Orfalu: Residents in Hungary’s smallest settlements receive equal attention from the government as those in larger cities, according to Miklós Soltész, the state secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office responsible for church and ethnic relations. Soltész, also vice-president of the KDNP, highlighted this commitment during a ceremony in Orfalu, a Slovene-inhabited area in the Rába region, where he inaugurated a new tourist facility adjacent to a local Slovenian landscape house.
According to KDNP, Soltész stressed the significance of cultural, educational, church, and economic investments in Rábavidék, a region populated by Slovenes, to enable residents to remain in their homeland. Over the past decade, the Rába region has benefited from subsidies totaling HUF five billion. The newly opened apartment house aims to attract visitors to this unique region and bolster the preservation of Slovenian heritage within Hungary.
Soltész acknowledged the challenges faced but expressed optimism about recent developments,
including decisions from international conferences and meetings in Budapest, which pave the way for a 2025 budget focused on economic recovery and strengthening national communities, including the Slovenian minority. He assured that next year’s plans would continue supporting ethnic community investments, covering both renovations and new constructions.
Gábor Mayer, the State Secretary for Territorial Development, recounted the Hungarian government’s 2012 initiative to boost the Rába region’s development, which aligns with the regional development strategy crafted by the National Slovenian Self-Government. From 2022 to 2024, HUF 898 million in tender support has been allocated to the seven micro-regions predominantly inhabited by Slovenian communities. Mayer also announced a forthcoming tender call this year aimed at promoting product development and equipment procurement for local agricultural producers and small entrepreneurs under the Rábavidék Spatial Development program, with a total fund of HUF 178 mil
lion.
Károly Holecz, president of the Slovenian Cultural and Tourism Association of Rábavidék and the National Slovenian Local Government, highlighted the construction of the Triglav apartment building. Supported by HUF 168.9 million from the Rábavidék Spatial Development Program, the funding fully covered the construction costs. The new apartment house, situated next to the Slovenian country house, features a rock from Triglav, the highest mountain in the Slovenian Julian Alps, in its courtyard, which inspired the house’s name.
