A replica of the first Hungarian car was made in Keszthely

Minister of Innovation and Technology László Palkovics said at the car show held at the Helikon Castle Museum on Thursday evening: the basis of today's Hungarian automotive industry is the innovative ability that was already present in the car manufacturers five hundred years ago.

Modern Hungarian vehicle production re-emerged in the 1990s, when research was started from a few ideas, and then world companies appeared that could have been based on the knowledge of Hungarian engineers. The latest stop in this development is the forthcoming automotive test track in Zalaegerszeg, one of the most innovative such facilities in the world. Zala County will thus become one of the most important places in the world's automotive industry, the Minister emphasized.

At the inauguration, Róbert Pálinkás, director of the Helikon Castle Museum, recalled that King Matthias occupied Vienna in 1485, which made traffic between Buda and Vienna more frequent. The masters of the village of Kocs on this road were the ones who made the first easy, comfortable and fast cart based on a cart, which made it possible for travelers to travel between the two cities in one day and one night.

The vehicle was already mentioned in writing as early as 1895, followed by a more detailed description in 1518, and in 1568 a painter from Augsburg created the drawing still known today, which was the basis for the plans for the current car replica, the director said.

The masters of the carriage repair shop of the Keszthely Museum manufactured the car, for which the wicker was made in Badacsonytomaj. The idea for the implementation comes from István Knezsik, the chairman of the Grand Coalition of the Car, who not only raised the issue, but also financed the construction of the vehicle, stressed Róbert Pálinkás.
As an originator of the event, István Knezsik believed that we, the Hungarians, are the ancestors of modern mobility and four-wheeled transport. He also added that a similar car will now be built in the workshop in Keszthely to his order, but this cart will already be donated to the car museum in the village of Kocs.

(Source: autokalauz.co.hu; MTI | Image: pixabay.com)