Demeter Zsófia - Gelencsér Ferenc: Örvendezz király város! - Szent István Király Múzeum közleményei. B. sorozat 51. A Fejér Megyei Múzeumegyesült kiadványai 8. (Székesfehérvár, 2002)
A tanulmány forrásai
SUMMARY The first part of our book was published in 1990, which dealt with the history of Székesfehérvár between 1860 and 1938 in pictures. Since then many people have come to our aid with their family albums and their treasured memories. Thus it has become possible to discuss one of Székesfehérvár’s most significant periods, the 1930s, with 1938, St. Stephen Year being the high point. 1938 was an outstanding and the most significant year for Székesfehérvár in the 20th century. At that time St. Stephen’s town became the country’s, and to a certain extent, the European centre of attention. Székesfehérvár, in honour of the 900th anniversary of King St. Stephen’s death was purposefully developed, the celebration was carefully planned and this development was shown in the 1938 celebration to the whole world. For this work there were wonderful workers and directors. Several events of this year are the height and result of state funded purposeful development. For this time the whole town was transformed - from a small country town to a modern city. The road network, the public services and the industrial establishments all laid the foundations for this development, to which in 1936 newer central management duties were also joined. The fundamental theme of the development, which was Emil Csitáry’s programme’s heelstone - he was the mayor of Székesfehérvár between 1931 and 1941 -, was the modernization based on the town’s glorious past - the one time royal seat, that is to say its rank as a capital city. This programme won Bálint Hóman’s strong support. He was the Religious and Public Education Minister, and since 1932 the city’s MP. The highlight of the whole development programme was a series of celebrations, when seven new statues and several new buildings and restored historic buildings were handed over in the town centre. The most important of these - St. Stephen’s Mausoleum and the remains of the Basilica of Our Lady, and the rebuilt and completed town hall became the most important places of the celebratory year. Among the events and projects celebrating St. Stephen Year, I only wish to show here the official state celebrations and places that are closely tied with St. Stephen. The celebrations, the initiation of the Vitéz (a Hungarian equivalent of a knight), the Holy Right Hand relic coming to Székesfehérvár and the ceremonial Session of the Parliament all attracted much interest, and for the people of the city, to this very day, these things are a source of pride. As to how the development programme should be implemented was the cause of much heated argument at the beginning of the 1930s. It is characteris-234
