In addition to Christianity, the community around Kópháza is forged together by local, Hungarian and Croatian identity, and in the 1921 referendum, 70 percent voted in favor of belonging to Hungary. This is the main theme of the film Under the Protection of the Black Madonna, which you can watch below!  

Last year, it was a quarter of a millennium since the Church of Our Lady of Sarlós was consecrated in Kópháza. Hungarian, Croatian and German-speaking people have been participating together in the Kópház pilgrimage for hundreds of years. The region was divided in two by the border changes after the First World War, and the division was later exacerbated by the Iron Curtain, but the strong community faith survived the trials.

Thanks to the permeable borders, communities from Hungary now also regularly participate in the Croatian pilgrimage to Mariazell, and believers from Austria also come to the place of departure in Kópház. In addition to Christianity, the community around Kópháza is forged together by local, Hungarian and Croatian identity.

The village, which was depopulated during the Turkish era, was populated by Croats in the 16th century, and even today nearly half of the population claims to be Croatian. They preserved their national identity for centuries while being loyal to their homeland.

In the freedom struggle of 1848–49, they did not join Jelačić bán, but the Hungarian army, and in the 1921 referendum, 70 percent of them voted in favor of belonging to Hungary.

Faith, peaceful coexistence, and mutually compatible identities that enrich culture and community are the main themes of the image film Under the Protection of the Black Madonna.

The ten-minute work is recorded by Krisztián Bárány, head of FilmEver, who has previously produced works such as The Holy Crown and In Search of Our Coronation Treasures, The Peace of God - Introducing the Tihany Benedictines, Transylvania - Between Heaven and Earth and Those Who Voted for the Homeland - Sopron 1921

The short film can be viewed on the official YouTube channel of the Croatian National Self-Government of Kópháza:

Source: Mandarin