The Town of Kőszeg and the Institute of Advanced Studies (iASK) of Hungary were presented at the Embassy of Hungary in Vienna, hosted by Ambassador Dr. Andor Nagy. The event was attended by Maria Rauch-Kallat, former Minister of Health and President of the Austro-Hungarian Society. Maria Rauch-Kallat welcomed the guests on behalf of the Society.
During the evening, the guests had the opportunity to learn about the historical past and heritage of the town, as Mayor Béla Básthy told the guests. The audience included politicians, representatives of the Viennese academic and artistic world. In his welcome speech, Ferenc Miszlivetz, Director of the iASK, said: ‘Kőszeg encourages the institute to link its scientific research with the cultural heritage and economic activities of the region.
The researchers of the institute, Anikó Magasházi and Ágnes Kovács, presented the mission of the institute, the research results of the iASK and the new functions of the buildings renewed in the Kraft programme. The evening featured a performance by Károly Binder, pianist and researcher at the institute, who performed a transcription of Bartók’s For Children. As a result of the artist’s research at the Institute, he will soon be recording a new CD, the next in the series.
The programme featured a piece by Fritz Kreisler, performed by violinist Ernő Sebestyén, accompanied by pianist Márton Kiss. Opera singer András Soskó sang songs by Puccini, Pongrác Kacsóh and Sándor Kárpáti, accompanied by Györgyi Gráf Soskón on piano. At the reception, guests tasted wines and flavours from Kőszeg, the Kőszeg region and the surrounding area, including cigenudli, prepared by women from Kőszegfalva for the occasion. We learned that the Embassy is planning to introduce other Hungarian towns along the border, and Kőszeg and iASK are looking to strengthen their Austrian ties, because as Maria Rauch-Kallat pointed out, Austrian-Hungarian regional cooperation, which is connected by a thousand links, has even greater potential than before.
A video compilation of the event will be published on our website shortly.
