Hungary's famous parliament is in Istanbul

The exhibition titled "Parliament on the Banks of the Danube" brings the architectural history of the Hungarian Parliament building, its values in the fields of fine and applied arts, and its representative spaces to Istanbul with the aim of strengthening cultural relations between the two countries.

The exhibition also touches upon the political relations between Hungarians and Turks in the 20th and 21st centuries. In addition to bringing together ceramics, glass, furniture, paintings, and sculptures belonging to the parliament, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage list, the exhibition also features a painting depicting the unique characteristics of the world-famous Zsolnay ceramics and other decorative elements of the structure.

Another goal of the exhibition is to raise visibility regarding the building's representative and cultural values and to increase interest in the structure from a tourism perspective.

Dedicated to the Hungarian Parliament, one of the oldest legislative buildings in Europe, this exhibition was prepared jointly by the Public Collections and Cultural Directorate of the Parliament Office, the Embassy of Hungary in Ankara, and the Liszt Institute - Hungarian Cultural Center Istanbul within the framework of the 2024 Hungarian-Turkish Cultural Year.

The exhibition was opened under the leadership of Hungarian Speaker of the National Assembly László Kövér, who came to Istanbul with a delegation for a series of visits, together with Hungarian Ambassador to Turkey Viktor Mátis, Consul General Attila Pintér, Director of the Hungarian Cultural Center Áron Sipos, and Istanbul Provincial Director of Culture and Tourism Dr. Coşkun Yılmaz.

Following Kövér, who touched upon the importance of Hungarian-Turkish friendship in his opening speech, Mátis presented the Hungarian Order of Merit to musician, translator, and founding president of the Istanbul Hungarian Culture and Friendship Association, Erdal Şalikoğlu.