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Paper short abstract:

Turul bird is a mythical creature, a symbol of the Hungarian nation. It is acknowledged both by the state and radical right-wing groups. Critical political gestures often take the form of assault (symbolic or real) on Turul sites, protected as part of the cultural heritage.

Paper long abstract:

Turul is a mythical bird of prey depicted on archaeological objects associated with ancient Hungarians. It became an important national symbol in the first half of the 20th century. Turul Monuments were placed at important sites, often at the edges of Hungary, as spiritual guards of the nation’s borders. After the First World War and the Treaty of Trianon, many of these sculptures were standing on the territories separated from Hungary. These monuments became symbols of oppression for the citizens of non-Hungarian origin and the authorities of the newly created states. Thus, they were often destroyed. Those monuments that were left, although often neglected, through the fact of their survival became highly sensitive symbols of the lost lands, and of the damaged but indestructible spirit of the Hungarian Nation. In the 1990s Turul monuments were renovated under the supervision of the MDF conservative party. Turul bird appeared on the coat of arms of various state services, such as the Hungarian Defence Forces. This bird also attracted skinheads and other radical right-wing groups, that created songs and merchandise devoted to the Turul. When the war in Ukraine intensified in 2022, a Turul monument previously restored in Uzhhorod, a Ukrainian city near the border with Hungary, was vandalised. Turul is also being ridiculed by oppositional musicians and activists inside Hungary. Turul is often presented as part of cultural heritage, but it also plays an important role in delivering political messages. How is cultural heritage discourse being deployed by populist propaganda in Hungary?