We share the writing of one of our dear readers with you, welcome.
Not in exchange for our commitment, Sweden could use the opportunity of a simple but great gesture, which is accepted in Europe anyway; if he would "return" to Hungary the reliquary of St. Elizabeth of Árpád-házi, which was placed on permanent display in Hungary in a respectable and viewable manner.
The reliquary of Saint Elizabeth of Árpád (1207-1231) is currently on display in the Swedish History Museum in Stockholm. The goldsmith's work, which was made in different periods, came to Sweden as a holder for the head relic of St. Elizabeth from Würtzburg, Germany, from the Marienberg fortress during the Thirty Years' War, as booty taken by Swedish troops from there. Not only this significant sacred monument can be found in the collections in Sweden, but for example in 1620 II. The collection of the library founded by Gusztáv Adolf – today the Uppsala University Library – also included treasures from Würtzburg, from the famous library there. (Saint Elizabeth "received" the reliquary from Emperor Frederick II when, on May 1, 1235, she inserted the head relic into it and placed it on the altar.)
On the website of the Uppsala University Library, we can read: " Seizing cultural objects as loot is currently prohibited. International conventions for the protection of cultural property were created at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries... In the past, however, this was a legal and common practice. Under older international law, the victors had the right to seize the spoils of war, provided that they were taken under appropriate circumstances. Hugo Grotius' De jure belli ac pacis ('The Law of War and Peace', 1625) is an important authority in this field. . The library also provides a brief overview of international cooperation practice, but the relic of Saint Elizabeth requires a special procedure.
Saint Elizabeth of Árpád-házi occupies a special place among the saints of the Catholic Church, and she is a particularly loved and respected saint of Hungarians. Currently, among others, Róbert Szikora, Sándor Lezsák; Heaven Holds Earth c. musical, a work based on the novel of the same name by Zsuffa Tünde - which presents the life story of St. Elizabeth - a performance played with great success!
Different questions of faith and different political opinions cannot be an obstacle to our common cultural belonging that goes back to the ancient past, and to the realization of another historic act with an elevated spirit. The Hungarian Parliament was built only from domestic materials, but there is an exception: the 8 granite columns accompanying the decorative staircase, which come from Sweden. I am not called upon or entitled to elaborate on the above, but as a Hungarian citizen, I would like to believe that the granite pillars can continue to convey a lasting sense of well-being and that the reliquary of St. Elizabeth can return home.
Author: József Kiss Károly Kós prize-winner landscape and garden architect, monument protection expert
