Budapest honors Jewish Home Guard heroes with military tributes, interfaith prayer, and community events at Dohány Street Synagogue on March 16, 2026. Celebrate shared Hungarian–Jewish heritage with music, wreaths, and remembrance.
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On March 16, 2026, Budapest will gather at Theodore Herzl (Herzl Tivadar) Square, in front of the Dohány Street Synagogue, for a military-honors commemoration of the Jewish Home Guard heroes of the 1848–49 Revolution and War of Independence. Organized by MAZSISZEM, the jubilee event blends speeches, a military band performance, interfaith prayer, and ceremonial tributes to spotlight a shared Hungarian–Jewish historical legacy. It stands out among Budapest’s March 15 commemorations by placing the Jewish Home Guard front and center.
This long-running remembrance returns with a rich program and marks the 20th anniversary of MAZSISZEM, founded in 2006. Beyond paying tribute, it highlights lesser-known cultural-historical aspects of the 1848–49 struggle, honoring Jewish and other faith volunteers who fought for freedom. Period 1848 flags will be paraded in, while festive speeches, poetry and recitations, a military band set, and soldiers’ ballads summon the spirit of the revolution.
A symbolic roll call will read the names of Jewish Home Guard heroes, with participation from their traced descendants. Tradition-keepers will lead military honors, including ceremonial volleys with cannon and rifles. Soldiers from the Ministry of Defense will support the wreath-laying. The interfaith prayer for peace and a memorial prayer for the fallen—punctuated by the shofar—anchor the spiritual core of the day.
Organizers will release 48 doves and 178 national-colored balloons, marking the 178th anniversary of the 1848–49 events. The program closes with a communal singing of the Appeal (Szózat) and the placing of remembrance stones in keeping with Jewish custom. Visitors can enjoy free kosher cotton candy and popcorn, and the first 500 attendees will receive a handmade, tricolor Star of David cockade. Admission is open, warm, and welcoming to all.
– Date and time: March 16, 2026, from 4 p.m.
– Location: Theodore Herzl (Herzl Tivadar) Square, in front of the Dohány Street Synagogue, Budapest
– Program highlights: speeches, poetry, military band, military honors and ceremonial volleys, interfaith prayer for peace, wreath-laying, dove and balloon release
