Kálmán Mihalik (21 February 1896 – 6 September 1922) was a Hungarian physician and composer, best known for setting the music of the Székely Himnusz.

Early life and studies

Mihalik was born in Oravicabánya (now Oravița) to a Székely woman from

Csík County Csík (Hungarian, in Romanian: ''Ciuc'') was an administrative county (Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary), comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in central Romania (eastern Transylvania). The capital of the county was Csíkszere ...

and a burgess from Kassa (now Košice). He absolved his high school studies in the Piarist and the Unitarian grammar school of Kolozsvár (now Cluj-Napoca), making his matura in 1915. Subsequently, Mihalik was enrolled at the Franz Joseph University, however, his studies were interrupted by the World War I, forcing him to spend several years on the front. In the final period of the war, after the Romanian forces took over Kolozsvár, the university moved first to

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

and later to

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...

, where Mihalik followed them. After finishing his studies he remained in the university, became the assistant lecturer of Béla Reinbold and worked as a medical researcher.

Composer of the Székely Himnusz

In 1920, together with four others, György Csanády founded the Association of Székely University and College Students (Székely Egyetemista és Főiskolai Hallgatók Egyesülete; SZEFHE), a self-help organization that aimed to create a sense of belonging of those who had to fled their home after the war, and whose homeland was ceded to Romania by the

Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (; ; ; ), often referred to in Hungary as the Peace Dictate of Trianon or Dictate of Trianon, was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace Conference. It was signed on the one side by Hungary ...

. In 1921, Csanády wrote a poem for students in exile, for which Mihalik, a long-term friend of Csanády, composed the music. The song written for girls choir was first performed on 22 May 1922 at the annual meeting of SZEFHE, under the title ''Kantáté''. Mihalik died in the autumn of 1922. In his obituary, presumably written by Csanády, the song was already called ''Székely Himnusz'', under which name it became well known later. Although after the World War II it was banned both in the Communist Hungary and Romania, the song remained popular and turned into a symbol of resistance and togetherness, and on 5 September 2009 it was adopted as the anthem of

Székely Land The Székely Land or Szeklerland (, , Old Hungarian script, Székely runes: 𐲥𐳋𐳓𐳉𐳗𐳌𐳞𐳖𐳇; and sometimes ; ; ) is a historic and ethnographic area in present-day Romania, inhabited mainly by Székelys, a subgroup of Hung ...

Death and legacy

Mihalik died of

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...

on 6 September 1922 and was buried in the Inner City Cemetery of Szeged. His resting place was forgotten for 70 years and was only revealed after the transition in Hungary. In 2009 he got an honorary grave near the entrance of the cemetery, consecrated by Most Reverend Endre Gyulai, Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Szeged.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mihalik, Kalman 1896 births 1922 deaths People from Oravița Hungarian composers Hungarian male composers Hungarian medical researchers Székely people Franz Joseph University alumni Deaths from typhus 20th-century Hungarian composers 20th-century Hungarian male musicians