Day of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 (15/03)

On March 15, Hungarians celebrate one of the national holidays — Revolution Day 1848.

On this day in 1848, the «Hungarian Spring» — bourgeois revolution began in the city of Pest (now part of Budapest), the bloodless national liberation movement of the Hungarians for independence from the power of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty, which later escalated into a war against Austria and its allies.

The main demands of the Hungarians were freedom of the press, the creation of a Hungarian parliament and government in Pest. The revolutionaries also demanded the abolition of serfdom, freedom of religion, the creation of a national bank, their own Hungarian army and the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country.

As a result of negotiations between independence fighters and Emperor Franz Joseph II, most of their demands were met. This was recorded in the so-called «April laws», signed by the monarch. The first government responsible to the Hungarian parliament was headed by Count Lajos Battyani.

Despite the bloodless nature of the transformations, the independence of the Hungarians was disadvantageous to the Austrian imperial house, so Franz Joseph II soon negotiates with the Russian Tsar for military assistance to suppress Hungarian love of freedom. Confrontation of interests turns into an armed conflict.

In August 1849, Hungarians seeking independence were defeated. Thirteen generals of the revolutionary army and five civilian leaders of independent Hungary were executed, and among them was the first prime minister of the independent country, Count L. Battyani.

The Hungarians managed to partially regain the freedoms briefly achieved by the revolutionaries only two decades later, when in 1867 the Agreement was concluded to transform the Habsburg Empire into a dualistic (dual) monarchy of Austria-Hungary.

Austria and Hungary were recognized as sovereign parts of the same state, and there was a partial separation of legislative and executive powers (at the level of the Austrian Reichsrat/Hungarian Sejm and ministries). The main role in governing the country was played by the Austrian emperor, who at the same time had the title of Hungarian king.

This day began to be celebrated as a public holiday in Hungary after the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, in 1918. Every year on March 15, Hungarian tricolors are hung throughout the country and various ceremonial and festive events take place.

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