Events of the King Matthias memorial year have been held at over 150 locations ranging from Canada to Arini (Magyarfalu) in Romania’s Moldavia region to commemorate his 575th birth anniversary and the 560th anniversary of his coronation. The state secretary in charge of Hungarian communities abroad Árpád János Potápi commissioned the House of Hungarians to organise the commemorative events one year ago, House of Hungarians director Krisztina Csibi told a press conference. Events included concerts, exhibitions, theatre performances, tale recitals, school competitions, scholarly conferences, pilgrimages and Renaissance shows, she said.
National Bank of Hungary director Barnabás Virág presented at the event a memorial coin issued in two versions with identical designs, one a 20,000 forint sterling silver piece, and the other a 2,000 forint in copper-nickel. He said the coins pay tribute to Matthias with representations of artefacts from his life. The central motif on one side is a half-length bust of the king from a detail from the relief of him in Bautzen, Germany, which accurately depicts him in arms with his regalia, he added. Reigning between 1458 and 1490, Matthias was Hungary’s first elected king and one of the most popular figures in the country’s history.