Kenyeres István (szerk.): Urbs. Magyar Várostörténeti Évkönyv XVI. - Urbs 16. (Budapest, 2022)
Abstracts
474 Abstracts vineyards and the production of wine became more of a recreation, a meaningful and useful occupation for people who were tired of urban worries. From the 1860s onwards, the viticulture of the area faced new challenges: the rapid development of the capital was increasingly reflected in the increase in population and social changes in the outskirts. The swine trade appeared in the area and quickly became of considerable importance; existing industrial activity multiplied (especially brick production), and beer production boomed, based on the excellent storage and maturation capacity of the caverns in the quarries of Óhegy. Workers made up an increasingly large proportion of the growing population, with many winemakers changing occupations and seeking work in factories. The transformation of the countryside disrupted and gradually eroded the “holiday region”, and the fate of the vineyards was slowly but surely sealed: the city’s decision-makers were declaredly in favour of industrialisation and urban development, and the phylloxera crisis at the end of the century gave the final blow to the Kőbánya wine production, so a new chapter in the history of one of the capital’s most special areas began... László Pecsők Kőbánya - from Wine-Growing Region to the Stronghold of Beer Production Until the middle of the 19th century, Kőbánya was known primarily for its vineyards. In the 1840s, 960 holds produced 20-30 thousand hectolitres of wine a year, which was stored in cellars that had been taken out of quarrying. Phylloxera has devastated two-thirds of the wine-growing area. At the same time, the character of the district was transformed into an industrial one. Beer production, which replaced wine production, became one of the most important industrial profiles in the district. First Péter Schmidt and József Tüköry stored and cooled their beer in the Kőbánya cellar system, then in 1855 they formed a partnership and founded the Kőbánya Beerhouse Company. It was purchased by the brewer Antal Dreher Sr. from Schwechat in 1862. Due to his early death, his son Antal Dreher Jr. developed the Dreher factory in Kőbánya into one of the largest industrial breweries in Europe. From 1892 onwards, 5 breweries operated in Kőbánya, producing 90% of the Hungarian beer production. In this way, Kőbánya became one of the most important beer-producing centres in Europe by the end of the 19th century. In my paper, I examine the transition from wine to beer production. After presenting the wine region of Kőbánya and the cellar system that developed because of quarrying, I outline the development of the beer industry, the process by which small breweries and vineyards were replaced by huge breweries.
