The Babits Mihály Cultural Center in Szekszárd, the city’s biggest public cultural hub at 7100 Szekszárd, Szent István Square (Szent István tér) 10, rolls into 2026 with a packed calendar. Expect exhibitions, an open university series, concerts, family happenings, and playhouse sessions. The center is home to a network of clubs and artist groups that keep local culture buzzing, and it also oversees the popular Agora Cinema (Agóra Mozi) and House of Arts. Organizers reserve the right to change dates and programs, so check before you go.
Key Info and How to Plan
You’ll find information on dates, accommodation, and food and drink tied to each program day. The spring and early summer slate brings stand-up, choirs, youth orchestras, organ marathons, theater for schoolkids, and big-name concerts. Autumn picks up with classical recitals and a Mozart night, and the season stretches into 2027 with a beloved literary musical.
May Highlights
May 14, 2026: Megjöttem – Lakatos László’s solo stand-up evening lands in Szekszárd, with Oliver Wolf as the opening act. Tickets are listed at 7,190 HUF to 7,190 HUF.
May 15: Two programs split the stage. KOVÁCS GERGŐ DALESTJE serves up a vocal recital, while the Qualification Concert of the Szekszárd Youth Wind Orchestra (Szekszárdi Ifjúsági Fúvószenekar Minősítő Koncertje) sees the local youth wind orchestra perform and compete for certification.
May 16: Craft and choir take over. From Afar – Taking Root (Messziről jött – Gyökeret vert), the 23rd National Pottery Competition awards ceremony, pairs with a grand exhibition opening. Later, the Tolna County Choir Meeting gathers ensembles from across the region for a choral showcase.
May 21: Without Music, What Am I Worth… (Zene nélkül mit érek én…) salutes two icons with a Zsuzsa Cserháti (Cserháti Zsuzsa) and Péter Máté (Máté Péter) memorial concert, reviving Hungarian evergreen hits with fresh arrangements and heartfelt vocals.
May 23: Night of the Organs (Orgonák Éjszakája) spotlights the king of instruments. Expect late performances where organists flex the hall’s acoustics with baroque thunder, romantic sweep, and modern flair.
May 27: Health Open University (Egész-ség Szabadegyetem) continues with the talk Are We Really What We Eat? (Tényleg azzá leszünk, amit eszünk?) The lecture dives into nutrition and identity: science debunking myths, practical takeaways, and a candid look at how diet shapes well-being.
June on Stage
June 9: James Fritz – 4:12 arrives, a razor-sharp contemporary play that compresses tension and modern anxieties into a tight runtime and unforgettable dialogue.
June 10–11: Three Pocahontas shows by Laura Topolcsányi (Topolcsányi Laura) and Viktor Maráth (Maráth Viktor) cover different youth passes. On June 10, the Lower Primary (Kisiskolás) season pass gets its 4th performance. June 11 doubles up: Lower Primary Plus (Kisiskolás Plusz) pass 4th show and the Kindergarten (Óvodás) pass 4th show. Expect a brisk, musical retelling tailored to kids, with punchy scenes and singable tunes.
June 13: An Apostol concert brings a legendary Hungarian pop-rock band to the stage—crowd-pleasing hits, singalongs, and nostalgia built for summer nights.
June 23: Husbands in a Jam (Férjek a slamasztikában), a French comedy in two acts, piles on the farce: misunderstandings, door-slamming pace, and a cast of characters who wander deeper into trouble with each quip.
Autumn and Beyond
September 7: Pianists Endre Hegedűs and Katalin Hegedűs return for a concert that spotlights their crisp technique and onstage chemistry. Romantic showpieces, classic repertoire, and duets that always land with the crowd.
November 6: Gergely Rákász – Mozart (Rákász Gergely – Mozart). The celebrated organist curates a Mozart program with storytelling flair, mixing virtuosity with bite-size commentary that pulls listeners closer to the music.
November 24: Film Music Concert (Filmzene koncert) closes out late autumn with cinematic themes. Think sweeping scores, goosebump crescendos, and moments that carry you straight back to the silver screen.
January 23, 2027: László Dés – Péter Geszti – Krisztián Grecsó – The Paul Street Boys (A Pál utcai fiúk), based on Ferenc Molnár’s novel, storms the stage. This modern musical classic blends rousing choruses with tender character beats, telling the tale of boys, loyalty, and the power of a patch of ground that becomes their whole world.
Where to Stay
Hotel Merops**** sits in downtown Szekszárd by the Mészáros wine house, a few minutes’ walk to the center. It pairs small-town calm with the wine region’s charm. Expect striking interiors, a well-trained staff, and a broad, personalized service palette made for both laid-back getaways and active weekends.
Nádasdi Ház offers 8 rooms and 2 apartments for travelers, plus city and regional gastro programs. The on-site Main Street Bistro wins fans with a wide menu and polished plates. Wine tastings are organized, and the cellar makes a perfect Szekszárd-style venue for birthdays, friendly dinners, or corporate events with a warm, local vibe.
Sió Motel stands at the northern gate of Szekszárd along Highway 6, set on 2.5 hectares between the Szekszárd and Tolna wine regions, near the Gemenc Forest and the Sárköz area—easy access for explorers who want a nature-and-wine base.
Hotel Zodiaco***, the only three-star hotel in Szekszárd and its vicinity, mixes modern design with a simple mission: satisfaction. The team refreshes services yearly with smart upgrades, aiming to make business stays and weekend breaks smooth and comfortable.
Wine Country Side Trips
Add wine stops to your culture plan. In the Baranya Valley, Attila Birtok cultivates 14 hectares with Blaufränkisch (kékfrankos), Kadarka, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Zweigelt. Bodri Winery (Bodri Pincészet), a 100-hectare estate and tourism center on the city’s southern edge, offers cellar tours in its 12-dome grand cellar and a 300-square-meter aging cave, plus a rosé facility and guest rooms for 61. There’s even an underground thermal Roman bath with jacuzzi and sauna, and the Optimus Restaurant showcases modernized Hungarian classics.
The Borfaragó Cellar (Borfaragó Pince) in the Upper Town (“felsőváros”) operates in a former carpentry and woodcarving workshop, hosting tastings of artisanal wines amid folk woodcarving gems—an easy-to-reach hideaway for private gatherings. Várdomb’s estate hub leads with Blaufränkisch (kékfrankos) in both single-varietal and blended bottles, while giving care to Riesling, Cserszegi Fűszeres, Kadarka, Portugieser (kékoportó), Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Syrah. A local natural-style producer in the Porkoláb Valley works only with estate-grown fruit, eschewing commercial yeasts, enzymes, fining agents, colorants, and heat treatment; every wine is bottled with minimal intervention.
Another cellar experiments with a wide range of local and traditional grapes, crafting rosés from most red varieties and earning international medals, while leaning on Szekszárd signatures like Blaufränkisch (kékfrankos) and Kadarka, rounded out by Merlot, Cabernet, and Pinot Noir. For a break: switch off on a vineyard hill, lean back, sip. The Eszterbauer family, with Swabian and Serbian roots, runs a tradition-rich winery offering family-led tastings in a show cellar for 8 to 50 guests, from simple bites to multi-course dinners, with an online shop of award-winners. A family winery farming 6.6 hectares across four Szekszárd sites rounds out the list with Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Blaufränkisch (kékfrankos).
Final Note
All events are in Szekszárd unless noted. Organizers reserve the right to change dates and programs—plan ahead and double-check details before you head to Szent István Square (Szent István tér).
