The “Patara Festival of Tata” has been held on the shores of the Öreg-tó for the 13th time already. The series of the programs between July 23–25 commemorated – with the participation of several hundred Hungarian and foreign traditionalists equipped with the weapons of the time – the recapture of the Castle of Tata in 1597. Ambassador János Hóvári, the Head of the Representation Office of the Turkic Council in Budapest took part in the opening ceremony.
This year great weather and a high number of visitors hallmarked the Patara Festival which was held again after its cancellation – due to the pandemic – in 2020. The Old Lake in Tata and its surroundings were swarmed by tents, military camps and a crowd of people who were wearing contemporary uniforms but street vendors offering fine food and drinks were not absent either. It was great to see so many children and families who were able to enjoy the magnificent programs in perfect sunshine. The high number of Hungarian and foreign traditionalists proved their mettle this year too by conjuring up the military art, the history and culture of Central Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries with the help of a fantastic display.
That was exactly what was underlined by János Hóvári at the opening ceremony of the event. He thanked the town and the organizers for their devoted work of more than one and a half decades. He also highly appreciated the contribution of the traditionalists, pointing out that it would be impossible to hold this event without them. As he said, it was gratifying to see so many young people and children among them who may carry on these noble traditions, the casting of a spell over history and the evoking of contemporary national dresses and customs. János Hóvári also believed that it was impressive that several teams of foreign traditionalists had arrived in Tata where four Polish and one Czech, one Slovak and one German team took part in the event.
At the same time, as the Head of the Representation Office also emphasized, besides military history, the army of today had also lined up at the Festival. The pride of the town – the soldiers of the 25th György Klapka infantry brigade of the Hungarian Army showed up for the event. And they – naturally – brought with themselves the technical equipment deployed in their unit. In such a way, the military technology of today was also presented during the three-day Patara Festival. Several organizations that cultivate Turkish traditions, culture and language could also be seen there.
The Parliamentary State Secretary, the Deputy Minister of Defense, Szilárd Németh also visited the opening day of the Festival in Tata. Accompanied by Major General Zsolt Sándor, the deputy of the commander-in-chief of the Hungarian army, as well as Brigadier General Gábor Lőrincz, the commander of the 25th György Klapka infantry brigade of the Hungarian Army, the Deputy Minister inspected the static display of the equipment used by the units of the Hungarian Army, including the ones that had been procured in the framework of the Defense Development Program.
The success of these three days, the high number of visitors and the fascinating programs are a harbinger of “see you next year at the Patara Festival in Tata.”
[1] Patara – originally ”petard.”
