Hungarian Heritage in Turkey
Dear Visitors,
Welcome to this website dedicated to Hungarian heritage sites in Turkey.
As you explore the site, you can tour Turkey and view memorial sites that are connected in some way to Hungarian history. Our journey through time begins with the Byzantine Empire, continues through the Ottoman Empire, and extends from the founding of the Republic of Turkey to the present day. Geographically, it covers nearly every part of the country, from Istanbul to Ankara, from Izmir to Muğla, from Tekirdağ to Kars, or from Boyabat to Osmaniye.
There are numerous sites of Hungarian significance in many towns across Turkey, the management, supervision, and research of which are carried out by the Hungarian diplomatic missions in Turkey—the Embassy in Ankara and the Consulate General in Istanbul—as well as the Liszt Institute– Hungarian Cultural Center in Istanbul, in cooperation with institutions in Hungary, particularly the Hungarian National Museum. Since the Hungarian Institute reopened in Istanbul in 2013, it has regarded the identification, research, documentation, presentation, and promotion of Hungarian memorial sites in Turkey as a key goal from the outset. This topic includes notable artifacts (such as the candlesticks taken from the Matthias Church in Buda during the reign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, which are now in Hagia Sophia), as well as sites associated with specific individuals or events (whether it be Saint Piroska of the Árpád dynasty, namely the mosaic portrait of Empress Irene in Hagia Sophia, the memorial plaque for Hungarians imprisoned in the Seven Towers, the Gallipoli Battle Memorial, or the house where Ferenc Liszt stayed). There are also a number of tombs (the grave of Ibrahim Müteferrika, the Ottoman printer of Hungarian descent, the Hungarian sections and graves in the Protestant or Catholic cemeteries in Feriköy), as well as memorial parks (the Hungarian-Turkish Friendship Park in Zonguldak or in Pendik, Istanbul) and memorial exhibitions (the Béla Bartók memorial exhibition in Osmaniye, or the exhibition of Hungarian heroes who fought on the Caucasian front in Kars).
The most complex cases are those where entire buildings or building complexes have survived. These buildings may be those once built by Hungarians, such as houses in Milas or Ankara erected by Hungarian master builders, or those linked to a Hungarian historical event or figure. Perhaps the most complex examples of the latter are the buildings in Rodosto associated with Ferenc Rákóczi II and his entourage, the residence of the Transylvanian envoys in Istanbul, or the Lajos Kossuth Memorial Museum in Kütahya.
It is well known that Ottoman-Hungarian and later Turkish-Hungarian relations deeply influenced the language, culture, and history of both peoples. The leaders of the 18th- and 19th-century Hungarian revolutions and wars of independence—including Imre Thököly, Ferenc Rákóczi II, and Lajos Kossuth—found refuge in Ottoman territories, and as a result, numerous relics from this era have survived to the present day, which you can explore on this website. Then, at the beginning of the 20th century, following World War I and the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey, numerous Hungarian experts and construction workers arrived to participate in the country’s development, so their legacy is also visible at every turn. Their names are associated with work related to the development of Turkish architecture, water management, agriculture, and even meteorology. We have collected all these stories—some significant, some small, and all personal—here for you.
The trilingual database, covering all of Turkey, can also be browsed by city. At the same time, you can search for keywords on the search interface. The list of memorial sites is constantly expanding. We are indebted to everyone who participated in its preparation.
We hope you enjoy your time here and wish you pleasant browsing and exploring.
