In the fields of Hosszúfalu (Dolga Vas), the pounding of hooves can be heard early in the morning, and the air is filled with the sound of trumpets and excitement. Spectators gather with flags in hand, and riders line up in ornate hussar uniforms.

This is the Mura Region Gallop (Muravidéki Vágta) – which has returned to its starting location after many races in Lendva (Lendava) – it is not just a competition, but a celebration where tradition, equestrian culture, and tourism form a special blend. The Mura Region Gallop – as one of the regional heats for the National Gallop – is the most grandiose and important equestrian event in the Slovenian-Hungarian border region, serving as both a

A Mura Region Story Leading to Budapest

The National Gallop (Nemzeti Vágta), which has been organized since 2008 – initially in Budapest’s Heroes’ Square – has become one of the biggest celebrations of Hungarian equestrian culture. The competition is linked to numerous regional heats, of which the Mura Region Gallop is one of the most significant stages for Hungarian communities across the border.

The Mura Region Gallop is the Mura region heat of the National Gallop, one of the most beautiful cross-border celebrations of Hungarian equestrian traditions. The road leading to the finals held in Hungary also starts here: riders from Dobronak (Dobrovnik), Lendva, Muraszombat (Murska Sobota), and the surrounding villages compete year after year to represent their region at this year’s contest in Szilvásvárad.

The 2025 Mura Region Gallop was already the ninth competition organized jointly by the Hungarians in Slovenia and the organizing committee of the National Gallop.

But the Mura Region Gallop is more than just a qualifying race. This event is a symbol of the identity and unity of the Hungarians of the Mura region, where the horse, the rider, and the community together form a tradition-preserving unit. The Mura Region Gallop is not only an equestrian competition but also an identity-strengthening, community-building, and tourism-boosting event.

Dobronak and Lendva: Keepers of the Tradition

In recent years, the names of Dobronak and Lendva have appeared increasingly often on the podium in the Mura region heats. Dobronak’s riders stand out for their discipline, preparation, and sportsmanship, while the village transforms the Gallop weekend into a tourist festival.

Lendva also participates with a strong presence year after year. The town attracts attention not only with its competitors but also with its hospitality and cultural diversity. On the day of the races, a craft fair, wine presentations, and folk music programs await visitors, and in the evening, the vineyard hill offers a spectacular view of the Mura region landscape – and the sunset, which shines in a different light even from the saddle of a horse.

Equestrian Tradition – Tourist Opportunity

Both equestrian gallops offer a special experience for sports enthusiasts and tourists alike. Behind the rhythm of the hooves lies an economic and cultural vibrancy.

During the Mura Region Gallop, the region’s tourist service providers – guesthouses, wineries, restaurants – come alive. Visitors taste local wines, buy handcrafted products, and get acquainted with the unique gastronomy of the Mura region. The event thus simultaneously attracts tourists and strengthens the local economy.

The day of the gallop is therefore not just about the horses, but also about the presentation of the region. Every settlement represents itself with stands, flags, and folk costumes – a living, moving tourist exhibition unfolds around the track. These successes and initiatives show that equestrian competitions are capable of connecting tradition with a modern approach to tourism and directing international attention to the Mura region.

A Bridge Between Two Countries

The specialty of the Mura Region Gallop is that it forms a cultural bridge between Hungary and Slovenia.

Hungarian and Slovenian visitors, riders, and organizers together cherish the common tradition – the love of horses, the closeness to nature, and the belief in the power of community. This event connects the two countries not only through sport but also through cultural diplomacy.

As Ferenc Göntér, a rider from Dobronak, puts it: “When I’m on the horse, I don’t feel whether I’m on this side of the border or the other – only that our traditions are shared.”

The Future of the Gallop: A New Engine for Tourism

The Mura Region Gallop could already be a tourist brand name today, not just an event.

The traditional equestrian programs, the accompanying gastronomic and musical events, and the natural settings all offer an experience that the modern traveler seeks: authentic, communal, and spectacular.

A tourism breakthrough point could be that the Gallop remains not just a one-day event but becomes a defining pillar of the region’s tourist calendar – which could be linked to hikes, wine routes, themed programs, and even equestrian touring routes.

The Mura Region Gallop carries on the spirit of the National Gallop – in a Mura region style.

A day when Dobronak and Lendva show once again that the equestrian tradition is not a reflection on the past but a living tourism opportunity. A day when the horse not only races but also builds bridges between cultures, countries, and people. And a day when the Mura region – through the pounding of hooves – makes its voice heard again in the Carpathian Basin.

The Best Riders of the Mura Region Gallop

The best riders of the Mura Region Gallop qualified as entrants for the National Gallop held in early October in Szilvásvárad.

The competition day began with the junior hussars, and from the 7 heats, the riders of 12 settlements advanced to the semi-finals on Sunday, where the heat was won by Lea Gombóc, representing Dobronak.

In a fierce final race, Anna Júlia Rozs, representing Magyarkanizsa, won the 18th National Gallop.

The Tourist Significance of the Equestrian Gallop:

The equestrian gallops are complex tourist events. Their significance can be measured in several dimensions:

Cultural Tourism: The gallops revive equestrian traditions, hussar culture, folk costumes, and symbols of Hungarian identity. Spectators receive not only a sporting experience but also a cultural journey through time.

Gastronomic and Rural Tourism: During the Mura Region Gallop, local producers, winemakers, and artisans can showcase their wares. The event also boosts the local economy – accommodation providers, catering establishments, and tourist service providers profit from the influx of visitors.

Cross-Border Cooperation: The event is a living example of Hungarian-Slovenian relations, which is valuable not only from a sporting but also from a diplomatic and cultural perspective. The cooperation between the Mura region and Hungary also creates new tourist packages, joint programs, and promotional opportunities.

Community Building and Identity Strengthening: For the Hungarians of the Mura region, the Mura Region Gallop is a celebration of community cohesion. Riders, organizers, and spectators are all part of an experience that strengthens local identity and national belonging.

• https://pomurskigalop.si/
• https://www.facebook.com/MuravidekiVagta.PomurskiGalop
• https://www.vagta.hu/
• https://www.facebook.com/NemzetiVagta

More information about the CROCUS project:

• https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101132454/it
• https://crocuseurope.eu
• https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13022258/

Opinion leaders from Slovenia and Hungary participating in the CROCUS project held a joint dance house event

The dance house held on Saturday at the Móricz Zsigmond Cultural Centre in Nagykanizsa started with a performance by the Zsitkóc Slivovica Folk Dance Ensemble. This was followed by Alenka and Rudolf Toplak, who presented and taught dances from the Lendava region to the participants of the dance house.

The Zsitkóc Slivovica Folk Dance Ensemble is one of the most important tradition-preserving groups of the settlement of Zsitkóc (Žitkovci) in the Muravidék region, focusing on nurturing local Hungarian and Slovenian folk culture. The ensemble is based in Zsitkóc, which administratively belongs to the Municipality of Dobrovnik. Its repertoire primarily includes Hungarian folk dances from the Muravidék region (such as slow and fast csárdás dances and verbunk dances) and folk songs, but also frequently features bourgeois dances characteristic of the region. The ensemble often performs across the border at festivals in Hungary as well. In Zsitkóc, both an adult and a children’s folk dance group operate, ensuring the transmission of traditions to younger generations. The name of the group, “Slivovica,” refers to the plum brandy typical of the region, which symbolizes local agriculture and hospitality. The ensemble’s work is closely linked to the cultural activities of the Muravidék Hungarian Self-Governing National Community (MMÖNK), which supports the preservation of minority Hungarian culture in Slovenia.

The professional work of the Zsitkóc Slivovica Folk Dance Ensemble is indeed supported by István Tóth “Csonti” as a dance teacher and choreographer. He is a member of the Core Development Team of the CROCUS project and the director of the Móricz Zsigmond Cultural Centre in Nagykanizsa. In the course of his work, he collaborates closely not only with the Zsitkóc group but also with other ensembles in the region (for example, folk dance groups in Dobrovnik).

In the Lendava region, dance collections were carried out in the 21st century at the initiative of local folk dance ensemble leaders. The Muravidék Folk Dance Ensemble, founded in 1999, toured the Carpathian Basin until 2010 without being able to present its own Muravidék or Lendava-region material on stage. During the major wave of folk dance collecting, researchers did not reach the Muravidék region.

However, due to the performances of the Muravidék Folk Dance Ensemble, the need arose for the ensemble to appear on stage with its own dance material. As a result, between 2007 and 2010, the then leaders of the ensemble, Alenka Toplak and Rudolf Toplak, visited elderly members of the region to ask how and what they danced in their youth, and what festivities and weddings were like at that time.

The result of six collecting occasions is approximately seventeen hours of recordings containing conversations about dance, dance life and dance occasions, dance and wedding customs, as well as dance demonstrations by middle-aged and elderly participants. Only traces of old-style dances could be recalled from memory, although their folk music material has survived. The region’s new-style dances include the csárdás, fast csárdás and circle csárdás, which are rather poor and worn in terms of motifs, and the motifs of the csárdás and fast csárdás differ very little from each other. When weddings are mentioned, however, a multitude of popularized bourgeois social dances emerge from memory. The wedding dance repertoire of the region is very rich, and a significant part of the dance heritage consists of Western-origin, popularized bourgeois social dances. Those interviewed performed seventeen different wedding and bourgeois-origin dances. These dances represent folk dance for the local population.

The extent of the dance dialect boundaries of this region cannot be precisely determined. This would require a more detailed comparative analysis comparing the dances of Muravidék with those of other areas of Zala and Vas counties, as well as with Slovenian dances of Muravidék and Croatian dances of Međimurje.

Rudolf Toplak, president of the Petőfi Sándor Cultural Association of Dobrovnik, and his wife, Alenka Toplak, a teacher and folk dancer, are also members of the Core Development Team of the CROCUS project. The “Dobrovnik dances” are connected to the Muravidék Hungarian folk dance traditions, specifically to the old dance and musical material of the area around the Municipality of Dobrovnik, where the “Gólyamadár” (Stork Bird) is a well-known folk song (and dance) motif that appears in folk music collections and forms part of the local cultural heritage, also featured in descriptions of dances and folk customs. In addition to the csárdás and fast turning dances, participants of the dance house also became acquainted with the folk dance associated with the Gólyamadár folk song.

This borderless dance house also demonstrates how many cultural connections are hidden in border regions.

More information about the CROCUS project:

• https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101132454/it
• https://crocuseurope.eu
• https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13022258/

Tourism Connection Opportunities between the Lendava Bograč Festival and the Nagykanizsa Dödölle Festival in Strengthening Cross-Border Cooperation

In the development of border regions, cultural and gastronomic tourism is gaining increasing importance, serving not only to preserve local identity but also to strengthen international relations.

The Lendava Bograč Festival (Slovenia) and the Nagykanizsa Dödölle Festival (Hungary) are two geographically and culturally close events that provide excellent examples of the potential for cross-border cooperation. Both festivals aim to preserve and promote local gastronomic heritage while being deeply rooted in community traditions.

The Lendava Bograč Festival is a joint celebration of the Hungarian community in the Mura region and the Slovenian population, centered around bograč dishes — traditional stews that represent the region’s culinary heritage.

Lendava, often called the capital of bograč, hosts Slovenia’s largest bograč cooking competition every year. This well-established gastronomic event has been attracting thousands of visitors for over a decade to the town’s main street, where they can enjoy the bustling activity of the cooking teams throughout the day.

The Dödölle Festival celebrates the iconic dish of the Zala region — dödölle — highlighting the value of rural gastronomy and community cohesion. The festival was launched nearly two decades ago, in 2006. One of its early highlights was a record-breaking attempt to prepare 2,500 servings of dödölle in a single cauldron.

Over time, Nagykanizsa has earned the title “the capital of dödölle”, not only locally but also at county and national level. This success is partly due to the organizers’ conscious efforts to create a diverse festival experience including cooking competitions, cultural programs, live music, markets, wine houses, and artisan stalls.

Both festivals represent significant tourist attractions, increasing regional visitation and economic activity. The similarities between the two events offer opportunities to establish structured cooperation, such as:

• Joint thematic programs: Developing a twin-festival model in which the events host each other annually, showcasing the gastronomic specialties of the partner region.
• Creation of a tourist route: Establishing a “Mura–Zala Gastro Route” linking Lendava, Nagykanizsa, and surrounding settlements with gastronomic and cultural stops.
• Joint promotion and marketing strategy: Developing a unified visual and communication identity to present the region’s cross-border culinary world, potentially supported by EU funds (e.g., Interreg, V-A programs).
• Training and youth programs: Organizing culinary workshops, cooking schools, and community events for young people, promoting heritage preservation and sustainable tourism.
• Development of tourism packages: Creating weekend packages built around the festival seasons, including accommodation and tasting experiences.

The Lendava Bograč Festival and the Nagykanizsa Dödölle Festival serve as instruments of shared cultural heritage and identity, capable of building bridges between Hungary and Slovenia through gastronomy.

The joint tourism product resulting from their cooperation could not only strengthen the local economy but also contribute to the integrated tourism development of the cross-border region and deepen Central European cultural cooperation.

More information about the CROCUS project:

• https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101132454/it
• https://crocuseurope.eu
• https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13022258/