Recommendation

Owing to its recreational and spa-touristic features, for centuries the city of Balatonfüred (Hungary) has been forged to become a multicultural community, which could use the religious and ethnic differences of the city to help forward its development. The Church of Saint Margaret, being one of the oldest and symbolic buildings of this historic cooperation, used to function as a Catholic church in the Middle Ages, then a Reformed one and in the second half of the 19th century it became the synagogue of the Jewish community of Balatonfüred. At present it is abandoned and unused making it inadequate to be visited by those interested.

The city would like to renovate the building from the tender source of the Norwegian Fund (Code Number: HU07PA16-A1-2013).

In close coordination with monument protection regulations, the local municipality of Balatonfüred – provided that the financial background of the work is obtained –is intending to construct a multifunctional and cultural facility, which will be capable of hosting venues and exhibitions for the “upper” cultural segment of the city. Apart from the City Library, there are no other facilities in this district of the city that would possess similar functions.

Reconstructions will include the church building, the extension wing, the churchyard, building new parking lots and other constructions of foot- and cycle paths to make the facility accessible for the public.

This year, as a Holocaust anniversary, serves as a great occasion for the opening exhibition of the reconstructed building, and would commemorate the Jewish Nobel-prize winners. Instead of cherishing sorrowful memories of the past, this exhibition wishes to present inventions and life-work achievements that have significant effect on our everyday lives. By doing so, we intend to strengthen the awareness of visitors that our present world and environment is a mutual heritage of our religious and ethnic diversity and that racial discrimination of a particular community is our very own common loss. Achieving our goals this time would not come about by the means of traditional museum methods, but by such interactive solutions that are capable of bringing the significance of these inventions the closest possible to the visitors. There would be opportunity to set up a great range of modern IT and visual solutions that would leave lasting experiences to those coming to visit the premises.

Balatonfüred, being one of the most visited touristic centers of Hungary, ensures that the attendance of the exhibition be outstanding on both national and international levels.

Taking all the above into consideration, we welcome and support this tender of the city.