A turul history exhibition was opened at the Hegyvidék Gallery on Tuesday evening with the professional presentation of historian Gergely Földváry, the head of the Hegyvidéki Local History Collection and the speech of Mayor Zoltán Pokorni - writes hegyvidek.hu.

As written, it is extremely difficult to form a general, uniform and unbiased picture of the turul as a symbol, as is well indicated in the 12th district political and memorial history debate around the Turul statue there. The exhibition of the local council visible until December also undertakes to present this, which reveals the history of the symbol from the roots of the Árpád-era through the millennium celebrations and the arrow terror to the present day with the help of original documents, works of art and pictures.

In the middle of the exhibition space is a 4-meter-long timeline that breaks down the history of the turul symbol into seven different periods. Each of the seven sections is accompanied by a color code and a graphic element, which also appears on the billboards on the walls.

Old posters from different ages (Photo: hegyvidek.hu)

Relics borrowed from the National Széchényi Library and from the collections of the Military History Museum, the Kiscelli Museum and the Hungarian National Museum were placed in two showcases. In one of the showcases, old books and journals show an age when the turul symbol was still “innocent”. In the other, from the awards of World War I to the badges of the right-wing parties operating between the two world wars to the badges made in the Arrow Cross era, the turul bird appears in several forms.

Former awards and badges (Photo: hegyvidekgaleria.hu)

According to the report, the exhibition also includes reproductions of old posters from different eras, with a smaller or larger emphasis on the symbol. In addition to all this, a schematic map installation can be seen, which depicts as illuminated highlights the many places in the Carpathian Basin where statues of the turul still stand.

The professional material of the presentation was prepared by a six-member historical committee at the request of Mayor Zoltán Pokorni. This will provide the basis for a more concise permanent exhibition, which will be on display next to the Turul statue following the rearrangement of the site.

On the hegyvidek.hu website we can also read that the 12th district local council faced its former ill-considered decision based on the research results of recent years. In December 2019, the council asked a three-member professional committee of history to conduct a review of the list of names on the monument erected in memory of the victims of the 12th district who fell during World War II, and make a proposal to resolve the contradictions related to the turul symbol.

As they write: the opinion was that in this form, the statue was offensive. Therefore, the Board of Representatives of the Hegyvidék local council decided to reclassify the World War II Turul Memorial as a World War I Memorial, and the remade list of victims will appear on a new World War II memorial soon to be erected next to the church in Városmajor.

They added that since the controversy over the Turul statue did not end despite its renaming as a World War I memorial, at the suggestion of Mayor Zoltán Pokorni, the statue and its surroundings become a memorial exhibition where everyone can learn about the turul as a symbol and the Hegyvidék monument.

The exhibition of the Hegyvidék local council can be visited until 4 December 2021 in the Hegyvidék Gallery, in the 12th district, Királyhágó square 10.

Source: hegyvidek.hu, hegyvidekgaleria.hu

Cover photo: Market history exhibition opened in the Hegyvidék Gallery (Photo: hegyvidekgaleria.hu)