Magyar Posta is issuing a commemorative souvenir sheet to mark the quincentenary of the Battle of Mohács. Forty thousand copies of the black numbered perforated souvenir sheets and 4,000 copies of the red numbered imperforated souvenir sheets designed by the graphic artist Balázs Hajnal were produced by the banknote printing company Pénzjegynyomda Zrt. The new issue goes on sale at Filaposta, philately specialist services, certain post offices and www.posta.hu from 28 August 2026.
The Battle of Mohács took place on 29 August 1526 near Mohács. The battle was fought between the forces of the Kingdom of Hungary, commanded by King Louis II, and the invading Ottoman Empire, led by Suleiman the Magnificent. The battle ended in a decisive Ottoman victory and became one of the most frequently recalled events in Hungarian military history. How it is viewed today is determined by the fact that Hungary was confronted by the largest military force in the world at that time, the Ottoman Empire, against which it stood next to no chance of victory. (Source: Battle of Mohács – Wikipedia)
On 29 August 1526, the battlefield of Mohács became the scene of Hungarian valour. For a long time, the expansion of the Ottoman Empire had cast a shadow over the fate of the country. On that day, the Hungarian army courageously faced the Ottomans, who both outnumbered them and possessed superior military technology. The Hungarians’ sole intent was to defend their homeland, to halt the enemy and to set an example of self-sacrifice. Among the brave heroes of Mohács, virtually all the Hungarian elite magnates, military commanders and bishops stood alongside King Louis II and fought to the last man for their country. Today, 500 years later, we not only mourn but also pay tribute to those who gave their lives for the country and to the spirit which time and again has helped this nation rise anew. (Source: https://mohacs500.hu)
The design of the frame of the commemorative souvenir sheet features a woodcut from 1526 entitled The Battle of Mohács from the collection of the Staatsbibliothek Bamberg in Germany. In the stamp on the left, István Dorffmaister’s painting Portrait of Louis II shows the king in armour. The painting is housed in the Kanizsai Dorottya Museum in Mohács. In the right hand stamp, a detail of The Battle of Mohács in 1526 by József Borsos (a copy of István Dorffmaister’s painting) is depicted. The original is kept in the Mayor’s Office in Mohács. The commemorative cover features a detail from Bertalan Székely’s painting The Discovery of the Corpse of Louis II, housed at the Museum of Fine Arts Hungarian National Gallery. The logo of the Mohács 500 project appears in the postmark on the commemorative first day cover.
