A Móra Ferenc Múzeum Évkönyve: Studia Historica 12. (Szeged, 2009)
MARJANUCZ László: Szeged társadalma az 1869. évi népszámlálás tükrében
LÁSZLÓ MARJANUCZ THE COMMUNITY OF SZEGED AS REFLECTED IN THE CENSUS OF 1869 Historical demographic research and analysis of the census data of 1869 concluded that between 1850 and 1870 the number of inhabitants in Szeged increased by 1% yearly. Although this percentage was below the national average, the increase was continuous. The tendency of the natural increase indicates that the number of births decreased more rapidly than the positive change of the mortality index would compensate it. Thus the decrease in the number of children was more rapid than the positive change in the life expectancy for elderly people. Another relation is that regarding the different age-groups the proportion of active population increased at the turn of the centuries, since during the reconstruction period after the great flood (1879) in Szeged mainly younger population moved to the city of Szeged. Studying the size of households and families in different parts of the city reveals that most of the families were nuclear, and the number of sole households was also high. As an example, the average age for marriage, as well as the number of singles was high, indicating the bourgeois lifestyle of the inhabitants of the Palánk district. The data on occupations indicate that most of the citizens made their livings by agriculture. Interestingly enough these people, despite living in a city, earned their living by agriculture. This is due to the fact that the city is constructed of different districts, with the outskirts being extended and cultivated. The rate of the intelligentsia was rather low, although increasing steadily, owing to the fact that Szeged had been a regional cultural centre since the 18 th century. The rate of craftsmen was significant, 80% of which represents small-scale industry.
