Balogh Zoltán (szerk.): Neograd 2017. Tanulmányok a 70 éves Praznovszky Mihály tiszteletére - A Dornyay Béla Múzeum Évkönyve 40. (Salgótarján, 2017)

Történelem - Fodor Miklós Zoltán: A Magyarországi Kárpát Egyesület Salgótarjáni Osztálya (1923–1944)

ZOLTÁN MIKLÓS FODOR

DEPARTMENT OF SALGÓTARJÁN OF THE HUNGARIAN KÁRPÁT SOCIETY (1923-1944)

The Hungarian Kárpát Society was established in the settlement of Ótátrafüred in 1873. It was the first tourist association in Hungary and the seventh one in the world. The Department in Salgótarján came into existence in 1923. Its foundation was initialized by the first mayor of the town, Kálmán Förster. Forster became the all-Hungarian secretary of the Kárpát Society, then he acted as the chairman of the municipal department since 1923. Béla Dornyai, who was a teacher of grammar school, a scholar and a polihistor, worked as the vice-chairman their.

The intention of the founders were the introduction of the local tourism and the creation of touristic facilities of the Karancs-Medves region. The accomplishments of the more than two-decade working of the Department were, among others, the engendure of Salgótarján Room of the rest-house in Galyatető (1925), the erection of the mirador on the peak of Karancs mountain (1929), the configuration of the Bodzás fountain in Eresztvény (1933), the building of the rest-hut on the Kápolna mountain (1936). The most considerable achievment of the Department was the construction of the Salgó rest- house in Eresztvény (1935).

The Society was a venue of informal preparation of decisions in the municipal policy, as the most of the members came from the local political and social elite.

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