Montgomery Mayor sends greetings to Kunágota

In a bid to strengthen their cultural ties with Hungary, the Mayor of Montgomery in Mid-Wales has sent his seasonal greetings, and a copy of the seminal ‘Story of Montgomery’ book authored by Ann and John Welton, to Kunágota in southeast Hungary - branded Hungary's "Welshest" village.

Montgomery Mayor Haydn Andrew's letter to Kunágota Mayor Zoltán Pápai comes shortly after the Hungarian village published a short video, in which members of the local council wished a merry Christmas to their Welsh friends in Welsh, English and Hungarian.

In an interview for local magazine My Newtown, Montgomery council member Claire Weston said, "Kunágota styles itself the most Welsh village in Hungary and, although few of the residents have ever visited Wales, they enjoy an annual Welsh concert and never miss an opportunity to sing Sosban Fach or Cwm Rhondda."

"The residents of [Kunágota] were delighted by Montgomery’s ‘Building Bridges’ video that was even shown on Hungarian national television."

Montgomery's strong literary links to Hungary - with the town being the setting to Hungarian poet János Arany's famous allegorical ballad "The Bards of Wales" - inspired the town to respond to Magyar Cymru's heartfelt video message to Wales earlier this year.

The video response, coordinated by Montgomery Town Council member Jill Kibble, made headlines in Hungary and was a first step towards a beautiful friendship between Wales' "most Hungarian" town and Hungary's "Welshest" village.

To find out more about the growing friendship between Kunágota and Montgomery, visit the Welsh-Hungarian Cultural Association's website.