Melega Miklós (szerk.): Remembering St Martin in his birth place (Szombathely, 2016)
Dear Reader. T he jubilee St martin Commemorative Year was the occasion for the temporary exhibition organised in dose cooperation by the National Archives of Hungary Vas County Archives and the tTlartinus Religious and Cultural Association to pay tribute to the Saint, entitled Remembering St martin in his birth place', the exhibition was open to the public between 15 August and 50 September 2016 in Szombathely, in the lecture and exhibition hall of the Archive. months of thematic research in the archives yielded a number of new discoveries and resulted in this exhibition. The colledion of sources and exhibits was promoted by a most comprehensive cooperation; in addition to archive staff renowned external experts offered their assistance for free, sharing their research results from decades of their professional careers and also a number of institutions and private sponsors lent us exhibits, adding fascinating details to the exhibits on display for the public The exhibition was funded by the municipality of Szombathely from its funds earmarked for the programmes of the St martin Commemorative Year. The exhibition provided a historical overview of the memories of St martin and his veneration in Szombathely and in Vas county from Andent Times to this day. The documentary evidence, certificates, seats, maps, old and contemporary photos, macfuettes and works of art looking back centuries on display were a dear attestation of the continuity of St martin's cult and veneration, showing how deeply the Saint's memories lived and continue to live in his birth place. In addition to wishing to present the public with ordered and modern knowledge, the organisers of the exhibition also undertook to provide an exciting experience to visitors, and to allow St martin's spirit to touch them. Over a few weeks' time hundreds of people visited the most successful exhibition ever organised by the Archive. Prompted by the requests we received to do so. we chose to convert the exhibition into an itinerant one as of November 2016 to make sure that it is available for visitors in other towns of Vas county. The exhibition was met with ^reat acdaim. which prompted us to make the materials and information collected available for posterity also in printing, allowing us to disseminate the information. The initiative was embraced by the Society of Picture Fbstcard Collectors and was sponsored by the municipality of Szombathely. Thumbing through the booklet you will find that the people of Szombathely have preserved and cherished the memories of the fact that St martin was bom here and that people have always attributed cjreat significance to this. They have always been proud that the Saint known all over the world started on his path from here, martin, shining star of all Hungarians and Sabaria's diamond tiara' - this is how an 18th century prayer in the Cantor Book of Vep. also on display at the exhibition, described martin showing clearly what martin meant for local people throughout the centuries and how significant his ,afire can be for people today. Szombathely. St martin's month 2016 Dr m&LSGA miklós Archive director Remembering St martin in his birth place 3
