The Hungarian Refugees in Krusevo

The Hungarian Refugees in Krusevo

Sula Mina

During 1956, when the pro-democratic revolution in Hungary began, approximately 500 Hungarian refugees came to Krusevo and spent about half a year in the town. They were situated in two parts of Krusevo and supplied with food and other necessities from the Ilinden hotel.

Hungarian Refugees in Krusevo

One group of 250 refugees were situated in the children's camp Sula Mina - located outside Krusevo on the way to the village Pusta Reka and Holy Transfiguration monastery. The other two hundred refugees stayed in the Ilinden hotel.

Via donkeys and horses the refugees in Sula Mina were supplied with food and drink, and had only two phones to contact their relatives in Hungary and around the world with. One phone was found in the hotel and the other in the children's camp.

Hotel Ilinden

At first, the people from Krusevo were curious and afraid of the news that refugees from a country in Europe were coming to their home town. In time however, they made friends with them and created memories that live until this day.

One example of the acceptance of the Hungarian refugees was a man called Farkash who trained the football players from the club Pitu Guli. That team eventually made it to the top of the league table.In 2016 a memorial table was dedicated in the Sula Mina complex, and the book “There Is Only Emptiness After Them” was published in both Macedonian and Hungarian.