Sacral memories, as representative of local history

Abstract

The topic of my presentation is the intriguing alterations in the functions of religious memorials in a village in Northern Hungary. Mariakalnok, a settlement once nearly exclusively inhabited by German families, as a popular shrine, has numerous religious memorials. The roadside crosses, images on pedestals or the former hermit’s hut are parts of the cult around the shrine as well as have their own religious signifi cance. Historical events have, however, made grave changes in the life of this small settlement. After the Second World War, the German population was relocated and was replaced by Hungarian families from various regions of the country. They had their own traditions and their own customs. This resulted in the decrease in the importance of the shrine and left the religious memorials abandoned and gradually destroyed. Recently, the few remaining German families alongside with the relocated population have regained the right to cherish and present its history so the religious memorials regained ...