Nationalities and religions side by side, together, for the community

President Dr. Tamás Sulyok and First Lady Zsuzsanna Nagy visited Mezőberény in Békés County.

At the Town Hall, which stands on the site of the birthplace of one of the town's most famous sons, painter Soma Orlai Petrich, the Head of State met with Mayor István Siklósi, the town's dignitaries, and the people of Mezőberény who work for the local community. In his welcoming speech, the President explained: We must look to the past in order to believe in our future! One of the greatest lessons of our history is that we can achieve great things only together, hand in hand with those who share our country. The Head of State pointed out that Hungarians, Germans, and Slovaks living here have built their communities, towns, the county and the homeland side by side, shoulder to shoulder.

The four churches in the city are a local imprint of history and faith. In addition to the Hungarian Catholic and Reformed congregations, the Slovak and German Lutheran communities also have their own churches.

The President and the First Lady visited the German Lutheran church, where they were welcomed by Pastor Katalin Lázárné Skorka, Deputy Dean, and then the Slovak Lutheran church, where Pastor Lajos Péter Selmeczi welcomed the guests. The Catholic church was shown to the presidential couple by Eszter Tánczos, a religious education teacher, and the Reformed church by Pastor Zoltán Futó.

The visit to Mezőberény concluded with a tour of an exhibition by local artisans dedicated to preserving the region's folk art traditions.