On November 24, seventeen members of the Tarnay family from the United States visited the Money Museum, where they donated three special silver bowls to our institution. The bowls were won by Frigyes Tarnay nearly 90 years ago in sports competitions organized by the Hungarian National Bank at the time. The former chief inspector of the central bank stands out not only for his sporting achievements, but also for his historical role, as he played a key role in saving Hungary's gold reserves in 1945.

At a turning point in history, between 1944 and 1945, the employees of the Hungarian National Bank showed unprecedented courage in the face of the vicissitudes of war and took the risk of transporting the gold reserves to the West. The Gold Train, which departed from a bunker in Veszprém, arrived in Spital am Pyhrn in January 1945, where the central bank's entire gold reserves and the families of several hundred employees found temporary refuge.

In the spring of 1945, the German authorities made another attempt to transport the national treasures. It was in this critical situation that István Cottely made a bold decision: to send envoys to the US Army to request protection for the central bank and its treasures. One of the envoys was Frigyes Tarnay. The mission was successful: on May 7, Spital became an American occupation zone, and the gold reserves were placed in safety.

We are truly grateful to the Tarnay family for sharing this precious part of their history with us!