The programme

With more than 200 participants, this congress is the most important event of the profession in Hungary. It aims to share the traditional knowledge still in use and to present the technological and modern innovations of the stone industry. The event is intended to be useful and instructive for those attending, presenting news from the sector, innovations and information on training courses and construction sites.

The programme was packed with 14 presentations, including a presentation of the Buda Hill construction site. On the heights of Budapest, on the western bank of the Danube, several monumental building sites are underway and are planned. A series of administrative buildings, such as the Ministry of Finance located near Buda Castle, will be rebuilt, constructed or restored. This is a unique project in Europe for stonemasons, as several stone buildings are involved. The work will be spread over a total of fifteen years!

During the day, there were also several prize-giving ceremonies:

Diploma of Stone: Dr. Beatrix Feckó; Gabor Minya

Master of the Golden Crown: Tibor Bélai ;

Stone Carving Sign: Zsolt Balogh; Laszlo Sax

Every year, for the past twenty-three years, a congress has been organised near Budapest, in Pilisvörösvár, to bring together the players in the Hungarian stone cutting industry. Companies, geologists, tool dealers, professional vehicle manufacturers and many others present the latest news and developments in the stone sector during the day.

Unexpectedly and with great surprise, we were invited to speak about the Stone Route project in front of all this assembly, on Saturday 11th March.

Présentation du projet en Hongrie.

But how did we get to this congress? It was on 11 February this year that we came to attend the Hungarian Euroskills selection. It was during this event that we met one of the professors of the stone-cutting course in Budapest. After a very rich discussion, he invited us to participate and present the Stone Route project at the International Congress of Stonecutters in Hungary.

Thanks to the great help of Janos, stonemason and French speaker, we prepared the event and the translation. In addition, we were accompanied by Rafael, stonemason at the Bauhütte in Vienna. We were able to talk to many people from all over Europe and to discover the profession from a new angle, that of Hungary. It was a great opportunity and pride for us to participate in this event, and it was also an opportunity to pass on a positive message about the brotherhood of the trade and to encourage the younger stonemasons present.

For more informations :

L'Association industrielle nationale des sculpteurs sur pierre et des entrepreneurs en taille de pierre

L'histoire de cette organisation remonte à 1989. C'est alors que fut fondé le Conseil National des Petits Artisans de Tailleurs de Pierre et Tailleurs de Pierre, suivi de notre Conseil Industriel en 1990 en tant que successeur légal. Ainsi, les tailleurs de pierre et les fabricants de pierre artificielle sont devenus l'un des premiers en Hongrie à disposer d'une organisation professionnelle indépendante, qui travaille depuis lors à la réalisation continue de ses objectifs.

Site internet : http://stoneinfo.hu/

Louis, Janos and Orianne at the presentation of the project to the Congress assembly.

Overview of the hall where the XXIII International Congress of Hungarian Stonemasons was held.