Urbs - Magyar Várostörténeti Évkönyv 10-11. (Budapest, 2017)
Abstracts
454 Abstracts and to what extent urban development can be promoted by a catastrophic flood; that is how a city can benefit from the negative consequences of improper water management. Miskolc is crossed by the stream Szinva, which determined the townscape from the beginning and favourably influenced the development of the settlement. It is clear from previous research that the population of the settlement took maximum advantage of the water. The stream was not only the engine of economy but in the absence of sewerage it ensured the waste water removal and supplied the public baths and swimming pools of the town with enough water for religious practice or relaxation. The improper construction and the irresponsible water utilization often resulted in floods, which constituted a problem but the population gradually learnt to cope with the situation. However, after the 1878 tragic flood, the city administration revised the water utilization policy and particular attention was paid to the previously neglected safety considerations. The flood protection measures together with the necessary construction promoted the development of the city. Despite the constant lack of funds and the public opposition, the city was transformed and reconstructed on its own resources. As a result, not only the townscape and the water utilization changed but the relationship with the environment as well. BORBÁLA FÁBIÁN Gardens and towns in the period of the Dual Monarchy. Associations for the transformation of the towns’ natural environment The environment of the towns changed during the centuries; not only the landscape but the streets and squares, the “interior” townscape design was transformed as well. Major transformation took place in the 19th century, when the construction of public spaces in order to provide the citizens with resting, leisure and walking areas became increasingly important. The extending towns gradually occupied the surrounding vineyards. Besides the tree-planting and landscape gardening in the towns, in the second half of the 19th century plenty of mulberry trees were planted along the roads, in connection with the increasing silk production. After the destruction caused by phylloxhera, the local plant nurseries contributed to the successful replant of the grapes. Through the example of a few towns in the Great Plain, the paper examines how the civil associations changed the townscape, the natural and economic environment of the towns. How could they utilize the natural resources to create gardens, grapes and fruit orchards? How could the poor, e.g. sandy soil, become an asset and one of the sources of the town’s wealth? How successful were the associations in landscaping and in the introduction of fruit-growing? What could be the reasons for their occasional failure?
