The Head of the Committee of the Hungarian Parliament in Transcarpathia has faced with a very serious problem

Last week, the chairman of the Hungarian parliamentary committee on culture and press Laszlo Shimon visited Transcarpathia. Together with the Consul General of Hungary in Uzhgorod Jozsef Bachkai he visited Uzhgorod Castle and Transcarpathian Hungarian Institute in Beregovo, where he met with the leaders of the institute.

He also visited the office of the State Archives of Transcarpathian region, which is located in Beregovo in the premises of the former prison. It should be noted that numerous, including medieval, archival documents have been kept there since 1953. In particular, some original incunabulas have extraordinary value – e.g., security credentials of Hungarian King Sigismund (1391), orders signed by Ferenc Rákóczi II, church archives of Transcarpathia until 1944 and so on. 

According to the Kultura.hu, the representative of the Hungarian government was shocked by the conditions, which the extremely valuable documents are kept in.  They are kept in conditions that do not meet modern requirements.  Laszlo Shimon said that it is very disheartening to see that such important to the history of Hungary archives are kept in the former prison dungeons. Because most of them are destroyed by mold and fungus, others are endangered due to leaking roof. 

"We must find a solution to this extraordinary problem" – Laszlo Shimon said. He said that Hungary will continue to cooperate with the State Archives for the preservation of archival materials. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has allocated funding to transfer documents to digital media, but this project for some reason has not been completed.

Also, on April 7, Laszlo Shimon, paid a visit to Lviv, where together with the Consul General of Hungary in Uzhgorod Jozsef Bachkai and his deputy Endre Salipski he met with the head of Lviv Regional State Administration Victor Shemchuk. The head of Lviv region thanked the Hungarian party for the opportunity to present to the city residents and guests the play "Silva" by the Budapest Operetta Theatre.

Laszlo Shimon noted that cooperation between Ukraine and Hungary is extremely important both in the cultural, and in the economic spheres.During the meeting the parties also discussed further cooperation, including the possible exchange between students, art and museum collections in both countries.

Mukachevo.net