The delightful tiny Hungarian town of Visegrad, situated on the bend in the river Danube just twenty five kilometres north of Budapest, has played a role in European history far greater than its size would suggest. With fewer than two thousand inhabitants, the town has been the scene of two major summits that have played a major part in securing peace in Europe and has given its name to the Visegrad Countries, an alliance of four Central European states – the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland – for the purposes of co-operation and further their integration into Europe. Back in 1335, King Charles I of Hungary called a meeting at Visegrád with King John of Bohemia and the Polish King, Casimir III. This 2-month congress resulted in creating peace between the three kingdoms and securing an alliance between Poland and Hungary against Habsburg Empire, in Austria. They also managed to establish alternative trade routes which bypassed Vienna and opened up their markets to a wider Europe. Nowadays a visit to Visegrad makes a pleasant excursion into the countryside from Budapest. One of the ways modern visitors to Hungary can visit Visegrad is to take the hydrofoil from Budapest, a trip which takes about one hour. Trains also run from Budapest's Nyugati Station. What greets them is truly delightful. Apart from the restaurants and quaint shops, the little town boasts the ruins of a royal palace and a mediaeval castle. The original royal palace was built by Charles I in the fourteenth century. King Louis I and his successor Sigismund of Luxembourg had the majority of these earlier buildings dismantled and created a new, sumptuous palace complex with extensive gardens. These ruins are what we see today. This royal palace was the seat of the kings of Hungary for one hundred years, and after that it was used by Hungary's monarchs as a summer residence. King Matthias had the whole palace complex reconstructed in the middle of the fifteenth century in the late Gothic style, using the Italian Renaissance style for decoration. At the time, it was the first example of such architecture outside of Italy. The royal palace at Visegrad fell into ruins after the Turkish occupation of Hungary and it had become completely covered by earth by the eighteenth century. Excavations began in the 20th century and still continue to this day. The reconstructed royal residence building is now open to the public. Part of the Lower castle, Solomon's Tower, is named after an 11th century Hungarian king and sits on top of a hill overlooking the valley below. Today it houses exhibitions of Gothic and Renaissance finds excavated in the town. The view from the top is quite stunning. The Upper castle, directly above Solomon's Tower, was part of the fortification system built in the 13th century by King Béla IV, following the Mongol invasion. Finally, back down at the bottom of the hill, there is a small harbour where you can take a three hour boat trip to Esztergom. In this same romantic spot, seven hundred years later, the Visegrad Group originated in a summit meeting of the heads of state or government of Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland held in the same castle town of Visegrád on 15th February 1991. With the partition of Czechoslovakia into Slovakia and the Czech Republic in 1993, the three countries became four. All four states entered the European Union on May 1, 2004. The International Visegrad Fund, established in 1999, with its seat in Bratislava, has an annual budget of seven million euros and awards grants, scholarships and artist residencies. The Visegrad Scholarship Programme, for example, awards grants from the International Visegrád Fund for students of Masters or postgraduate levels. In addition, the defence ministers of the four countries also agreed that the V4 militaries would hold regular exercises under the auspices of the NATO Response Force. Hungary holds the rotating Presidency from June 2013 to 2014, taking over from Poland. Muslims read in the holy Qur'an in Surat Al-A'raf: "And every nation has its appointed term; when their term is reached, neither can they delay it nor can they advance it an hour." 7:34 The fortunes of nations come and go. Charles I, John of Bohemia and Casimir II could never have envisaged that seven hundred years after their meeting another group of leaders would meet on the same spot to discuss peace and economic co-operation in Europe. Nor could they possibly have imagined that the representatives of the Visegrad Countries in Egypt would hold a cultural exhibition to showcase their countries' values and achievements. Such a photographic exhibition will take place at the Gezira Art centre in Zamalek from June 19 to July 4. Whether we are enjoying the photographic exhibition, learning about cultural and economic development in Europe or visiting the castle of Visegrad we would all do well to remember that all our achievements will one day be weighed in a balance and it is to Allah that we will all one day return. British Muslim writer, Idris Tawfiq, teaches at Al-Azhar University and is the author of nine books about Islam. You can visit his website at www.idristawfiq.com, join him on Facebook at Idris Tawfiq Page and listen to his Radio Show, "A Life in Question," on Sundays at 11pm on Radio.
