Hungary's Oldest Sports Club Turns 135

The leaders of the Újpest Torna Egylet (UTE), along with past and present athletes, solemnly remembered this Tuesday the founding of the purple-white club 135 years ago, on June 16, 1885.

As exercise basically meant gymnastics in Hungary at that time, it was natural that the first gathering of athletes from Újpest (now District 4 of Budapest in the north of the capital) took place in the spirit of this sport.The founders, with the fiery enthusiasm of the youth, joined the ranks of the adherents of the new idea and with persevering work, they started the organization of the young sports association, which is now the oldest still active sports club in the country.

On June 16, 1885, twenty enthusiastic young people announced the establishment of the Újpest Torna Egylet (which literally translates as 'Újpest Gymnastics Association') in one of the classrooms of the marketplace school. The number of members who would join soon was only 78. It was this many people who endorsed the new club's slogan: Integrity, Strength, Consensus.

135 years later, this Tuesday, it was - among others - UTE president István Őze and Olympic and world champion gymnast Krisztián Berki who laid wreaths at the memorial plaques of one of the founders and great patron of the club, Lipót Aschner and that of legendary footballer Ferenc Szusza and the bust of another football legend Ferenc Bene.