iustitia.bg
Festive light projections illuminating the façade of the National Museum, Budapest, March 15, 2025
March 15 marks the birth of modern parliamentary Hungary, commemorating the start of the Civic Revolution and the War of Independence of 1848–49. The aim of the revolution was to end Habsburg rule, secure national independence, and establish a constitutional system.
On March 15, 1848, a revolution broke out in Pest-Buda, as it did in many other European cities. It was driven by the ideals of national and universal freedom and by demands for sweeping civic and political reform.
The Opposition Circle of Pest – a radical group of young intellectuals – had already entered the political arena on March 5, 1848, by joining the debates of the estate-based Diet in Pressburg. They launched a signature campaign supporting the proposal submitted by Lajos Kossuth on March 3.
Kossuth called for an equal sharing of public burdens, political equality, popular representation, and the creation of an independent Hungarian government.
Originally, the campaign was planned for March 19, followed by a reform banquet modeled on French political gatherings at Rákos Field. There the organizers intended to present their famous Twelve Points, in which the key demands of Kossuth’s proposal were distilled into revolutionary slogans by József Irinyi.
Events soon overtook those plans. On the evening of March 14, news reached Pest-Buda that revolution had broken out in Vienna the day before. The young activists gathered at the Pilvax Café decided to act immediately.
Pilvax Café, a key location of the revolutionary events of 1848. Colored pen drawing by József Preiszler. Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
On the morning of March 15, Sándor Petőfi, Pál Vasvári, Mór Jókai, and Gyula Bulyovszky revised the introduction to the Twelve Points addressed to the Diet and drafted a declaration explaining their political actions.
The manifesto was read aloud to the young men assembled in the Pilvax Café. Petőfi then recited his poem “Nemzeti dal” (“National Song”), written two days earlier and originally intended for the reform banquet scheduled for March 19. Soon afterward, Petőfi and about ten of his companions set off from the café in a light drizzle toward the universities. They first addressed medical students, then students of the Technical University, and finally law students. At each stop the declaration and the Twelve Points were read out, while Petőfi recited his poem.
Manuscript of Sándor Petőfi’s poem “Nemzeti Dal” (“National Song”). Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
As students and passersby joined the movement, the increasingly enthusiastic crowd grew to around two thousand people. Led by Petőfi, they marched to the nearby Landerer and Heckenast printing house at the corner of Hatvani Street (today: Kossuth Lajos Street) and Szép Street.
There, the leaders of the youth movement seized the printing presses in the name of the people and printed the “National Song” and the Twelve Points without censorship.
Shortly before noon, József Irinyi personally distributed the leaflets—the first printed products of Hungary’s free press.
The text of the Twelve Points was later slightly revised; the final demand was expanded to include “Union with Transylvania.”
Encouraged by their success, the revolutionaries organized a mass rally at 3 p.m. in front of the National Museum. By then the crowd had swelled to tens of thousands. From there they marched to the Pest city council, persuading its members to support their demands.
A Hungarian kokárda, dating from around 1848, worn as a revolutionary emblem by supporters of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. Since then it has become a lasting patriotic symbol of Hungarian national identity. Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
A revolutionary committee was formed, after which the crowd moved on to Buda to confront the Governor’s Council. Accompanied by a massive crowd, committee representatives—including Pál Nyári, deputy lord lieutenant of Pest County; Lipót Rottenbiller, deputy mayor of Pest; and Gábor Klauzál, envoy of Csongrád County—presented their demands.
Faced with the pressure of the crowd, the Governor’s Council accepted the Twelve Points, immediately abolished censorship, and ordered the release of Mihály Táncsics, who had been imprisoned in 1847 for press offenses and incitement. The jubilant crowd escorted him in triumph back to Pest.
A folk dance performance in Budapest on March 15, 2025, marking the 177th anniversary of the outbreak of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. Photo: MTI/Szigetváry Zsolt
Meanwhile, in Pressburg, the lower chamber of the Diet passed a resolution declaring that Kossuth’s March 3 proposal included the abolition of serfdom—with state compensation—and the introduction of universal taxation. A delegation of the National Assembly then traveled to Vienna to present the proposal, which had also been approved by the upper estates, to the king.
March 15 remains a day closely associated with youth and the future.
At the time of the revolution, Petőfi was only 25 years old, Mór Jókai just 21, and one of the oldest among the key revolutionary figures, Pál Vasvári, had only recently turned 28.
The statue of Lajos Kossuth during commemoration of the outbreak of the Hungarian Civic Revolution and War of Independence, held in Salonta (Nagyszalonta, Romania) on March 15, 2025. Photo: MTI/Lehoczky Péter
It is no coincidence that the revolutions of March 1848 are often called the “springtime of the peoples.” The Hungarian revolution and war of independence were both influenced by—and contributed to—wider unrest across Europe, including uprisings in Italy and France and later in Vienna and Berlin.
Hungary’s revolution did not occur in isolation – it was part of a broader popular movement that shook the continent.
The message often associated with this day is that meaningful change begins with the younger generation and must extend beyond national borders.
In this spirit, the Rákóczi Association organizes cross-border trips for secondary school students on Hungary’s national holiday. Over 5,000 students from 122 secondary schools across the Carpathian Basin travel to other Hungarian school communities to celebrate and commemorate the War of Independence of 1848–49. Eighty-eight groups come from Hungary, sixteen from Transylvania, and nine each from southern Slovakia and Vojvodina (Serbia).
<
p style=“text-align: justify“>Via mult-kor.hu, Featured image: MTI/Bodnár Boglárka
The post March 15, 1848 – The Day Freedom Took to the Streets of Budapest appeared first on Hungary Today.
March 15, 1848 – The Day Freedom Took to the Streets of Budapest 2026 IUSTITIA.BG – Investigations 2009-2026 2026-03-15 07:16:26 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law Legfrissebb hírek Világhírek Országhírek Legfontosabb hírek legfrissebb hírek legfontosabb a nap legfrissebb hírei Petar Nizamov bíró Tollak Petar Nizamov – Tollak Igazságszolgáltatás bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia nyomozás Burgasz Bulgária hírek az elmúlt óra hírei a nap hírei mai hírek Bulgária hírek Bulgária hírei villámhírek top hírek legfontosabb legtöbbet kommentált legfrissebb hírek Bojko Boriszov hírek időjárás koronavírus hírek hírek időjárás facebook youtube facebook instagram mai hírek az utolsó percek hírei hírek ma ma hírek hírek bg hírek vezető hírek forró hírek bg híroldal hírekhez minden hír hír bg az elmúlt óra hírei legfrissebb hírek bg mai hírek ma hírek ma hírek az elmúlt óra hírei legfrissebb hírek ma hírek bg hírek 24 órás hírek vesti bg novini hírek világ madár bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini legfrissebb hírek ma novinite bg hírek hello bolgár politikai párt címer delyan peevski botrányos Bolgár Nemzeti Televízió Szabad Európa Televízió botrány exkluzív élő tv élő most tv tv online tv műsor bg élőben most tv hírek online tv online élő bíróság Burgasz bíróság Burgasz járási bíróság Burgasz bíróság Burgasz járási bíróság Burgasz járási bíróság Burgasz fellebbviteli bíróság Burgasz ügyész Burgasz ügyészség Burgasz járási ügyészség Burgasz járási ügyészség Burgasz járási ügyészség Burgasz járási ügyészség Burgasz járási ügyészség Burgasz járási ügyészség Burgasz járási ügyészség Burgasz járási ügyészség Főügyész Ivan Geshev ügyész Geshev Tsatsarov Belügyminisztérium Burgasz ODMR Burgasz ODPR Burgasz rendőrség Burgasz járási rendőrség Burgasz ügyész Tsatsarov SGS ügyek Várna bíróság a SGS elnöke bírósági határozatok polgári ügyekben határozatok ügyekben Plovdivi bíróság bírósági határozatok ügyek Várna bíróság büntetőügyek kerületi járási bíróság határozatok munka a bíróságon SGS az SGS elnöke bírák Szófiai bíróság poszt bírák Plovdivi bíróság Plovdivi bírák Plovdiv Legfelsőbb Bíróság Felügyelőség Legfelsőbb Bíróság Legfelsőbb Bírósági Tanács ügyvéd ügyvéd büntetőügyek ügyvéd polgári ügyek ügyvéd házassági ügyek ügyvéd közigazgatási büntetőjog büntetőeljárás polgári jog polgári eljárás közigazgatási jog alkotmányjog
