Sopianae Revived: Pécs Brought Back to Roman Life for a Weekend

On August 29–30, 2025, the historic center of Pécs became the stage for the Roman Festival, Sopianae Revived. The two-day event filled St. Stephen’s Square and nearby heritage sites with performances, re-enactments, and cultural programs that brought ancient traditions to life for today’s audiences.

The festival opened Friday evening at the Early Christian Mausoleum with speeches by city and cultural leaders. The Naiades Danubianae dance group captivated the crowd with choreographies inspired by Roman mythology, followed by a striking performance of „Everyman”, a morality play blending medieval, ancient, and modern texts in a reflection on life’s values. As night fell, a costumed Roman parade wound through the city’s streets, accompanied by re-enactors from several historical groups. The evening concluded with light installations across the UNESCO World Heritage sites that kept St. Stephen’s Square lively until midnight.

Saturday’s program began with pageantry: Emperor Trajan and Governor Hadrian entered the square in full ceremony, greeted by legionaries and priests who led rituals of sacrifice, lustration, and oaths.

Visitors could join the „Ludus Funebris” at the Cella Septichora, where actors recreated ancient burial customs in the atmospheric tombs. The Naiades dancers returned with a series evoking the “Way of Wine,” from harvest to Bacchanalian feast.

At the House of Civil Societes Macellum, Pécs’s ancient Roman marketplace, also hosted a lively program: demonstrations, workshops, and interactive sessions introduced visitors to Roman daily life, from crafts to trade, echoing the bustling atmosphere of the city’s commercial heart.

The afternoon also featured „Wine-Drinking Romans” at the Janus Pannonius Museum, where archaeologists and winemakers combined historical insights with tastings, linking past and present in a popular session.

As the festival drew to a close, time travelling thetaer returned to the stage for a second performance, the city’s monuments were once again illuminated by Labor Lumensquad’s light projections at the Cella Septichora Visitor Center, and the band Gatherpilar delivered a closing concert that blended ancient themes with contemporary sound.

With its mixture of spectacle, scholarship, and community spirit, the Roman Festival demonstrated the richness of Pécs’s heritage. By reimagining Sopianae’s world in today’s streets, the event offered both residents and visitors a vivid reminder of the city’s place in European cultural history.