May 2016 - Pécs City Guide - Issue 11

PCG

ND A E FRE NGLISH IN E

Pécs City Guide / May 2016 / Issue 11

INSIDE:

Fragola, Magasház getting a statue, Expats in Pécs, Running tracks and more

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PĂŠcs City Guide May 2016

pecscityguide.com

Contents & Co.

Contents 04 IN BRIEF

Magasház statue, Dry lidos, Zsolnay-war

06 EXPATS

Ural plans his future here

04

08 FEATURES

10 facts about Pécs, Running tracks

12 DRINK & DINE

Gastronauts, Fragola, Szabadkikötő, Heti Betevő

18 TO DO

Laura Gibson, Wine, spices, Pécs, Dalí exhibition, Carmina Burana

22 ESSENTIALS Freemasons

This issue’s cover photo was taken at Tettye park, the most popular park of Pécs. The name is of Turkish origin, tekijeh, that is a building for gatherings of the Sufi brotherhood. The park got a huge overhaul in 2010 and it became even more popular. The nearness of excursion routes, the beautiful Pintér botanical garden and the Tettye cave make it an ideal spot for relaxation.

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HI

, I really hope that this month’s issue gets to you when the real spring has already arrived and you have the chance to follow some of the advice from Pécs City Guide.

Bored by running in the streets we did test several running tracks in the vicinity of the city and found some real gems in the nature. We cover the best of them. This can be said about events too: there are a lot of upcoming concerts, festivals that May 2016 | Issue 11 we can honestly recommend to The free, insert magazine of you. A lot of them are open air Dunántúli Napló in English. events finally.

Editor-in-chief/Publisher: László Póré The next issue will be a sumManaging editor: Ervin Gűth mer special again just like in Contributor: László Nógrádi 2015 and hopefully again on 32 Published by Mediaworks Regionális pages.

Kiadó Kft. Baranya Megyei Irodája Until then, any feedback is Sales manager: Gyöngyi Nagy really appreciated and please Phone: +36 72 505 060, +36 30 9971 006 feel free to contact us at: E-mail: gyongyi.nagy@mediaworks.hu i n f o @ p e c s c i t y g u i d e . c o m .

Printed at Paletta Press Nyomda Kft. Thanks for your attention, and 2092 Budakeszi, Szőlőskert u. 19. see you in June.

ISSN 08659133 Ervin Gűth, editor

Pécs City Guide

3

In Brief

ZSOLNAY FACTORY VS. THE CITY OF PÉCS

MISSING LIDOS

IT’S ONLY SURE THAT PÉCS CITIZENS WANT TO SWIM If you ask someone living in Pécs what the city needs we are quite sure that “more lidos” would in the TOP 5 answers of pretty everybody.

We have witnessed several debates, propositions on the issue and have heard rumours about some “serious” plans but in recent decades nothing has changed. And once again the debate is sparkling since the company owning big

parts of Balokány that had once a popular public outdoor swimming pool and surrounding facilities tries to invest in revitalizing the area and building a recreational centre.

Are we going to get a renewed lido instead of the ruins in the near future then? Only if the city doesn’t build a lido on its own, otherwise the company could change its mind...

MEMENTO MORI

A SMALL MAGASHÁZ TO BE BUILT AT MAGASHÁZ The works are really in progress and we really start to belive that the inevitable end is near. The tallest uninhabited building of Central Europe is going to vanish by the end of the year but city council voted for a memorial! Yes, that’s right the building that was out of order for 25 years is getting a statue at the

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Pécs City Guide May 2016

park that will be arranged after the deconstruction. According to recent plans of the city council the recrational area will have outdoor sport facilities, playgrounds etc. The green area would be a nice addition to the district and we really hope that the process ain’t going to take another 25 years.

It’s quite hard to tell the exact date or move which started the war between investor Bachar Najari and the city of Pécs, but the battles are not fought by words anymore.

Syrian-Hungarian-Swiss businessman Najari saved the prestigious Zsolnay Factory in 2013 and opened up new markets for its luxury ceramic products. That said Najari, who made a fortune with watches, had some interesting moves and has been convicted for the posession of fake watches (9,000 pieces) in 2014. Besides that according to city officials the factory has a huge debt and members of the Zsolnay family have always outed against the businessman.

Pécs major Zsolt Páva asked the government for national protection status for the factory without telling Najari. This lead to the escalation of the war which seems to have been going on for months now.

The circumstances are still not clear and Najari also says that an interest group is trying to take over the factory. Even more interesting is that they showed a letter to the press that proves Pécs did want to sell its stocks. Nothing is for sure yet, but looking at the current situation tells us that this is going to be a long and nasty war. pecscityguide.com

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Expats

URAL IS PLANNING HIS FUTURE HERE Turkey-born Ural Sirkeci (28) finished law school in Vienna – that’s one reason he speaks four languages including Turkish, English and German.

His latest addition is Hungarian, that is also the language of his wife. He opened his shop Juice & Co. last August at Jókai square which became an instant favourite in Pécs.

Is Ural a common first name in Turkey?

It is spelled like the mountain chain in Russia and it is not very common, though it’s gaining on popularity. It’s actually my mother’s family name.

How did you get here?

I studied law in Ankara and I met my now wife there who happened to be from Pécs. She was with the Erasmus programme there. We moved to Vienna at first and we both finished our schools there. We have been living there for five years. I worked as a bar manager and never worked as a professional lawyer. When planning our

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Pécs City Guide May 2016

future we did choose to come back to Pécs and opened this shop, since here was nothing like this.

What was your first impression of the city? What is your first memory?

I arrived here of course with my then girlfriend and it was also my first trip outside of Turkey ever. It was quite different from Ankara since it’s much smaller but somehow very cute too.

I liked Pécs from the very beginning, the small streets etc. Actually, my first memory is from Kanta Bar that used to be where Pécsi Kávé is right now. We arrived at night and met with friends

of my girlfriend. Everybody was very friendly and people from other tables came and talked to me when they learned that I’m from Turkey.

Do you have any favourite places in Pécs?

I love hiking on weekends in the Mecsek hills. Getting a lot of fresh air.

I love Király street, I love the atmosphere there.

Was anything weird for you here?

Actually, I think nothing, maybe that’s why I like Pécs. People who don’t speak English try to connect with me, and somehow I feel there are hidden ties between Hungarians an Turkish people because of our common history. Okay, maybe the buildings from the communist era are a little bit weird next to the beautiful city center.

Are you missing something? What would be great to have in Pecs?

Maybe some really good cocktail bars.

A lot of venues do have cocktails but you can only find old fashioned cocktails like Pina coladas. Sure it would be good to have an as big selection of bars and restaurants as in Budapest or Vienna. In big cities you can try something new every week. This is the downside of small cities.

Do you have a favourite venue?

I love Eleven, it fits absolutely to Pécs.

What do you think that you can shop again on Sundays?

It was the breaking news in April.

I’m very happy that the government changed their ruling after a year and lets people decide freely when to do the shopping. I have only one free day every week, and I want to decide what to do on that day.

Any plans for the future?

I’m going to stay in the gastronomy in Pécs. There are a lot of things missing but I want to keep my project a secret. I will have different branches in the gastronomy business. I’m building a portfolio in gastronomy if you want. We have brainstormings with international students regularly and I keep those ideas in my mind. We want to stay here because it’s very relaxed here. We have a lot of friends and it is an ideal place to raise children. We would have more opportunities e.g. in Budapest, but we also would have much more problems and even more work.

Do you learn Hungarian at a school?

Actually no. I’m mainly learning from customers who come to my shop. pecscityguide.com

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Feature

Weird, interesting or just unknown even by Pécsborn citizens.

We collected 10 facts that may surprise you and help to know the city a little bit better.

1

Fünfkirchen, Sopianae

Okay, maybe this one will not surpise you at all, but the German name of Pécs is Fünfkirchen. But did you know that it’s meaning ‘five churches’ and is a direct translation of Quinque Ecclesiae, the Latin name of the city during the middle ages. Previously, between the 2nd and 5th century, Pécs was called Sopianae by the Romans, and this name comes from a Celtic or Illyrian tribe that lived here.

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Stolperstein

During the 2nd world war 90% of the 3000 jews living in Pécs have been deported and killed. There are several memorials dedicated to the victims but the small bronze tiles (Stolpersteine) at Munkácsy, Lánc, Papnövelde and Szigeti street are part of an international cooperation. German artist Gunther Demnig started an initiative to put small tiles with the name and date of individual victims at their last free street address. They commemorate those who were consigned by the Nazis to prisons, euthanasia facilities, sterilization clinics, concentration camps, and extermination camps, as well as those who responded to persecution by emigrating or committing suicide. There are 18 counties partipicating and already more than 50,000 stolpersteins have been installed.

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Pécs City Guide May 2016

10

facts

youDIDN’T KNOWabout

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PÉCS

Ghost-town

There are several districts in Pécs and most of them have historic or geographic names. So does Árpádváros (City of Árpád), the last of communist style blockhouse neighbourhoods, built in 1987. But almost nobody calls the district by its official name. Everybody is speaking of Szellemváros that means Ghost-town in English. The name has nothing to do with spooky stories or paranormal activity: the district got its nick because of its closest neighbour which is the city cemetery.

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Oldest grape vine

There are several disputed entries in the Guinness World Records book, and one of these is the title of The Oldest Grape Vine. The Old Vine in Maribor, Slovenia is at least 400 years old and has a well documented history. That said, it’s quite possible that the oldest vine is in Papnövelde street in Pécs. Experts say the plant is at least 100 years older than the official record holder, but it’s hard to tell how old it really is since it could be told for sure with an analysis that could be lethal for the plant. pecscityguide.com

5

Underground

You can visit the cellars of the champagne factory at Szent István square any time, but there are several other huge and connected tunnels under the city center. Nobody really knows how many. The wealthiest citizens of Pécs had huge cellars and kept wine there, and because tax evasion is nothing new there are lot of hidden tunnels where people could hide their goods from tax collectors.

Most of these have been found and are in use, but not all of them.

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Oysters

In recent years the gastronomy of the city got better and better, but we should always keep in mind that previous ages also had their best practices. Historians have discovered that during Roman times the rich had fresh oysters available in Sopianae. The goods were delivered from the Adria and cooled with ice. Yes, it was insanely expensive but they managed it to bring them to Pécs before expiration date. An accomplishment that’s somehow still a challenge...

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Dracula’s house

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The Liverpool of Hungary

Why would anybody say something like that? Not because of the climate, the buildings or any other similarities, but the influence in music.

That’s right, since the 1960s the Pécs had such a vivid and influential music life that people started to compare it to the influence that Liverpool had on the music life of the UK. Actually, this comparison has been started by cultural and music journalists, but there must be some thruth in the term. Just two facts: in the last three decades there was always at least one band from Pécs between the most popular groups of Hungary. In the 1990s there was Kispál es a borz, in the 2000s 30Y. And in the 2010s it’s Halott Pénz (pic above) and Punnany Massif, both that popular right now that both are playing on the main stage of Sziget Festival. And the second fact: let’s not forget about all the small local bands. In January 2016 almost 100 performed during a one-day festival organized for them. And why are so many bands in Pecs? Maybe because of the climate or the buildings that are so different from Liverpool. Or there is something in the water.

Common knowledge is that you can’t dig a hole in the city centre without finding some relics. This is exactly what happened in 2009 when the reconstruction of Széchenyi square started: archeologists found the cellar of the house of Vlad Tepes, whose cruelties inspired Bram Stoker’s classic Dracula. There is no evidence that the prince ever visited Pécs, but several nobles had houses in the city, that was very rich in the 13th-15th century.

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The Oldest House

The Zsolnay Museum in Káptalan street is one of the most popular tourist destinations in town.

The marvellous collection of ceramics, and relics of the Zsolnay dynasty is worth a visit but the building has a remarkable history on its own. According to the museum this is the oldest house in town that is still standing. It was already there in 1324, at which time it functioned as the house of the grand provost.

10

The Bauhaus connection

Looking at the city scape it isn’t obvious at all that Pécs has strong ties to the Bauhaus movement.

But fact is that 7 of the 20 Hungarian Bauhaus members are from the city. Only a few works of Marcell Breuer, Alfréd Forbát, Farkas Molnár, Andor Weininger, Hugó Johan, Henrik Stefán and Etel Kovács can be seen in the city and most of them aren’t in a good condition. One of the most successful exhibitions of 2010, when Pécs was the European Capitol of Culture, was dedicated to their works.

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Feature

RUNNING TRACKS It’s never too late to start running. You only need a good pair of shoes and determination. Sure, you can do it on the streets, but the clean air and inspiring atmosphere, the quality of the tracks make it an even more exciting experience. Getting to these places is not always easy, but definitely worth stepping out of your comfort zone.

Rotary

The route on Mecsek hill is actually an educational trail for botanics that was set up in the 1930s. The 3 km long track (this is the official distance, but my running app measures 3.4 km) takes you around the Small-Tubes and Tubes. It’s an ideal running track since there is almost no elavation. The ground is also very good, easy to handle for your knees and ankles. Since it is a very good track it can get crowded, especially in the weekends when familes go hiking, but there should be no problem if you go early enough. It can be reached by car at Lapis-road (there is a small parking lot). Or you can take the 35Y bus from Kórház square to Misina tető and look for the signs.

Tüskésrét

The lake used to be the dumpster for the power station of Pécs, but the coal plant has been transformed and is 100% green now.

Meanwhile, the recultivation of the area has been finished and it’s absolutely safe now. The wakeboard track here is popular but citizens come to the lake because of the running track. The 1.2 km long track is ideal for beginners and advanced runnners too.

The outdoor training facilities are great.

Though there are some downsides here: a lot of people don’t use the track properly and the toilet is only available when the wakeboard track is open. It has a huge parking lot but it’s easy to get there by bike or several bus lines (e.g. 6, 41, 42, 123, 71).

Malomvölgy

The Malomvölgy lakes are in the outskirts of Pécs and a very popular destination for family picnics. A lot of citizens call Malomvölgy their ultimate running track. The track is usually in good condition and there are signs indicating the distance every 500 m.

There is one smaller and one bigger route.

This first option is to run around the big lake only which brings you to 3.4 km. The lengthier track brings you to around 5 km.

This is what the signs say, but run tracking apps measured a somewhat smaller distance. You can find toilets and rain shelters, and the atmosphere is lovely. The biggest problem is getting there if you don’t have a car, but biking is another option.

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Pécs City Guide May 2016

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Drink & Dine

YOU CAN BE A GASTRONAUT Last year saw a successful start for the Gastronaut Festival in Pécs, offering several locations, dozens of delicacies and plenty of activities for an action packed day in the heart of the city.

The second festival concentrates on five locations in and near Király street, mostly courts that are somewhat off the busiest tracks. But for this one day, these confined spaces open up and attract the gastronauts, tempting them to visit each and spend a whole day getting to know to new tastes, sounds and people.

Let’s start our tour – obviously on foot – in the western outpost, the Picnic Court in Káptalan street, offering family events in real picnic-spirit, local gastro products and straightforward street food. A little downhill stroll takes us to the Brewer Court (inside the

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Pécs City Guide May 2016

block of Jókai and All’ Elefante) where beer is the drink to go for together with matching snacks. The entertainment is served by a brass band, loud and clear.

Just over Széchenyi square awaits the Gourmet Court, set up in Nick passage, connecting the main square and Király street. Here you can expect great local wines with finger food, garnished with stylish of jazz and classical music.

Of course, you could stay here for the rest of the day, but hey, why not see the rest? Drop by Király street 9, the courtyard of the downtown library. Here retro is still king: under the name of Cup Court, traditional coffee and tea can be enjoyed (most ideally with biscuits) in the company of literary works in musical setting. Király street has even more to offer: just get to Szabadkikötő and its Reform Court, where special diets like

gluten free, living and raw foods meet eco-conscious living and alternative music. As a special supplement, a local design store joins with a pop-up street fair, so shopping for trendy merchandise is also an option.

How does all this come together during a whole day and basically for free? A group of enthusiasts believes in events where the inner city can be turned to a meeting space for local businesses, citizens and tourists with the power of sampling, conversations, activities and generally having a good time. The events start at around 10am and lasts roughly until 7pm, so there is plenty of time to wander around and discover. Should you need experts to show you around, VisitPécs! also offers guided bike tours and organized walks. pecscityguide.com

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Drink & Dine SPICE IT UP

SZABADKIKÖTÖ HAS A GREAT VEGETARIAN DAILY MENU Király street is getting longer and longer. Okay, not physically but in recent years there is a process that makes it worth walking all the way from Széchenyi square to the other end. This was started by Nappali and later Streat joined the game. A little more than a year ago Szabadkikötő became the latest addition and I did love their concept from the very beginning. The place did grow in terms of space and offers too, that’s why it was time to pay a visit again.

The glasshouse behind the bar is a great spot in the winter but I have doubts that it will work during daytime

in the summer. That said, I like the ruin pub atmosphere and it’s quite cozy already in the morning. But I was heading there for their vegetarian lunch menu.

I had to wait a little bit, so I started with a coffee and it was much more than okay. The selected beans come from Lumen that is a coffee shop and micro roastery in Budapest. The other beverage offers are also good: several craft beers are available. I also do love that they have a lot of wines from the Tolna wine region.These are quite undervalued despite the fact that you can find real gems. But drinking alcohol was not the purpose of my visit.

I always do appreciate new vegetarian options in Pécs and Szabadkikötő has a daily offer for customers concerned about healthy eating. Though it’s not an all day option since they start serving lunch at 11.30am until they run out of supplies. So you have to get there in time. The last time I had a great potato soup and vegetarian patty with a spicy vegetable sauce and cornmeal. A soup and a main dish cost HUF950. They do have a lot of recipes, it doesn’t get boring easily. They use a lot of spices, fresh ingredients and these are just enough reasons to give it a try.

pécsi sör in the bottle Great news from one of the oldest breweries of Hungary: the latest addition to their product line is called Pécsi Sör, meaning ‘beer from Pécs’. Actually the beer was already available for some years but only on tap.

The - almost - new brand follows a recipe from the 1920s that has been updated to meet the needs of present day customers. What you get is a smooth taste achieved by the usage of quality ingredients. Did you know that only the purest karst water from

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Pécs City Guide May 2016

the Mecsek is used for the recipes of the brewery? You will have the chance to taste Pécsi Sör and several other unique beers from the factory at the traditional May Beer Festival on location. That’s right in the factory. During the two daya several live performances, concerts take care of your entertainment. Of course, no beer festival can’t exist without proper food to get you through the day.

May Beer Festival, May 20-21, Pécs Brewery (Alkotmány st 94) pecscityguide.com

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Drink & Dine

heti betevő Once again there is a great charity action gaining ground in town: more and more pubs, restaurants and coffee shops deploy a jar next to their cash registers. They don’t collect tips for themselves but collect money for the Heti Betevő action group.

COOL & DELICIOUS

FRAGOLA SERVES SOME OF THE BEST ICE CREAMS The competition between ice cream shops hasn’t been that fierce in years.

There are at least three shops where you can go for sure, and we are happy that the Hungarian franchise Fragola opened recently its first shop in Pécs.

They have several shops in Budapest, and other Hungarian cities and these always differ slightly from each other.

Their ice cream is not made in Pécs

Finally, Király street has great ice cream too in the shop on Király street, but comes from Budapest. This circumstance does not bother us at all, we do understand that this can be a good way of quality assurance.

And when we speak of quality we know what we are talking about. We

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Pécs City Guide May 2016

tried several different flavours and all of their craft ice cream had equally good properties. One typical feature of craft ice cream is that they don’t use any artificial flavouring. For the untrained tongue, this can be a little bit frustrating since the natural flavours aren’t as intense as artificial substitutes, but on the long run you can easily understand why these ice creams are more superior.

Their taste is much more complex, and you have to pay attention to realize that.

One portion costs HUF250 but there are weekly offers and special discounts. We tested the Chocolate chili, the Caramellized figs, Coffee, and Yoghurt-strawberry flavours.

All of them are excellent in taste though only the coffee and yoghurt-strawberry will be favourites. The chili-chocolate isn’t hot it has just a little twist, but definitely not what you would expect from an ice-cream. There are zillion tastes to try and that’s what we are going to do.

The idea of collecting donations at shops isn’t new at all, but Heti Betevő, that started in Budapest, makes the process quite transparent. Not just literally.

They collect local donations and deliver free meals to locals in need.

This way the community sees where their money is going almost instantly. The organizers of the movement in Pécs hand out free food every second week - this is the timeframe when enough money can be collected for sure.

Almost 20 venues do already have jars set up next to their cash registers, and even more are expected to join. You can find a map of participating venues on Facebook. See more: fb.com/pecsihetibetevo. pecscityguide.com

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17

To Do

CARMINA BURANA

FOLK POP

KINO SESSIONS: LAURA GIBSON <US> The Oregon-born singer-songwriter, Laura Gibson may not be one of the best known artists from the US, but her work is usually well received by critics all around the world. But if the badge “critically acclaimed” is not enough for you, just listen to her songs like La Grande. Her biggest success upto-date is a melancholic, dark piece

packed with lots of energy and great rhythms (and rhymes). Her latest album titled Empire Builder came out on April 1 and she tours all around Europe until the end of May. The free live performance at Trafik is brought to the audince by Kinos Sessions.

May 5, 9pm, Trafik (Perczel st 22) Free. More: lauragibsonmusic.com

The Carl Orff classic’s adaptation for two pianos and percussion is not an everyday delight absolutely worth to listen to. The playlist of the evening gets another twist by starting with Ravel’s Bolero.

May 14, 6pm, Kodály Centre (Breuer Marcell st 4) HUF 990-2900.

Info: pecsprogram.hu

ZSOLNAY PICNIC

WINE, SPICES & MUSIC If there was an award for the Most Often Re-branded Event of Pécs our nominee would be the first real outdoor festival at Széchenyi square. It changed its name (right now: Bor, Mámor, Pécs) and its focus several times, but there are always just enough re-occuring elements that make it still recognizable. For example the extreme grilling contest (open registration for teams in advance)

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Pécs City Guide May 2016

or the free concerts by Hungarian jazz, folk, rock and blues artists.

For the second time, a great addition to the 4 day event is the selection of the Wine of Pécs on May 6, 3pm at Pécs Gallery. Everybody can participate and help to decide which the official wines of the city for one year should be.

May 4-8, Széchenyi sq. Free. More: fb.com/pecsifesztival

Thanks to mild spring weather cultural and arts festivals can go open air for sure in the end of May and Zsolnay Picnic is a one weekend long take of the genre where free events and evening concerts peacefully complement eachother at the lovely cultural centre.

May 20-22, Zsolnay Cultural Quarter Info: pecsprogram.hu pecscityguide.com

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To Do

PREVIEW: EVENTS IN JUNE

Metamorphosis

On this evening Kelemen Quartett (see pic) joins the Kodály Centre resident Pannon Philharmonics for the second time. On program: the overture from Carl Maria Von Weber’s Oberon; Bohuslav Martinu: Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra; Paul Hindemith: Symphonic metamorphoses of themes by Weber.

June 2, 7pm, Kodály Centre (Breuer Marcell st 4) HUF 10004990. Info: pfz.hu/en

Metronom Jazz Club pres. Kriszta Pocsai SURREAL

DALÍ’S GRAPHIC ART Spanish surrealist icon Salvador Dalí (1904–1989) illustrated several literary works. The exhibition at Vasváry-ház honors mainly the painters works created for and inspired by Dante’s Divine Comedy. Some lesser-known playing card illustrations by the master are on display too.

German art-collector Thomas Emmerling started collecting litographs influenced by Dalí’s words “Welcome into my brain” some decades ago. His initial goal was to have all the works by the painter that are inspired by Dante Alighieri’s 14th-century epic poem Divine Comedy. The collection is now on display in Pécs.

The classic poem from the 15th century Italy describes Dante’s travels through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise and is divided in three sections accordingly. At a deeper level, it represents, al-

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Pécs City Guide May 2016

legorically, the soul’s journey towards God. Just the perfect inspiration for the surrealist painter.

The exhibition has 100 works about the epic poem on display but the painters other print works can be seen too.

Much could about them said but maybe one word is enough: Dalí.

Another unique addition is delivered by the limited edition French playing cards illustrated by the surrealist icon.

April 28-October 29, Tue-Sun: 10am4pm, Vasváry-ház (Király st 19), HUF650 /1150.

The monthly jazz concerts at Zsolnay Cultural Quarter are the most reliable live events in terms of quality. This time with Krisztina Pocsai and her trio. The singer earned reputation as a music teacher, speech therapist and vocal therapist. The setlist will include her own compositions as well as well-known standards.

June 8, 8pm, E78 (Zsolnay Cultural Quarter) HUF 990/1300.

Pannon Wine Region TOP 25

The best wines of the Villány, Szekszárd, Pécs, Tolna wine region are introduced at this annual event. And wich are the best? The best are chosen by a selected jury of independent wine experts who judge the samples at a blind test. It’s really worth to get the tickets in advance since there is only place for 300 people.

June 11,3pm-8pm, Hotel Palatinus (Király st) HUF4000/5000. pecscityguide.com

21

Essentials

FROM ABOVE by Ervin Gűth

F

lying has been an unfulfilled dream of mankind for several thousand years. Every ancient civilization admired and depicted flying creatures – some of them living only in legends.

Even in late medieval and early modern times there were only attempts to make flying possible and several of these trial and error experiments ended in serious injury or death. But thanks to brave and obsessed man experimenting went on for centuries. Finally, in the beginning of the 20th century, slightly more than 100 years ago, flying became a real possibility available to the masses.

Suprisingly, the citizens of Pécs could have their first encounter with a flying machine already in 1907, during an agricultural exhibition. And it only took less than two more decades to have an airport in the city.

Maybe ‘airport’ is a too strong and definite word, you shouldn’t think of anything like today. Let’s say it was an airport-like facility. Located at what is called Uránváros today (Tüzér street) a huge area functioned as a place for

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Pécs City Guide May 2016

take-offs and landings. When not in use by air traffic – this means most of the time – it operated as a trotting ground for horses. Legendary times indeed.

Civilian airborne transport and scheduled flights have a long tradition in Hungary, and in Pécs too. There were regular domestic flights that connected Budapest and Pécs already from the second half of the 1920s. Even one unit of the first Hungarian air force, called Vörös Kakas (Red Cock), was stationed here. And this was the decade when the first civilian flying associations started operation in town.

struction a whole new district called Uránváros has been born. The airport had to leave town and was relocated to a nearby village, Pogány. Domestic flights were operated by state owned companies but all lines have been cancelled in 1961. There was not enough money and demand. And these are familiar problems even today.

Also the first hijack in Hungarian history is connected to the Pécs-Kaposvár-Budapest domestic airline: in 1949 two passengers forced the plane to land not at its original destination but in Switzerland. A quite unique way of fleeing from communist Hungary.

Despite the fact that the airport’s runway has been renewed in 2003 and the facilities three years later there are no regular domestic or international flights. Austrian Airlines’ flights connected Pécs with Vienna only for a couple of months in 2006. There used to be charter flights to Bulgaria and Greece but these have been also cancelled due to financial problems. There are always plans that the airport should be developed (the biggest problem is that the runway is only 1.5 km long), but another fact is that nothing really happened ever since.

A new chapter started in 1956, exactly 60 years ago. The growing city needed more housing possibilities: after several years of planning and con-

We can list only three main reasons to keep the airport alive: there are a lot of hobby pilots, the emergency helicopter stationed in Pogány, and hope... pecscityguide.com

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