Published: September 22, 2025.
“Without Borders” in Transylvania 2025
Our school has been participating in the “Without Borders!” field trip since 2017. Since then, only one grade level has missed out on this once-in-a-lifetime experience: during the COVID-19 pandemic, the seventh graders who won the competition were unable to travel, and by the time the opportunity opened up again, they were no longer students at our school. Since it has become a permanent goal of our school for students to meet Hungarian students from across the border, experience the cultural heritage of historic Hungary, and participate in the “Határtalanul!” competition, the sixth-graders of 2024 organized an afternoon visit to the House of Hungarians program. This event took place on May 17, 2024, and our students received certificates of participation.
Last fall, we learned that we would be able to participate in the “Határtalanul!” program again in 2025, so we organized the entire year to help our students prepare for this event. The theme of the upcoming trip came up again and again during the selection of required reading, homeroom classes, and art classes.
Naturally, these thematic preparations reached their peak in the days leading up to the trip: the children learned folk songs (such as “Kolozsváros is a City”), reviewed architectural styles, discussed the Treaty of Trianon in history class, and used the digital features of Barangoló during homeroom. With all this preparation behind them, the day of the field trip finally arrived.
On June 2, the seventh-graders from the Reménység Catholic Elementary School and Preschool traveled to Transylvania on a field trip. The trip was made possible through a grant program announced by the State Secretariat for National Policy with the aim of enabling students from Hungary to meet with Hungarian communities across the border and to learn about the natural and cultural treasures of the ceded territories. The program was named “Határtalanul!” (Without Borders!). This was the seventh time students from the Reménység School had participated in this program.
We set off from Budapest early in the morning, right in front of the school. Of course, the well-known logo of the “Határtalanul!” field trip was displayed on the bus.
Our five-day trip began in Nagyszalonta with a visit to the János Arany Museum. The Csonka Tower, renovated in honor of the Arany commemorative year, welcomed visitors with a modern exhibition. After touring the museum, we walked to János Arany’s birthplace and also stopped in front of the plaque commemorating István Sinka.
Our journey took us from Nagyszalonta to Nagyvárad. We learned about the cultural and historical significance of this city with a rich past, visited the cathedral and the tomb of Saint Ladislaus, and took a walk along the famous row of canons’ houses.
The children learned about Transylvania’s largest Baroque building, the historical significance of Oradea, and the connections between Saint Ladislaus and Janus Pannonius to Oradea. We discussed the cultural treasures of this Partium town and previewed their upcoming curriculum, including the poetry of Ady and Gyula Juhász.
Leaving Oradea behind, we stopped at Vársonkolyos near Királyhágó, crossed the suspension bridge over the Körös River, and walked to the Cave of the Winds. The children were able to experience this unique natural formation and the strong rush of cool air flowing out of the cave. The suspension bridge spanning the rushing Körös River was also a great experience for them.
After that, we crossed the Királyhágó Pass and truly arrived in Transylvania.
We concluded the day’s program with a visit to the church in Körösfő, and after paying our respects at the memorial to Pál Vasvári—who died a heroic death in this area in 1849 fighting against invading Wallachian troops— we checked into our accommodations at the Bethesda Reformed Diaspora College in Zsobok. While walking around Zsobok, the children were able to see numerous carved masterpieces of Kalotaszeg folk art.
On Tuesday morning, our first trip took us to Gyulafehérvár. We met with students from the Count Károly Majlát Catholic Theological High School. The principal, the Most Reverend István Farkas, spoke about the lives of Hungarians living in the diaspora, the students’ daily lives, the difficulties of living as a minority, and also about how talented students can thrive even under these challenging circumstances. With the help of the eighth-grade students, we were able to explore Gyulafehérvár’s main landmark, the cathedral. We prayed for the Hungarians of Transylvania at the graves of János Hunyadi and Áron Márton. We laid a wreath at the grave of Hunyadi, the conqueror of the Turks, and at the statue of the saintly Transylvanian bishop.
In the afternoon, we visited the boarding school in Nagyenyed. We viewed the world-famous natural science collection and, in the school museum, got a glimpse into life at the boarding school. During our walk through Nagyenyed, we laid wreaths at the graves of the students who took up arms during the Austrian invasion and lost their lives. Mór Jókai immortalized their memory in his famous short story. At the castle wall, we also paid our respects at the memorial plaque honoring the victims of the 1849 massacre.
We arrived in Torockó at the end of the day, where we checked into our accommodations.
On Wednesday, we traveled to Torda. We descended into the depths of the salt mine and learned about the importance of salt mining.
The bravest among us went all the way down to the boat dock. As we descended the stairs, we could see how the mine’s levels had deepened over the decades.
From there, our journey took us to Cluj-Napoca. There, we visited the statue of King Matthias in the main square, St. Michael’s Cathedral, and King Matthias’s birthplace. During our brief stay here, our seventh-graders also learned about the history of Cluj-Napoca. During our walk, we visited the Reformed Church on Farkas Street and also stopped by the University of Cluj-Napoca.
Our excursion continued as we walked through the Turda Gorge. This beautiful gorge is associated with numerous legends about Saint Ladislaus; for example, we saw the hoofprint of Saint Ladislaus’s horse, and we also collected Saint Ladislaus coins.
We returned to our lodging in Torockó by evening.
On Thursday, we went on an outing. We hiked up to Székelykő and admired the beautiful landscape of the Transylvanian ore region from there. The hike up and down was quite a challenge, but in the afternoon, the children happily received their certificates proving they had climbed Székelykő.
In the afternoon, we visited the Torockó house of the St. Francis Home in Dévai, and then we went hiking at the foot of Székelykő.
On Friday, we headed home, but we stopped in Vajdahunyad to visit the castle where King Matthias was raised as a child.
Our final stop was in Arad, where we laid a wreath at the Freedom Statue, the memorial to the Martyrs of Arad. We arrived in Budapest in the evening after five wonderful days.
