20,000 forint – Teréz Brunszvik

Therese Brunsvik was born into an aristocratic family in 1775. She was one of the best educated women of her time and among the first to point out the importance of early childhood education. In 1828, she opened the “small children’s nursery institute” in her family’s house in the Mikó utca; it was not only the first nursery school in Hungary, but in all of Central Europe. She followed the example of the nursery schools in England, which were the first ones in the world. Brunsvik also founded one of the first civil organisations in Hungary, in the interests of developing a national network of nurseries. Thanks to her work, the first nursery school which she ran with great pedagogical expertise was followed by many others in Buda and Pest and around the country, as well as in Austria and Southern Germany, with her support. She died in 1861 in Budapest, at the age of 86. The legacy of her pioneering efforts lives on today in the internationally outstanding pedagogical work that has been conducted in Hungarian institutions for early childhood development for the last two centuries. Front: The front of the coin shows a scene from a nursery in the 19th century, when only men worked as nursery teachers, typically with co-ed groups of children. The mandatory elements are also found on the front: the legend “MAGYARORSZÁG” (Hungary) the denomination “20 000” and “FORINT”, the mint mark “BP.” and mint date “2025”. Back: The back bears a half-profile portrait of Brunsvik, based on a drawing by Miklós Barabás, in front of her home in the Mikó utca in Buda that functioned as the first Hungarian nursery, based on a 1915 painting by Gergely Pörge. The legend in three, handwritten lines above the image presents a well-known quote by Brunsvik “A nevelés teszi az embert, s az ember a hazát!” (Education makes a person, and people make the nation!). In a circular legend at the top of the back is the name “BRUNSZVIK TERÉZ”, along with the years of her birth and death “1775 – 1861”, while the master mark of the coin’s designer Andrea Horváth is found at the bottom right.