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Folk culture,
ethnographic beauties
The unique cultural features of the people and the ethnic ture is embedded in the folk culture is the Easter in Hollókő,
groups living together made Nógrád rich. Of the mate- or the nativity play that is still alive in most of our villages
rial memories of this peaceful coexistence, we should today. Our county is extremely strong in folk music and folk
remember the synagogue in Losonc, the Serbian church dance, while the Palóc dominance permeates all of this. Our
in Balassagyarmat, the German houses in Berkenye and cultural ambassadors are: the Dűvő Orchestra, Juli Kubinyi,
Szendehely, the beautiful folk wear of our Slovak brothers János Szabó, the Nógrád Dance Ensemble, the Muzsla Folk
and sisters, or the pictures of the great gypsy painter János Dance Ensemble, and the Palóc Folk Dance Ensemble.
Balázs in Salgótarján. The Zenthe Ferenc Theatre in Salgótarján is maintaining an
The Benedictine abbey and the Romanesque church from outstandingly high standard in the field of theatre culture.
the 11th century in Tereske, with its legend of St. Ladislaus Walking in Nógrád, the unmistakable Palóc dialect reaches
on the north wall, are our priceless treasures, such as the our ears at every step of the way, on both sides of the state
folk music and shepherd’s legacy of ‘Uncle’ Pista Pál, the border. In addition to the uniformity of the Palóc folk ar-
‘last piper’. chitecture, the almost village-by-village variety of the folk
A beautiful example of the coexistence of citizens of diff er- costumes is also striking. Countless elements of the folk
ent nationalities is the history of Bánk, where Palóc and Slo- religiosity are still alive in our county, such as the strong
vak people, taking advantage of the attraction of the Lake cult of Virgin Mary. Dear travellers, please hurry to visit
and strengthening each other, started to hold cultural and us before the unified Palóc archaic folk culture is only pre-
artistic festivals, which are famous far and wide today. served in open-air museums and ethnographic collections.
An example of how our thousand-year-old Christian cul-
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