On 8 March 2025, co-organized by the De Ruyter Foundation and the Hungarian Embassy in The Hague, we commemorated the famous Dutch Admiral Michiel de Ruyter, who freed 28 Hungarian Protestant preachers sentenced to galley slavery in 1676. At a symposium held in the beautiful Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam, Ambassador Dániel Horogszegi Szilágyi-Landeck recalled the historical links between the Hungarian and Dutch nations and the message of the Dutch admiral's heroic deed for our time.
The event also included a wreath-laying ceremony.
The 17th century prisoner liberation is an important event in the common Hungarian-Dutch history. It is regularly commemorated in Hungary, with a galley slaves memorial and a street named after Admiral De Ruyter in the city of Debrecen.
