Hungary to abolish free admission to state museums

Free admission to state museums will be abolished from January 1, 2008, to be replaced by a series of discounts, government spokeswoman Bernadett Budai announced Thursday.

The free admission was initiated by former Prime Minister Péter Medgyessy in 2003 and was introduced on May 1, 2004 when Hungary joined the EU. However, the EU has complained that Hungary grants benefits to Hungarians which it does not to citizens of other EU countries.

Children under six years of age, as well as organised student groups will have free access, as will visitors from other EU countries, teachers and those working in higher education.

Pensioners aged 62-70 will be charged half the admission fee to permanent exhibitions.

All exhibitions will be free on public holidays and each museum will set aside one weekend each month when families can visit free of charge.

The above story is just one of more than two dozen published today by Hungary Around the Clock, the most comprehensive source of daily English-language news about Hungary. For a free trial of HATC, click here. Hungarian news sources include Népszabadság; Magyar Hírlap; Világgazdaság; Napi Gazdaság; Magyar Nemzet; Népszava; Kossuth Rádió news and Hungarian television's nightly news broadcast.

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