Alba Regia Chapel And Memorial Park

One of the most unique Hungarian memorial sites in the United States, the Alba Regia Memorial Chapel and Hungarian Memorial Park, is located in the state of West Virginia. Located in the eastern corner of West Virginia, near the town of Berkeley Springs, the complex is not merely a public sculpture but an entire memorial to the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, nestled deep in the West Virginia mountains. The Mount Tabor memorial site was established by the Hungarian Freedom Fighters’ World Federation (HFFF) on a 10-hold wooded area that was donated to them in 1973. The chapel was consecrated in 1981, on the 25th anniversary of the 1956 Revolution. The building and the surrounding park are adorned with monuments made of stone and bronze, erected specifically to honor the heroes and victims of the world wars, oppression, and the 1956 Revolution. The crypt beneath the chapel is a true national pilgrimage site for Hungarian Americans: it holds the remains of nearly 100 Hungarian freedom fighters from 1956 and émigrés who fled to the United States after the revolution was crushed and, in accordance with their last wishes, chose to be laid to rest here. Although today the area is more of a quiet, secluded memorial park, West Virginia has very deep Hungarian roots. Starting in the early 1900s, a huge number of Hungarian mining families arrived in the state, so significant Hungarian communities once lived in this part of the Appalachian Mountains. For this reason, the later generation of refugees from 1956 also found a home and a strong base in this region.

Every tiny detail of the Alba Regia complex evokes traditional Carpathian Basin motifs. The path leading to the chapel is adorned with wooden arches and fences carved in a distinctive Transylvanian style, and in the clearing, the Hungarian and American flags fly proudly from their flagpoles. The interior of the chapel is lined with carved wooden elements richly decorated with traditional Hungarian folk motifs and historical noble coats of arms, reminding visitors of the homeland’s thousand-year history. The chapel grounds are still maintained by the HFFF today. Although it lies on a quiet private property, local organizations and Scout troops continue to visit regularly: they hold fall Scout camps here, and on national holidays, they hold intimate wreath-laying ceremonies in the woods to mark anniversaries.

www.hungarianfreedomfighters.org