From the arrival of the Hungarian Magyar tribes in the Carpathian basin of Europe in the 9th century and the establishment of the first Hungarian state to the subsequent conquest of the Hungarian monarchy by the Ottoman Turks, rule by the Austrian Habsburgs, and the rise of fervent Hungarian nationalist aspirations in the 19th century, the history of the Hungarian land and people is one of dramatic proportions, historic ethnic identity, and spirited resilience. Its language a linguistic outlier among the people and tongues of Europe, its modern quest for independence twice brutally crushed by foreign intervention in the middle of the 19th and 20th centuries, it was nonetheless Hungary and the character of its people who contributed in large part, 35 years ago, to the fall of Communism and the Berlin Wall and the Peaceful Revolution in Europe. Warm, welcoming, gracious and generous, the Hungarian people and Budapest, their splendid capital city, beckon and delight.

Please join us on September 8th as we explore the history, cultural heritage, and architectural treasures of Hungary and charming Budapest, the “Pearl of the Danube.”

Time permitting, the presentation may include a brief language lesson: A Little Hungarian for Travelers.

1:30 Refreshments
2:00 Program

This program is available live on Zoom also. The link to the Zoom session will be sent a few days before the program. It will not be recorded.

About the Presenter:

Russell Baldner’s very early affection for the German language and history led to B.A. and M.A. degrees in History and undergraduate and graduate study in German, anthropology, and archaeology. On his first visit to Germany, he lived in his immigrant great-great-grandfather’s birthplace. Baldner speaks German and specializes in the history of Germany, including the Early and High Middle Ages, the Protestant Reformation and Lutheranism, and 19th- and 20th-century Germany and Europe. A closely related specialty, indispensable for research, is the deciphering and translating of historic documents drafted in Kurrentschrift, an archaic, long-abandoned and seldom-read form of German cursive script, also genealogy, ethnic German history, and Native American prehistoric archaeology, culture and history. By profession an educator, Russell formerly taught German, history and anthropology. His recent publications include several nineteenth-century German Lutheran historical and archaic German cursive manuscript studies, a four-part research series on the Late Prehistoric–Early Historic Native American petroglyphs and pictographs of northeast Iowa, and “Diversity in Faith,” a three-part Introduction to the Reformation and Protestantism.

In September 2022, Baldner hosted “Medieval to Modern Hearts of Germany,” a two-week group tour in northeastern Germany which he proposed, named, and largely designed in conjunction with, and sponsored by, the University of Northern Iowa, his alma mater. Included were pre-departure orientations by Russell focusing on Germany’s history, language, and social-cultural landscape, also historical lectures and interpretive on-site commentaries while on tour in Germany.

A frequent public speaker, Baldner presents on a wide range of historical, linguistic, and archaeological subjects. While visiting Croatia in September 2023, he presented “Balkan Mosaic,” a two-part historical and cultural orientation for tour participants.

As a member of a recent delegation from the Northeastern Iowa Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and in preparation for their June 2024 travel to Hungary at the invitation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hungary, Russell recently presented a similar series of pre-departure orientations on the history and culture of Hungary and the Hungarian language.

In 2019, Baldner first had the pleasure of speaking at the German American Heritage Center and Museum. Five years and seven presentations later, Russ welcomes the current invitation to present, in person, and looks forward once again to joining the gracious hosts and friends of the German American Heritage Center. Köszönöm! Vielen Dank! Thank you!