of the birth of Prince Francis II. Rákóczi. The organisers of the programme are Hagyományok Háza and the Cultural Centre of the Košice Region.
The commemorative event will begin at 10.00 a.m. with a thanksgiving mass in the St. Elizabeth Cathedral in Košice.
The morning programme will include a guided tour in period costumes at the executioner's bastion in Košice for Hungarian kindergartens and primary schools from Košice and the surrounding area. A documentary film about the prince will also be presented in the gallery of the Kata's Bastion, which will be introduced to the audience by its director György Szaszák. At the same time, an unconventional music education lesson will be held in the Thália Theatre, accompanied by a demonstration of musical instruments. Pupils from local primary schools will be introduced to the musical world of the Rákóczi period by ethnomusicologist and performer Gergely Agócsa.
In the afternoon, at 15.00, a wreath-laying ceremony will take place at the statue of Franz II. Rákóczi in the courtyard of the Executioner's Bastion. The day's programme will culminate at 18.00 with a gala programme at the Thália Theatre. Performances will be given by the early music ensemble Tabulatura from Budapest, Gergely Agócs, the Ilosvai Folklore Ensemble from Veľká Ida, as well as the actor Péter Nádasdi. Participation in the gala is free of charge, but registration is required. If you are interested in taking part, please register your interest by 25 March 2026 at the following address: [email protected]
The event is part of a cultural programme organised on the occasion of the 350th anniversary of the birth of Francis II. Rákóczi, which will take place in several venues in Hungary and abroad.
Hagyományok Háza Miklós Both, director-general of the Hagyományok, said that on the day of the prince's birth, 27 March, programmes will be held in 26 locations - in all 19 counties of Hungary and in seven locations abroad, including Borše and Košice. The programmes draw on the rich musical memories and traditions of the period. Their influences can also be found, for example, in today's dance house movement.
The aim of the programme is to present the traditions still alive today connected with the personality of Rákóczi, to recall the life journey of the prince, the events of the Rákóczi Uprising and the Kuruc traditions.
The co-organisers of the event in Košice are the Consulate General of Hungary in Košice, the Košice Self-Governing Region, the Parish of the Archdiocese of Košice, the East Slovak Museum and the Thália Theatre.