In 2024, we commemorate the 100th anniversary of the death of Vilmos Fraknói, the abbot of Szekszárd and Szentjobb, canon of Nagyvárad, elected bishop of Arbe, secretary, and vice president of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. The Fraknói Research Group has been preparing for years to pay tribute to the centenary with scientific events and results worthy of its namesake.
On May 2-3, a grand historiographical conference will be held in Nagyvárad in the ceremonial hall of the episcopal palace. On June 6, the Istituto Nazionale di Studi Romani in Rome will host an international symposium initiated and organized by us on the Aventine, where we will analyze Fraknói's and his colleagues' research at the Vatican, involving contemporary actors from Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Croatia. Throughout the Centenary, members of the Research Group will present the latest scientific findings on topics researched by Fraknói in various lectures (see here and here).
On the day of Fraknói's death, November 20, we will lay a wreath on his renovated tomb in the Fiumei Road Cemetery. Following this, a memorial event will be held in the ceremonial hall of the Central Seminary, an institution where Fraknói resided during his university years. Here, we will present a volume containing the lectures from the Nagyvárad conference, supplemented with other publications focusing on his biography.
The conclusion of the memorial year will take place on February 27, 2025, on Fraknói's 182nd birthday, with the presentation of the volume of the international symposium held in Rome. (Further details can be found on the homepage of institutumfraknoi.hu: "Events – Fraknói Centenary").
The announcement of the Fraknói Centenary took place on Fraknói Vilmos's 181st birthday, on February 27. On this occasion, Balázs Rétfalvi, an external collaborator of the Research Group, delivered the 8th workshop presentation titled "Contributions to the Biography of Vilmos Fraknói (1843–1924)." At the beginning of the presentation, the speaker drew attention to the examination of the ecclesiastical middle class during the dualist era and briefly outlined the main points of Fraknói Vilmos's life.
Then, he discussed three episodes of his life in more detail, including his origin, public activities, and the last years before his death.
poster of Rétfalvi's lecture
