A Herman Ottó Múzeum Évkönyve 45. (2006)

Siska József: Bodrogközi malmok

Engines driven by suction gas, diesel oil and petrol, the invention of screening mechanisms and the rolling mill greatly increased the capacity of newly built mills and led to the eventual disappearance of water mills and other traditional mills. In 1809, there were fifty-one traditional mills active in the micro-region having fifty-three settlements; by 1920, these had been replaced by fourteen rolling mills with varying capacities. Milling was a royal prerogative and remained so during the medieval and post-medieval period until the appearance and spread of steam mills. A law enacted in 1880 ensured the spread of capitalist enterprise in this field of industry too. Film magnate Adolph Zukor (Ricse, 1873-New York, 1976), head of Paramount Pictures, was one of the sons of the owner of the Ricse mill. He never forgót his home town. Following the Russian occupation of Hungary, the mills were nationalised between 1949 and 1951. Following collectivisation, the smaller mills were shut down and dismantled after 1962. The ones in Ricse and Tiszakarád were turnéd intő blenders for animál fodder. Following the political changes in 1990, the mills were again shut down. The buildings feli intő disrepair and many were demolished altogether. A new mill with a daily production capacity of 36,000 kg was built in Bodrogszerdahely in Slovakia. Its products are marketed in Slovakia, Hungary and the Ukraine. József Siska 497