Hungarian-Turkish Friendship Park
Hungarian-Turkish Friendship Park Magyar-Török Barátság Park | |
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Location | Hungary |
Nearest city | Szigetvár |
Coordinates | 46°04′26″N 17°48′50″E / 46.07389°N 17.81389°E |
Area | 1 acre (4,000 m2) |
Created | 1994 |
Open | All-year long |
The Hungarian-Turkish Friendship Park (Hungarian: Magyar-Török Barátság Park, Turkish: Macar-Türk Dostluk Parkı) is a public park in Csertő, southwestern Hungary, dedicated in memorial to the Battle of Szigetvár fought in 1566 between the Ottoman Empire and the Hungarian and Croatian defenders of the Szigetvár Castle. The park was established in 1994 and opened jointly by Hungarian and Turkish officials.
Background
Leading his army in person,
On September 6, Sultan Suleiman unexpectedly died of natural causes at the age of 72 in his big imperial tent beside the battlefield. While his death was kept secret at great effort, Ottoman
Szigetvár remained under Ottoman control for 122 years.[1][3] Between 1596 and 1600, the town was capital of the Ottoman Empire's Sigetvar Eyalet and then became part of the Kanije Eyalet.
During this period, the Ottomans built mosques, Turkish baths and schools. There still exist some buildings in the town dating back to Ottoman time whereas some of the monuments were demolished after recapture by the Habsburg Hungary.[1][3]
Friendship park
It is assumed that the heart and the intestines of Sultan Suleiman were removed following his death and buried somewhere in Szigetvár[4] before his embalmed corpse was taken back to the Empire's capital on a more-than-two-month-long trek.[2][3]
Close to the spot where the heart of Sultan Suleiman is thought to be buried, a friendship park was established on the 500th anniversary of Sultan Suleiman's birth upon the initiative and with the subsidy of the Republic of Turkey.[2] The park was jointly inaugurated by Hungarian Minister of Education Gábor Fodor and Turkish President Süleyman Demirel in September 1994.[1][3][5][6]
The friendship park is situated about 2–3 km (1.2–1.9 mi) northeast of the town on the left-hand side of the road to
In 1996, a drinking fountain in Ottoman architectural style was built in the park with its tiles and marbles sent from Turkey.[6] The park includes also a symbolic grave for Sultan Suleiman's intestines, a symbolic marble türbe, big sculptures of Szigetvár's coat of arms and the tughra of Sultan Suleiman.[1]
Search for burial place of Suleiman's heart
Even though there is no historical evidence to indicate the burial of Sultan Suleiman's heart in Szigetvár, Norbert Pap, a Hungarian
Criticism
When it was opened, the establishment of the park caused objection across Hungary, because it included only the larger-than-life head sculpture of Sultan Suleiman. In 1997, the bust of Nikola IV Zrinski was commissioned to the same sculptor. Its placement of side-by-side, rather than confronting one another, helped to calm down the protesters.[1][7][9]
References
- ^ ISBN 9788896680315. Retrieved 2013-08-26.
- ^ a b c Orhan, Saim (2008-05-29). "Süleyman the Magnificent's unknown grave in Hungary". Today's Zaman. Archived from the original on 2015-06-10. Retrieved 2013-08-27.
- ^ a b c d e f "Auf der Suche nach Sultan Süleymans Herz". Die Welt (in German). 2013-08-25. Retrieved 2013-08-25.
- ^ a b "Muhteşem Süleyman burada aranacak". Sabah (in Turkish). 2012-11-23. Retrieved 2013-08-26.
- ^ a b "Macar-Türk dostluk parkı". Hürriyet (in Turkish). 2008-03-30. Retrieved 2013-08-26.
- ^ a b c "Magyar-Török Barátság Park - Szigetvár" (in Hungarian). Szigetvar Utisugo. Retrieved 2013-08-26.
- ^ ISBN 9781858289175. Retrieved 2013-08-27.
- ^ "HUF to USD". fxtop Historical Rates. Retrieved 2013-08-27.
- ^ Pál Fodor. "Hungarian Perceptions of the Ottoman Empire" (PDF). Institute of History of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-08-12. Retrieved 2013-08-27.