Pfliegler J. Ferenc: Életem. Egy miskolci polgár visszaemlékezései 1840-1918 (Miskolc, 1996)

Angol nyelvű kivonat (Summary)

Ferenc J. Pfliegler Autobiography. Memories of a 19th century résidant of Miskolc (Summary) The family Pfliegler has come originally from Baden-Württemberg subsequently from the town Klein-Hadersdorf of Lower-Austria. Mátyás (Mathias), a sugarmaker accepted the challenge of pioneering in the industrialization and modernization of early 19th century Hungary - a somewhat similar experience to that of the American West. His son J. Ferenc - the first to become a full Hungarian - was born in 1840, in Esterháza near the Austrian border. After many years of wandering he settled in Miskolc town in North-Eastern Hungary where be became a highly respected résidant and the head of a wide spread, well-known, Miskolcion family. His Memories have been lost for more than seven decades. It starts with the „green years". The reading of the old fashioned letters report on a romantic but notso-easy travel through Hungary' in the 1840s, on a short but longlasting personal experience of a 9-year-old boy of the Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence, on the educational habits of a middle class family and so on. The long forgotten but interesting details of Guild Life, expectations and chances of a young would-be Master can be followed on the next few pages while a thorough description of the Bódva valley and its everyday life is given in the next chapter. No doubt one of the most interesting part of the book is the „grandfather's" tales: Miskolc in the 1850's, 1860's. Where were the old shops? How much did it cost to buy a bread or a pint of beer? Where did the first Turkish Bath exist? How and why did the the „Greeks" come to Miskolc? All these and many other (e. g. the opening of the Railway, the visit of the Emperor Francis Joseph, the Great Flood, etc.) interesting old stories come to alive, and explain the origin of some „Miskolcian proverbs" - by the pen of a contemporary man. Beside the local events some insights to the „great"-politics are also given - through the not very wide but patriotic eyes of a common sense craftsman. Following these chapters, peculiar or even strange résidants of Miskolc are remembered: famous doctors or infamous quack-doctors, poets and monks, actors and actresses of the first permanent theatre of the country, the founder of the local press and many others will be introduced to us. The next part of the book deals with the vivid and troublous times of early capitalism: foundations of prosperous, even nowadays existing or, on the contrary, failed and short-lived banks, factories are discussed through the eyes of an eyewitness and participant. An especially detailed history is given of the famous Joiner's Guild, the existence and dissolution of the guilds in Hungary and the beginning of the new, manufacturing industry. The book and the memories end up with some sad and in many respects true visions of our century. Thorough explanations and foot-notes of great-grand son György Pfliegler make the reading easily understandable and more enjoyable. György Pfliegler