The Magyar Nemzeti Bank is issuing a silver commemorative coin with a nominal value of HUF 15,000 and a non-ferrous metal with a nominal value of HUF 3,000 entitled "Hymnus" on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the writing of the poem that forms the basis of our national anthem. This year's commemorative coin issue program of the central bank starts with commemorative coins designed by the sculptor Tamás E. Soltra, and their ceremonial issue will take place in the Petőfi Literary Museum.

Ferenc Kölcsey wrote the poem that became the Hungarian national anthem at the dawn of national rebirth in 1823, in the solitude of Szatmárcsek. The original title of the work: Hymnus, from the Thunderous Centuries of the Hungarian People (abbreviated as Hymnus in today's spelling). The poem was first published in 1829, in Károly Kisfaludy's Aurora almanac under the title Hymnus , and three years later in Ferenc Kölcsey's first volume, with the full subtitle defining the poem's content more closely. With this greatest masterpiece of Ferenc Kölcsey's patriotic poetry, instead of the stylistic ideal of classicism, he paved the way for national romanticism in the development of Hungarian lyrics. The music of the Hymnus was composed in 1844 by the composer and conductor Ferenc Erkel in a tender for setting the poem to music. The winning work was presented for the first time - in the same year - at the National Theater in Pest.

The National Anthem came under legal protection in 1989, the 1989 Constitution included it in the ranks of our national symbols, and since then we celebrate Hungarian Culture Day on January 22, in memory of the fact that the author completed the manuscript of the National Anthem on this day. Article I of the Basic Law, which entered into force on January 1, 2012, states: "Hungary's national anthem is a poem by Ferenc Kölcsey with music by Ferenc Erkel."

The MNB pays tribute to the Anthem before the bicentenary of its writing. The coin image of the commemorative coins is the same, only the denomination differs.

Source: MNB