Gyergyádesz László, ifj.: Kecskemét és a magyar zsidó képzőművészet a 20. század első felében (Kecskemét, 2014)
Jegyzetek
‘The painter senses tragedy...’ Partial inventory of the Hungarian Jewish architecture and fine art in Kecskemét László Gyergyádesz jr. The Judaists and their synagogues in Kecskemét Kecskemét is a large town of the Great Hungarian Plain in the Danube-Tisza Interfluve, in the heart of Europe and in the middle of the Carpathian Basin and Hungary The history of the town is extraordinary that is mostly underlined by the fact that it not only survived despite the ordeals but it almost constantly developed. “How many times did this town face peril [...] that nothing else remained but the smouldering walls of their churches that the sea of sand of the wilderness was about to burry However, the rest of the commonage of Kecskemét did not leave to a foreign land in the search of a better place, but they returned here to pitch their tent on the beggar-stuff stuck on the sepulchral mound of murdered fathers.” Zsigmond Móricz characterized so the constant restoration and renewal that predominantly kept Kecskemét on the right line of development in spite of the recoiling all through the centuries from the Árpád Era to our days. At the end of the Turkish Era Kecskemét -i- after Pest and Debrecen - became the third largest city of Hungary Nevertheless, the period of the Turkish occupation was one of the most specific times of the peculiar history of the town. While most of the Hungarian Great Plain was perished, the population of Kecskemét significantly increased due to the refugees from the villages. The town tried to guarantee peace from every aspect mainly with gifts. The most memorable and legendary example of such ‘actions’ done by the leaders of Kecskemét got widely known by the novel, The Talking Gown written in 1889 by the famous Hungarian author, Kálmán Mikszáth. Its other reminiscence is the Calvinist stone church completed by 1683-84 when they had to apply for permission directly from the sultan because of the local Turkish authority having been highly suspicious of the building. It was nearly unprecedented in the territory. At this point we can also mention another speciality of the town, the centuries-old and constant presence of religious tolerance. The most salient sign of this fact is that for the 19th century the churches of all denominations were built up close to the main square as a unique phenomenon in Europe. The Jews of Kecskemét were the last to officially build their ‘church’ which was not accidental since people showed the least religious tolerance towards Jews. Judaists could not even temporarily stay in the town until 1746 (when four Jewish people of Óbuda got exclusive licence of forestalling wool and pelt), however, there had already been Jewish merchants at the fairs. In 1744 the manor court of Kecskemét divided the resident Jews into three groups: besides the already mentioned Jewish people from Óbuda there were “strange tramps” and “people without any wickedness". Despite the restrictions their number slowly but continuously grew (in 1787 there were 81 people in 16 households) most likely due to the fact that most of them (the so called lease-holder Jews) dealt mainly with trade (chiefly with pelt) and for this reason the town needed them. “The gates of the market-town were open before the Jewish aliens because of utilitarian considerations: this opening symbolized the establishment of a connection between the council and the chosen wealthy merchants motivated by an exigency.” Instead of the previous preaching house of the religious community (originally a dwelling-house) in the city centre established in 1801 against all prohibitions their first synagogue - that can be seen today at the backyard of the House of Science and Technology - was built with 252 seats in 1818 under the guidance of the first rabbi of Kecskemét known by his name, Gábor Braun. The main front is the only part of the small, rectangular building that shows the original conditions which is proportioned by 39
