Three Hungarian municipalities, namely Veszprém, Iszkaszentgyörgy (central Hungary) and Nagykálló (eastern Hungary), have submitted bids for the title of Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture in 2016, a representative of the Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture office said.

The initiative of the Youth Association of Finno-Ugric Peoples (MAFUN) is aimed at strengthening the national identity of Finno-Ugric nations – Estonia, Finland and Hungary – and ethnic Finno-Ugric communities living in Russia. Péter Aranyi said it was the second time Veszprém has submitted its application, while the town of Nagykálló and the village of Iszkaszentgyörgy are newcomers. Mr. Aranyi said all three applications meet the formal requirements. Given that last year’s Capital of Culture was a southeast Estonian village, localities in the Baltic region cannot apply this year. Applications may be submitted by cities and villages in northern Russia, municipalities along the Volga River and Hungarian-speaking cities and villages of the Carpathian Basin.

Mr. Aranyi said there was a good chance for a Hungarian locality to be announced the winner, as geographic rotation is also taken into account when evaluating applications submitted between 2014 and 2017 and because the Russian regions were unlikely to submit applications.

via hungarymatters.hu

photo: finugor.ru