Opening the press conference for this year’s SZTE University Spring Festival, Prof. Dr. Márta Széll, Vice-Rector for Strategic Affairs at the University of Szeged, recalled a defining idea from Albert Szent-Györgyi’s 1941 inaugural address as rector: “Our university has a fourth special mission: to serve as the intellectual center of the Great Hungarian Plain.” Building on this legacy, she emphasized, the University of Szeged continues to follow the example of its Nobel Prize-winning former professor – not only preserving this mission, but actively renewing it by strengthening its role as an intellectual and cultural hub for Szeged and the wider Southern Great Plain region.
Prof. Dr. Márta Széll. Photo: Dávid Miskolci
The mission articulated by Szent-Györgyi finds vivid expression in both the University’s Spring Festival and its Autumn Cultural Festival, where students and staff of the University of Szeged showcase their talents across a wide spectrum of artistic forms, joined by guest performers who regard participation in these celebrated cultural events as a distinction. In keeping with this tradition, the University of Szeged will once again open its doors to the wider public from April 13 to May 27, 2026.
Photo: Dávid Miskolci
Programs for nature lovers at the SZTE Botanical Garden
The SZTE Botanical Garden continues to be one of the festival’s key venues, having hosted University Spring Festival programs amid its spectacular seasonal blooms for the past two decades. As director Anikó Németh noted, this year, visitors will have several opportunities to explore the garden’s unique plant collections.
On April 18, the Spring Tulip Tours will feature two themed garden walks exploring not only tulips – among the most emblematic flowers of spring – but also their cultural significance, from folk poetry to broader literary traditions, while highlighting other bulb plants in bloom.
On April 25, the garden will mark Earth Day with a lively family program set against the backdrop of its vibrant spring blooms, featuring an interactive eco-trail walk, with playful activities focused on waste collection and recycling, and environmental games for children that make learning about sustainability both fun and memorable.
Anikó Németh. Photo: Dávid Miskolci
Nobel Prize-winning writer László Krasznahorkai in the spotlight
As previously announced, Nobel Prize-winning author László Krasznahorkai will be named an honorary citizen of Szeged in 2026, with the distinction to be conferred at the city’s official Szeged Day celebration on May 22. Reflecting the significance of the occasion, Dr. habil. Gábor Szabó, Associate Professor in the Department of Hungarian Literature at the University of Szeged’s Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, noted that the department will mark the honor with a series of programs dedicated to Krasznahorkai as part of the University Spring Festival. The tribute also underscores the writer’s longstanding connection to Szeged: it was here that he began his studies as a law student, and where his first short piece appeared in print.
On May 21, visitors to the faculty’s Petőfi Building will have the opportunity to experience the virtual exhibition Minduntalan. Krasznahorkai prózavilága (Relentlessly: The World of Krasznahorkai’s Prose). Originally created for the ArtMill Gallery in Szentendre, the exhibition will be presented in the form of a guided virtual tour led by curator Zsófia Júlia Szilágyi, offering insight into the distinctive texture and imaginative world of the author’s prose. The program will be conducted in Hungarian.
Also on May 21, László Krasznahorkai and Szilveszter Miklós will bring their joint adaptation of Mindig Homérosznak (Chasing Homer) to the stage. The multi-genre production has previously been performed only once in Hungary, at the Margó Literature Festival and Book Fair, featuring the late renowned actor Péter Haumann in the leading role. Now, at the faculty’s invitation, audiences will have the rare opportunity to see the author himself on stage. The performance will be in Hungarian.
Dr. habil. Gábor Szabó. Photo: Dávid Miskolci
Popular traditions make a comeback at the University Spring Festival
At the press conference presenting the festival program, Gabriella Tajti, Head of the Cultural Office at the University of Szeged’s Directorate for International Affairs and Public Relations, pointed out that alongside new additions, a number of well-established favorites remain part of the seven-week program. Among them is the SZTE Student Arts Competition, returning on April 9.
Gabriella Tajti. Photo: Dávid Miskolci
Returning for its 11th consecutive year, the popular Vers délben (Poetry at Noon) series remains a cherished fixture of the University Spring Festival. This year’s opening event, on April 13, will feature Dr. Judit Fendler, Chancellor of the University of Szeged, alongside award-winning reciter Noa Pálma Vajda, a student at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. Together, they will perform a poem by Dalma Boldizsár of the Juhász Gyula Faculty of Education, written for the University’s Ki viszi át a szerelmet? (Who Will Carry Love Over?) poetry competition.
The festival will officially begin later that day, at 6 p.m., with an opening event held in the atrium of the University’s main building, where a selection of works from the University Photo Competition will be on display.
Sport will also feature in the festival program: on April 18, Dóm Square will host the ÁGOTA Run, a charity race supporting young people in state care. Organized by the Csongrád-Csanád County Government Office, the University of Szeged, and Gál Ferenc University, the event continues to grow year by year, with the Municipality of Szeged and the Szeged-based charitable civic association Pálfy Kör a Polgári Városért joining as partners this year. As in previous years, proceeds from the event will support children and young people in the care of the ÁGOTA® Foundation.
Dr. habil. Gábor Szabó, Anikó Németh, Prof. Dr. Márta Széll, and Gabriella Tajti. Photo: Dávid Miskolci
On May 5, the anniversary of Miklós Radnóti’s birth, Café Radnóti will host a commemorative event dedicated to the Hungarian poet, featuring the presentation of Radnóti szegedi világa (Radnóti’s World in Szeged), a volume by Péter Miklós.
The ceremonial hall of the University of Szeged’s main building, renowned for its exceptional acoustics, will continue its tradition of hosting a series of memorable musical performances. Audiences can look forward to La dolce vita – O sole mio és más olasz dallamok (La dolce vita – O Sole Mio and Other Italian Melodies) with Éva Kovács, Roland Tötös, and Jonathan Tóth; Dalversek (Song Poems) by Balázs Medveczky and Balázs Szabó; and Egy szerelem története (A Love Story), a playful musical performance by violinist Ferenc Szecsődi and the Benedekfi siblings.
With its rich and varied lineup of music, literature, visual arts, science, and community events, the 2026 SZTE University Spring Festival once again promises to bring the university and the city closer together.
English-language information on a selection of festival programs is available here.
Original Hungarian article by Tímea Fülöp
Feature photo: Dr. habil. Gábor Szabó, Anikó Németh, Prof. Dr. Márta Széll, and Gabriella Tajti. Photos by Dávid Miskolci
