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Gödöllő the capital of Hungarian scouting

The relationship between Gödöllő and the Hungarian scouting movement dates back to 1927. It is an almost centennial history. Since then almost every year there is an important event in scouting.

• In 1927 the flag for the Scouting Society designed by Sándor Nagy, a major Hungarian painter, was inaugurated in Gödöllő.
• In 1933 the IVth Jamboree  and the VIIth  World Scouting Conference was held in Elisabeth Park and the hallroom of the Premonstrant Secondary School
• In 1939 the venue for the first World Girl Scouting Conference, the first Pax Ting, was again Gödöllő's Elisabeth Park. 
• In 1943 a Scout Statue was ercted to commemorate the Jamboree in Gödöllő. The statue is the work of Lőrinc Siklódi, a Transylvanian artist form Ditró (Ditrau, now village in Romania) which was destroyed/demolished after World War II.
• In 1947 the mortal remains of Count Pál Teleki were replaced from Budapest to Máriabesnyő, Eastern end of Gödöllő.
• In 1989 a commemorative plaque to one of the leading figures of Scouting in Hungary, the poet and priest Sándor Sík was placed on the building where he was born.
• In 1991, a church sermon was held, a commmorative stone was placed and a bronze bust was erected in Máriabesnyő in memory of Count Pál Teleki.
• Lajos Márton, or Mártonka as the scouts called him, was a favourite painter of the scouts. Some of his murals and stained glasses cabe seen in the Basilica Minor in Máriabesnyő,
• and some of his oil paintings decorate the walls of the Premonstrant Church in Fácán sor.
• In 1993, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the IVth Jamboree the Hungarian Scouting Assocciation organized a commemorative camp in the Cultural Centre of Gödöllő.
• On 24 April 1994 a new Scout Statue was erected on the square next to the Cultural Centre in Gödöllő. The statue was made by István Paál based on Zsigmond Kisfaludi Stróbl's statuette.
• In 1999 Gödöllő celebrated the 60th anniversary of Pax Ting the first World Girlr Scouting Conference.
• In 2001 Count Pál Teleki's bronze statue was erected on the square with his name. This statue was made by Zoltán Zsolt Varga.
• In 2003, on the 70th anniversary of the Jamboree the Town Museum Gödöllő opened and exhibition with the title "A csodaszarvas jamboree-ja" (Wonder-deer Jamboree).
• In 2008, on the 75th anniversary of the Jamboree the Scout Troop of Pest organized a commemorative camp.
• On 31 March 2009 the whole collection of the Hungarian Scout Association was overtaken by Gödöllő Town Museum. The whole library and archive documents were moved to the Town Library and Information Centre Gödöllő.
• On 20 October 2009 an all year round exhibition of the History of the Hungarian Scouting was opened in the Town Museum and with this Gödöllő became the capital of the Hungarian scouting movement.

Scout parks Gödöllő - tour around memorial places of Hungarian scouting
proposed by: József Bokody, Hungarian scouting historian

The thematic itinerary starting off by visiting the National Scouting Collection at the Town Museum, centre of Gödöllő ends with rendering honors before the greatest leader of Hungarian scouting, first Hungarian Chief Scout, Count Pál Teleki's grave in Máriabesnyő. This itinerary is tailored to drive the visitor all through the most important events of the Hungarian scouting movement.

The itinerary is made up of 11 stops. Parts of the itinerary would also be an adventure to walk.

1. Itinerary stop: Town Museum Gödöllő - 5 Szabadság (Liberty) square

Hamvay Mansion was built in 1662 by the first nobleman and landowner in Gödöllő, Ferenc Hamvay in the centre of the former village. 100 years later it was transformed into a two storey guesthouse by Count Antal Grassalkovich I   Later it had a number of other functions like a chemists,a hotel and a school 1978 the town considered it an appropriate place to host the Collection of the Local History/Local History Collection which 10 years later was made a museum. The Town Museum Gödöllő was renovated and its territory was enlarged in 1999. 10 years later, on 31 March 2009, the Collection of the Hungarian Scout Association moved to the Town Museum. Following a 6 months preparation works the scouting exhibition, now a year round exhibition, was opened. The visitor will be guided through the full history of Hungarian scouting with the help of photographs and other relics of it together with the documents of the 1933 Jamboree and the 1939 Pax Ting.
Outstanding pieces in the collection are a flag, a present to a Scouting Team in Kőszeg by Queen Zita, a letter addressed to Miklós Horthy (Regent of Hungary at the time) dated just after the 1933 Jamboree written by Baden-Powell, the whole stock of a scouting retail shop and an enterieur reconstruction of a scout's requisites.

2. Itinerary stop: Town Library and Information Centre Gödöllő - 8 György Dózsa street

The collection of this cultural institution inaugurated in 2002 is made up of 102,000 different types of documents - books, journals, CDs, DVDs and video recordings. The building was designed to fulfill a trifold objective: that of a classical library, an information centre and a site for social events. With this it is fully EU conform and satisfies the needs of the visitors with modern enterieurs, techniques and services.
In the spring of 2009 the complete Hungarian Scouting Collection was moved to the Town Library and Information Centre including the protected archive of the Hungarian Scout Association between 1910-1948 the documents of which are available for study by the reseachers as well as the public.

3. Itinerary stop: Elisabeth park - Mihály Táncsics street

The double lime tree alley in the park drives the visitor to the full body statue of Queen Elisabeth, Sisi, Empress of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Queen of the Hungarians. Emperor Franz Joseph himself placed an order and chose the design for the statue and was present at the inauguration ceremony in March 1901.
The tragic death of Sisi (she was stabbed to death by an Italian anarchist) left Franz Joseph desolate. He ordered a lot of parks to be created all over the empire and some 3 million trees be planted in Hungary in memory for his beloved wife. The bronze statue shows Elisabeth with flowers and a parasol in her hands. History has it that Sisi loved walking and took long strolls in the parks and woods of her empire. Behind the statue there is the Sziklahalom (stone pile), the stones of which were collected from the 64 counties representing Hungary's Szent Korona (saint crown) designed by György Zala, a major Hungarian sculptor.
Another monument in Elizabeth park is the Calvary (Kálvária) built by Antal Grassalkovich and inaugurated in 1775 awaiting a full reconstruction in 2010.
This was the venue for the IVth "Csodaszarvas" (wonder-deer) Jamboree in 1933. 15,000 Hungarians boy scouts from 54 countries, 8,000 of other nationalities camped in the two parts of Elizabeth park (Alsó park/lower park and Felső park/upper park). The skilled organisation and a warm welcome of the Hungarians made this event a memorable one for the scouts all over the world. A great number of visitors still show up to find the sites of the 80-year-olf Jamboree in Gödöllő.
In 1939 there was another opportunity to feast: The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts was formed in Parád (Hungarian town) in 1928 and their first Conference was held in Gödöllő with 4,000 girls scouts. The success was so big that even the outbreak of World War II was overshadowed by the enthusiasm of the participants.

4. Itinerary stop: Art Colony Gödöllő and Nagy Sándor House - Körösfői and Erkel streets

The only art association of the Hungarian Secession is the Art Colony in Gödöllő. It was brought about after Aladár Körösfői Kriesch moved to Gödöllő. Until his death, the Art Colony worked in 1900-1920 and earned an international reputation.
The other founder of the Art Colony was Körösfői's brother-in -law Sándor Nagy, a major painter, graphic artist of the time and author of a number of beautiful stained glass paintings. He joined the colony in 1907. In 1926 an exhibition on culture, economy and industry was organised inGödöllő. This is where the thought of an honorary flag that can be formally presented to scout groups was born and the flag was made in the school of weaving arts, the descendant of the Art Colony by Sándor Nagy's daughter and Irénke Vandrák. On one side Hunor and Magyar (legendary figures of Hungarian history) can be seen chasing the legendary animal of the Hungarians, the Wonder Deer, and the other side shows the Hungarian crest surrounded by the 64 counties' crests and the scouts' badges.  The flag was handed over to the scouts by Miklós Horthy on the occasion of the great 1927 Scout Ceremony on 25 September. The wonder deer was chosen by the scouts as the symbol of the Jamboree badge.

5. Itinerary stop: Scout Statue (Szabadság - Liberty - road)

Lőrinc Siklódi, a sculptor of Transylvanian origin, made the 1933 Jamboree statue in Budapest. Models for the statue were members of the 20th Ödön Erődi scouting group: scouts Iván Bellanovich, József Bokody and Béla Szőnyi. It was erected on 17 October 1943 in Gödöllő next to the Royal Guards's Barracks but because of the ongoing World War it was not inaugurated.  In 1948 the Hungarian Scout Association was banned and the statue and later both the statue and the pedestial disappeared. Following a long term futile search for the statue Gödöllő decided for a new one. In 1993 on the occasion of the Jamboree Memorial Camp the gypsum model of the new statue was shown on an exhibition in the Cultural Centre. The designs for the new statue were made by István Paál based on Zsigmond Kisfaludi Strobl's statuette. The pedestial of the former statue was finally found and the new statue was placed on it and on 24 April the day of Saint George, the patron saint of the scouts. It was inaugurated by the Chief Hungarian Scout dr László Surján and dr György Gémesi, mayor of Gödöllő in the presence of more than a thousand scouts and hundreds of citizens from Gödöllő.  

6. Itinerary stop: Sándor Sík commemorative plaque (42 Sándor Sík street)

Sándor Sík (1889-1963), the founder of the scout's pedagogy, major poet, university professor and Piarist provost, was born in Budapest but considered himself a citizen of Gödöllő. He was an important chief scout. The commemorative plaque was placed on his parent's holiday house by the Town Council of Gödöllő in 1989. January 20.

7. Itinerary stop: Szent István University (former Premonstrant Monastery, Károly Páter street)

The imposing main building of the university was built by the Premonstrant church in 1924 September. Its Southern wing was designed for the grammar school and the Saint Norbert Borading School was housed by the Eastern wing. In 1933 the building was the headquarters for the chief scouts commanders of the World Scout Jamboree in Gödöllő and the main hall of the building hosted the VIIth World Scout Conference on 7-8 August. Between 1944 and 95 the building was used by the Soviet Army as a prison for prisoners of war. Today it is the main building of Szent István University.

A true story: In the spring of 1945 László Soldos, a scout and alumni from Gödöllő was in a lager in Focsani (a famous concentration camp of the Soviet Army in Romania). Once, rumbling in one of his dead camarades stuff he caught sight of the well known   flag of scout group nr 44 with a picture of Rákóczi (Hungarian leader). The flag was probably rescued from Gödöllő lager and kept in secret by his comarade. László took the flag away and kept it through adventurous ... In the end the flag (now without the Rakoczy picture) was given to Alfonz Nádasi bencés atya and táborilelkészto keep it. The priest attached it to the altar cover and that is probably why the flag survived the war until it was returned to Hungary. Two scouts handed the relic over to the representants of the Premonstrant Grammar School Gödöllő in September, 1947. The flag was again hid as the scouts and the grammar school were both dissolved, but it successfully survived again. It was put on display on the exhibition on School History organized by the Town Museum in 1996. Now it is on display in the commemorative hall for Otto Fényi, a Premonstrant provost, Gödöllő's honorary citizen.

8. Itinerary stop: Premonstrant church (3 Fácán sor)

The Premonstrant Church in Gödöllő used to be in the building of the Grammar School which, following the dissolution of the premonstrant church in World War II, came into the was assigned to the Agrarian University (now Szent István University). A new building was built for the church built in 1991-93 and it was consecrated in the name of the Holy Spirit. Its main altar picture is the design of Sándor Nagy and the stained glass made from it was created by Erzsébet L. Szabó, a major representative of the handicrafts. It is an imposing stained glass picture on 16 squaremetres.

9. Itinerary stop: Pál Teleki memorial (Pál Teleki square, Máriabesnyő).

In memory of the 50th anniversary of the death of the first Hungarian Chief Scout, Count Pál Teleki, the square adjacent to Máriabesnyő Primary Scool was named after him and a memorial stone was dedicated and sanctified for him. The engraving says: "In memory of dr Teleki Pál, prime minister (1879-1941), academic and chief scout of the Hungarians. The memorial was erected upon the 50th anniversary of his death, by the Town of Gödöllő and the Pál Teleki Association in 1991. The inauguration speech was made on 3 April by Dr György Gémesi, mayor of Gödöllő, and Imre Sinkovits, a major Hungarian actor, and scoutmaster. The memorial is the work and donation of Árpád Varga and his team.
The memorial was exchanged with a bronze statue of Pál Teleki in 2001 April 4, which was again made by Zoltán Varga, a major Hungarian sculptor.  The inauguration speech was made by mayor György Gémesi and the leader of the Hungarian Democratic Party Ibolya Dávid. A commemoration day is held every year on Pál Teleki's birthday at the memorial statue. In 2008 the statue was stolen, disposed of and found again at a waste dump from where it was taken to and displayed in the Town Museum Gödöllő. The duplicate of the statue was inaugurated on 8 November 2009.

10. Itinerary stop: Basilica Minor, Nagyboldogasszony Bazilika, a Capucin shrine and pilgrimage site (Máriabesnyő, 1 Kapucinusok square)

11. Itinerary stop: Count Pál Teleki's grave (Máriabesnyő, Capucin's cemetery)

April 3 1941 is the day when Count Pál Teleki, prime minister and the first Hungarian Chief Scout died. His body was first buried in a noname parcel a Budapest cemetery in Kerepes street. Count Pál Teleki's daugher visited Hungary in 1947. In fear for her father's grave to be distroyed and forgotten she turned to Otto Fényi Premonstrant provost in Gödöllő to ask him to fulfil his father's last wish. Thus Count Pál Teleki was reburied in a site that used to be one of the Jamboree sites in 1933 because the count tought it was just like his motherbirthplace, Gernyeszeg (Gornesti, Romania). His last wish came true in 1947, May 17, when his body was exhumed and transported to the cemetery in Máriabesnyő where it was buried for eternal rest. The following note was made in the church's Historia Domus III: "May 1947: The prime minister with a tragic life, Count Pál Teleki, was buried in the cemetery." Nothing is mentioned about the burial itself in the mortuary deposition of 1947. The cemetery became the pilgrimage site for many scouts who came in secret to present their honor at the grave. Pál Teleki's body rests together with "Countess Gézáné Teleki 1850-1941", his mother and his wife "Countess Pálné Teleki 1888-1942".
In 1988 the grave was renovated by rovers of Holló (raven) nr 14 and Erődi nr 20. The old cross with the scouts's lily at the head was kept and completed with a new marble cover and a new scout badge made form artifical stone. The engraving says: "in memory of dr. Teleki Pál, prime minister (1879-1941) XI. 1. - 1941. IV. 3. who worked for Hungarian scouting and gave his life for the honour of the Hungarian people. More than 800 scouts, rovers and admirers arrived to take part in the memoral event. Speeches were made by scoutmaster Jenő Csongrádi and professor András Rónay. Since then the Pál Teleki Society organises a memorial day every year.
On 6 April 1991, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Count Pál Telki's death, the Pál Teleki Society in Gödöllő a commemorative cermon was sheld in the Basilica Minor of Máriabesnyő and a commemorative plaque was placed amid a ceremony at his grave. The new shrine is the work and donation of Árpád Varga and his team. A new cross was made with a lily and a new engraving was applied on the cross. The commemorative ceremony was chaired by Dr. István Mészáros, President of the Pál Teleki Association and honorary citizen of Gödöllő.

For more information contact:

József Bokody:  tel: +36-1-282-2969, e-mail: bokody.jozsef@gmail.com

Dr. Mária Merva Gaálné, Gödöllő Town Museum
telefon:  +36-28-421 999, e-mail: gmuzeum.g@gmail.com

Attiláné Fülöp director, Gödöllő Town Library and Information Centre
 telefon: +36-28-515 280, e-mail: fulopm@gvkik.hu

Ágnes Padányi, tourism desk at Local Government Gödöllő.
telefon: +36-28-529-212, e-mail: padanyi.agnes@godollo.hu