Stop 10 · Gossip Walk
Fish Festival
Huszár Mátyás quay · 1997–2023
A 3500-litre cauldron, 7000 portions of fish soup at once. Then it was over.
The first Szeged Fish Festival was held on 20 September 1997, on the Tisza quay.
Whose idea was it? People still argue. A former editor-in-chief of the local paper Délmagyar says it was born in the newsroom. A former organiser at the company running the fish restaurant says he suggested it. Chief organiser Sándor Frank says it was nobody's alone: in 1996 they went to the fish-soup festival in Baja, didn't get any soup, and decided on the way home to make their own.
From 2000 the giant cauldron was its symbol: 3500 litres, 7000 portions of fish soup cooked at once. Sándor Frank: “we were the kings of fish soup, and we'll stay that way for a good long while”.
In 2024, after 26 years, the organisers announced they wouldn't carry on. A smaller revival didn't come together in 2026 either, for financial reasons. Instead, in autumn there's the Tisza Fish-Cooking Festival at the Partfürdő, with amateur teams and their cauldrons.
Open in the app →Animated scene, old photos, stamps and the full map. Free, nothing to install.Facts and labels
- TrueFirst fish festival: 20 September 1997.
- TrueThe giant cauldron held 3500 litres, 7000 portions.
- TrueNot held since 2024, and it didn't return in 2026.
- Open questionWhose idea was it? There are three versions.