May 23, 2024
In the central basin of Hungary lies very fertile marshland and a tiny town time has all but forgotten. The 16,000 or so Magyar descendants who live in the town of Kalocsa are working hard to remain relevant and preserve the heritage of which they are so proud.
It is not known exactly where the Magyar tribes that settled here originated from, but our guide was very clear that it is the Magyars with whom the townspeople identify, not the Europeans. Based on the traditional garb of the horsemen represented in the equestrian show we saw, our guide is probably safe in assuming his heritage is Mongolian, or at least from that same region. Pam’s research indicates that the tribes are thought to have come from the Ural Mountains, which range from the Artic Ocean to Northwest Kazakhstan. These were the first people to settle in Kalocsa, around the same time Hungary was established. This makes Kalocsa one of Hungary’s oldest towns.
Things were going along pretty well for them for a while – King Stephen established an archdiocese here, along with a school, and between education and agriculture it was kind of a big deal in Hungary. But the Turks invaded in 1529, causing people to flee and the town kind of faded away. Then, in 1602, a Calvinist Army burned the town to the ground. After 148 years of rule, the Turks left in 1686, setting fire to the castle on their way out. The archbishop returned, recovered the lands, and in 1737 the town was officially incorporated.
Forty years later there were still only 90 or so people in the town, and the peasants owned the land. Because of the clergy and the schools, the majority of them were well educated. They grew Kalocsa back into an important part of Hungary, but it never regained its earlier stature, and was essentially by-passed by the industrial developments that followed. In fact, they lost the rank of town in 1886.
They regained their rank as a town in 1921, only to be invaded by the Nazis 20 years later. If our guide is any indication this is still a very sore point for the residents of Kalocsa. Buildings used to house Nazi troops and leaders lay in ruin, serving as the grounds for paintball skirmishes and illegal marijuana gardens. If they hadn’t been built so well the people probably would have torn the ugly things down a long time ago, according to our guide. The town would much rather focus on their Magyar history, and that’s what we did, beginning with Holy Trinity Square.
Holy Trinity Square includes the Archiepiscopal Palace, built in 1760 to replace the burned down castle; the Holy Trinity Column, a tribute to St. John of Nepomuk, St. Sebastianus and St. Florian; St. Joseph Cathedral (built in 1760); and, to the right of the cathedral, the Great Seminar Building, which was built between 1757 and 1764 and is now home to the House of Culture of Kalocsa.
The church is the fourth to be built in this spot. The three statues across the top on the outside are St. Peter, St. Paul and the Virgin Mary. It doesn’t look like much on the outside, but the inside is bright and airy and one of the prettiest we’ve visited.
Its organ, built 1866-67, has 1,668 pipes that range in size from 1″ to 16’5″. It may mean something to our organ playing friends that the organ has 64 variations and only one pedal. We don’t know what any of that means, but we’re guessing it’s impressive. We were treated to a concert of five classical pieces, including two by Bach and one by DuBois.
Driving through fertile farmlands we made our way to the Bakodpusztao Equestrian Center. We were met by a csiko (pronounced chico), who escorted us through the gates and onto the property, cracking his whip all the way to let everyone know we had arrived. Oboe music followed us to the seating area, where traditional refreshments of wine, elderberry juice and white bread drizzled with honey, sprinkled with paprika and topped with slivers of red onion awaited us (it tasted pretty much like you might imagine).
The purpose of the show is to educate visitors about the early life of the Magyars in Kalocsa and the importance of the cattle and horses in those times. We began with grey cattle.
Grey cattle are very strong, resilient animals. They are able to go long distances without tiring or losing any of their weight, which made them a great commodity for the Magyars to take to European markets far away. The cattle provided a good source of income for the people of Kalocsa.
Next came the horses. The csikos carried long whips that make a cracking sound, like fireworks or gunfire, when they are snapped. They do not use the whips directly on the horses’ flesh but crack them as a form of communication. A positive effect of this is that because they were used to the sound of the whip the horses did not spook at the sound of gunfire. Csikos were considered the “aristocrats” of the peasant world; they were the only ones who could afford horses, but according to the emcee of today’s program they may also have been considered by some to be outlaws. They also drove the cattle to market and might encounter bad guys on the way. The horses didn’t spook in a gunfight, and they were taught to sit and lay down on command, so the csikos could hide in tall grass and evade capture.
The mud is so thick and difficult to navigate, the Magyars used three horses to pull their wagons. The third horse is tied directly to the back wheel.
Rich people would use four horses. They also had a second person ride along in the back, not so they could be chauffeured, but to help maintain balance on rough roads and sharp curves. As the driver sped around the arena the csiko in the back quickly moved from side to side to keep the wagon from overturning.
The horsemen also use games to train themselves and their horses. They used their whip to knock down blocks as they were galloping past, a skill that helped them when hunting small game. They galloped around the arena carrying a large glass of liquid to see who could make it back to the front of the stands with the most liquid remaining in their glass. And they played a version of Capture the Flag, where one csiko would ride holding a scarf in his mouth while it trailed behind him and the other csikos tried to ride alongside and steal it. There was a mule in the performance who stole the show, and, of course, he won this game.
The grand finale was the Lipizzaner Stallions. One man riding two horses standing up while being led by eight other horses. Talk about balance!
It was a pleasant morning, and now we are on our way to Croatia!
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