Slovaks living abroad form an integral part of the Slovak national cultural context. They create values that need to be preserved, enhanced and point out their versatility and use for contemporary forms of cultural identification. Slovaks in Hungary, who have been living in the vicinity of Békéscsaba for more than three hundred years, are also an important component of the Slovak minority of Hungarian Lowland. From this “Slovak Palestine”, as Ján Kollár named it, in the 18th and 19th century a historical-religious-cultural center of Slovaks (and also Hungarians) was created, which can still be rightfully proud of its heritage. Being a part of it, as a kind of pioneer, even as a historical basis, is also the personality of Lajos Haan (1818-1891), who performed his versatile activity in the chronotope of “Hungarian and Slovak” Békéscsaba. In this spirit, the article interprets his letters, his diary, “Pamätnosti” (Memoirs) and “Dejiny” (History), while presenting material and immaterial sources, monuments, inspirations that have been, are and will certainly be useful in artistic, cultural and literary “communication”. It is based on the attributes of cultural and literary science, which is thus an integrative model of literature research: a set of approaches that focus on cultural topics, theories and methods. The region of Békéscsaba ( pars pro toto: contemporary Hungary) is its focus. In selected texts of his material writings, Lajos Haan reflects his closer understanding of cooperation with the environment, from a broader point of view the intra- and interculturality of Hungarians and Slovaks: their coexistence, cooperation and diverse creative efforts. It points out the importance of Haanʼs personal contacts within the contemporary social environment, which is also specified in his personal letters. Memoirs are a testimony of an intellectual from the second half of the 19 century; to today's reader they will reveal the “strange, interesting, Hungarian” atmosphere of the time - in the background of social, political, historical, cultural and literary attributes. The description of the characteristic features of the city is a symbol of the peaceful coexistence of nations and nationalities in the Lowlands. In fact, the article presents the complex activity of an unusual personality: a Hungarian historian and a Slovak priest in one person, Lajos Haan, whose texts are interesting and current for today.
The Archives of Artaxata: Archival Practice in the Capital of Ancient Armenia
