Martos Folk High School and Recreation Park

The Martos Event Park and Folk High School operates in the Martos village in the Felvidék region, where a natural environment, the preservation of traditions and community life meet. The beginnings date back to the early 2010s, when the first Martos Free University was organized, followed by the MartFest, which quickly became one of the most important summer meeting places for Hungarian youth in the Felvidék region. The events and community demands led to the establishment of the Folk High School, which is still an important intellectual and cultural center of the local and Carpathian Basin Hungarian community today.

The goal of the Martos Folk High School is to cultivate folk traditions and Christian values, as well as to strengthen national identity. Its programs include lectures, book presentations, workshops, competitions, sports and cultural events. In addition to community education, it also places great emphasis on entertainment and community experiences, for example through outdoor festivals, archery, boating, nature trails and sports fields.

The infrastructural background of the institution is also diverse: yurts, wooden houses, tent camps and the Duray Pavilion offer accommodation to visitors, in addition to club rooms, dining options and community spaces. The event park thus serves as an educational, entertaining and community-building space at the same time.

Its highlight program is the Esterházy Academy, which focuses on training young talents in Hungarian public life in the Highlands. The academy organizes weekend training courses, training series, mentoring programs and study trips abroad, thus ensuring the preparation of future community and political leaders. The Folk High School will also expand its offering with dormitory programs from 2025, thus becoming even more closely connected to the education of young generations.

The Martos Folk High School actively participates in the work of the Carpathian Basin Folk High School Network, thus serving the local community and being embedded in a broader intellectual and professional environment. Its activities prove that preserving traditions, community learning and modern forms of education can coexist well if they are guided by building the future of the community.