Erdei Gyöngyi: Fejezetek a Bárczy-korszak történetéből. Budapest művelődéspolitikája a századelőn (Budapest, 1991)

Chapters from the History of the Bárczy Era (The Capital's Cultural Policy at the Turn of the Century) (Summary) The book discusses the capital's cultural policies during this century's first decade and a half, which at the time was guided by Mayor István Bárczy. It sketches the development of Budapest in the background, its determining framework for subsequent educational, cultural and artistic opportunities and policies. After the compromise of 1867 between the Austrian Empire and Hungary, the City launched an incredible expansion program. By the turn of the century the population had more than tripled and the City leadership urgently needed to create an infrastructure to accommodate it. At the beginning of the century István Bárczy became part of the city's leading edge and represented, in his person as well, the inheritance of the nineteenth century. A powerful citizenry additionally supported the policy that elevating the cultural standards of residents was indispensable to the conditions of the contemporary world. In this short span of time, the capital modernized and developed the educational system at an accelerated pace. The book considers these processes and endeavors, the effectiveness of the leadership, and the success of manifesting those contemporary concepts from several different aspects. The greatly envisioned school construction program not only represented a quantitative development but a change in attitude as well. The achievements of a European-standard architectural community also contributed to Budapest's being, at the beginning of the twentieth century, ever closer in step with other large Western European cities, not only in development but also in its external facade. The City disbursed ever increasing amounts from its budget for cultural investments in the form of commissions, support for local artists, purchases and artistic prizes. The book discusses in detail the workings of the patronage system and its multi-faceted manifest style. It addresses the functions of the capital's institutions, such as the library and the museum, and the mechanism of council decisions. The book first in Hungarian historical literature gives a valuation about the cultural role, achievements and carrier of István Bárczy, who marked and was the soul of the period.