Gyulai Éva - Viga Gyula (szerk.): Történet - muzeológia : Tanulmányok a múzeumi tudományok köréből a 60 éves Veres László tiszteletére (Miskolc, 2010)

GAZDASÁGTÖRTÉNET - Kaján Imre: Érdekek és ellentétek - árvízvédelem és gazdálkodás

Interests and counter-interests - flood control and the economy One of the main priorities in the policy of the Habsburg Empire in the 18th century was the transformation of the environment in Hungary to ensure that the country would be able to supply the empire with various agricultural products. This intention, however, violated countless interests despite the ravages caused by the wars against the Turks, and gave rise to opposition. This was not mere chance because the floodplains had been left untouched for many centuries and were a source of livelihood, no matter how poorly, for the area's inhabitants. The mill darns were an obstacle to water transport and could also cause local floods: the latter became an acute problem as shown by the fact that it appeared in the statute of the Institutum Geometricum et Hydrotechnicum founded in 1872, the first independent institute for training civil engineers. Flood control was a virtually irresolvable problem until the appearance of maps detailing the floodplains of the rivers in the mid-19th century. The establishment of mills on flumes beside the river was one viable solution, applied successfully from the earlier 19th century. The blocking of the Mirhó Cape which diverted and spread the floodwaters of the River Tisza in eastern Hungary illustrates the diversity of local and regional interests. The inhabitants of the villages in the Sárköz region in Transdanubia both suffered from the floods and made a living from a floodplain economy, and thus the authorities often received conflicting requests. Various interests clashed over the regulation of the Danube section at Budapest (18701876). The so-called Water Act of 1885 finally settled the problematic issues within the framework of the modem state. Imre Kaján 403