Today, 23 September 2021 was the first time Hungary diposited documents of historical significance, based on the collection of the National Széchényi Library, in the Arctic World Archive on Svalbard. Located in one of the closed coal mines in Longyearbyen, the northernmost inhabited settlement in the world, the facility aims to preserve the cultural and historical heritage of different nations for posterity.

At the depositing ceremony, Hungary was represented by H. E. Eszter Sándorfi, Ambassador of Hungary to Norway, Dávid Rózsa, Director General of the National Library, and Judit Gerencsér, Deputy Director General of the National Library. In her speech, Ambassador Eszter Sándorfi emphasized that the cultural treasure and heritage created during Hungary's more than a thousand-year history can now be preserved and expanded in digital form for at least another thousand years for the next generations. Ambassador Sándorfi also underlined the importance of preserving national values ​​and traditions, which greatly contributed to the survival of the Hungarians in the heart of Europe.

Director General Dávid Rózsa presented more details of the Hungarian collection, emphasizing the importance of the Bibliotheca Corviniana of King Matthias, one of the greatest kings in the country’s history. In addition to the well-known rennaissance library, special pieces of the map collection of Ferenc Széchényi and Sándor Apponyi, as well as digital copies of early 20th century graphic posters have also been archived. The selected parts of the collection can be considered unique both domestically and internationally, and they faithfully reflect the diversity of the National Library’s collection.

The Arctic World Archive (AWA) was founded in 2017 in Norway’s northernmost city, Logyearbyen. Since its initiation, collections from 16 different nations have been archived, and institutions such as the Norwegian National Museum, the Vatican Apostolic Library, the European Space Agency or UNICEF are on the donor list, but Prodigy’s music can also be found here. Besides Hungary, India, Canada, Malaysia, Norway and Italy were also among the depositing countries at this years' event.

 

Ambassador Eszter Sándorfi, General Director Rózsa Dávid and Deputy General Director Gerencsér Judit

 

More photos of the event:

 

 

 

Photos: István Virág