Sale of State-Owned Castles in Hungary to Private Elite Must Be Stopped, Protests Opposition

  • 3 Jul 2023 9:38 AM
  • Hungary Matters
Sale of State-Owned Castles in Hungary to Private Elite Must Be Stopped, Protests Opposition
The opposition Momentum Movement is turning to the European Union’s anti-graft body (OLAF), asking for measures to stop the sale of state-owned, revamped Hungarian castles to private buyers.

Momentum politician János Stummer told a press conference on Friday that Fidesz had submitted a proposal to parliament that would “give the Fidesz elite the opportunity to acquire revamped castles in Hungary free of charge.”

Momentum earlier organised a series of petitions and demonstrations to save castles nationwide, Stummer said.

Those buildings should be kept and operated by the state, in projects benefitting taxpayers, he said. Dávid Benkő, Momentum’s deputy parliamentary group leader, noted that 12 castles had been reconstructed using EU funds as well as government support.

The EU contracts for such funding bar the government from privatising the buildings in question, and so Momentum is asking OLAF to review the draft legislation and “help us prevent this marauders’ privatisation,” he said.

Photo: Kinizsi Castle

  • How does this content make you feel?

XpatLoop Media Partner

Hungary Matters

Launched in January 2014, this newsletter published on week days covers 'everything you need to know about what’s going on in Hungary and beyond', according to its publisher the state media agency MTI.

Explore More Reports

  • Updated: 'Budapest Will Not Kneel', Says Mayor to Gov't

    Updated: 'Budapest Will Not Kneel', Says Mayor to Gov't

    • 4 Dec 2025 12:00 PM

    At a "Budapest Pride March 2.0" rally outside the Carmelite Monastery, the prime minister's office, Gergely Karacsony, the mayor of Budapest, vowed the city would "not kneel", as he handed the City Assembly's resolution on its "real financial crisis" to a government representative.

  • 'Budapest Pride 2.0' on Monday at Clark Adam Square Called for by Mayor

    'Budapest Pride 2.0' on Monday at Clark Adam Square Called for by Mayor

    • 28 Nov 2025 8:34 AM

    Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony announced on Thursday that he had convened an extraordinary assembly for Monday to reaffirm the "true financial situation" of the municipality. The decision will later be delivered to the Prime Minister’s Office in Buda Castle during a demonstration, he told a press conference.

  • Banned Pécs Pride Held in Hungary

    Banned Pécs Pride Held in Hungary

    • 6 Oct 2025 6:37 AM

    The fifth Pécs Pride parade was held under the slogan "We will not bow to fear!" in the southern Hungarian city on Saturday, the closing day of the Freedom of my Identity human rights festival.