The 12 Points: the Most Important Document of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848
The Hungarian revolution of 1848 started on 15 March, when young Hungarian patriots, inspired by the news of the revolution in Vienna, decided to organize mass demonstrations in Pest and Buda (today Budapest.) They marched around the city of Pest, announcing the political demands from their declaration titled the “12 points,” and reciting the revolutionary poem “Nemzeti Dal” (National Song) written by renowned poet Sándor Petőfi who was also one of the key figures and organizers of the demonstration.
By the afternoon, the rally of the young revolutionaries gathered thousands of supporters and forced the imperial governor to accept all of their demands. This was the first and one of the greatest days of the Hungarian Civic Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849.