Following Petőfi

Although many people do not know it, Sándor Petőfi's parents lived in Vác for a year from the beginning of 1847. In today's public consciousness, his parents lived in the corner house on Báthory Street, and a memorial plaque was placed on this house in 1923.

How is the poet connected to Váh?

Several of Petőfi's works are indirectly connected with the town, but it is a real curiosity that he wrote his poem "Mother's Hen" during a visit here. 

The poet is associated with several local stories, including his night at the Golden Deer Inn. On one occasion, when he missed the steamship approaching Pest, he stayed at the inn, where he was tormented by nightmares all night. The next morning, he learned that the inn also had a theatre, and afterwards he thought that 'the ghost of the actor beaten to death here' had haunted him during the night. Interestingly, he had performed in the city several times himself, and his poem The Ink Bottle was based on his experiences there.

One might legitimately ask why he did not return to the capital by train instead of steamship. 

The railway line between Pest and Vác was not ready at that time, it was only opened on 15 June 1846. Although Petőfi did not take part in the train's memorable first journey, in the days that followed he travelled frequently between Pest and Vác. His poem "On the Railway", written in 1847, refers to the Vác railway line.