A Veszprém Megyei Múzeumok Közleményei 7. (Veszprém, 1968)

Wallner Ernő: Alsóörs településtérképe

of it, and their vinelands were mostly undivided. The meadows of the noble lay along the brook, south of the village. The cotter's holdings lay far away from the village, near to the lakeshore. There had been no sporadic settlement in the vinelands, outside the village. The buildings on the vine-lands, the so-called press-houses, consisted of a room typical of the northern Balaton-shore, kitchen and cellar. They had not served as permanent dwelling places. Besides the press-houses there were still 64 vaulted wine-cellars. The vineyards ranged from 1/4 to 1 acre. In 1873 the number of vineyard-owners was 128. Alsóőrs had been a pure peasant village until the early 20th century. The differentiation of activities in the first decades of the 20th century brought about an increase in the population and a change in the distribution of trades, shaping the picture of settlement morphology accordingly. The development was set off by the building of the Veszprém and Northern Balaton-shore railroad lines (1908). The place around the railroad station was gradually being covered at the beginning by the houses of permanent settlers, later by buldings of a bathing establishment. Also the vineyards have attracted many permanent dwellers. The industrial plants of Veszprém and Fűzfő, too, have contributed to this development by attracting always more and more commuting workers. The population growth affected rather the three pheripheral settlements (bathing establisment, vinewards. Káptalanfüred) than the ancient village. In 1950 the most remote Káptalanfüred was attached to Balatonalmádi. Due to the differentation of trades the rate of the agrarian population has decreased, while the rate of those engaged in industry, rade and in other fields has increased. By 1949 Alsóörs ceased to be a community with leading agrarian population rate. The bathing establishment is in want of the peasant houses of agricultural character. The first half of the 20th century brought no changes in peasant economy. Viticulture had continued to be the most important branch of cultivation. In 1935 51% of the agriculturally utilized land was possessed by middle peasants, 28% by smallholders. The dwarf holdings were high in number. The three non-privately owned latifundia were Lake Balaton and the other two mostly woodlands. The first half of the 20th century brought about no considerable changes in the social conditions of the agrarian population. The development has been brought about by outer factor like bathing establishments and industrial plants in the surroundings. The population growth and the variation as regards morphology for the various settlements have been different in intensity. In our days Alsóörs has become heterogeneous regarding both its morphological area and its population. The buildings of the bathing establishments are scattered, not allowing for close rows of houses with gardens. In the village proper only a few new houses have been built while several of the old ones have been renovated or rebuilt. A great many of the farm buildings are not serving their original purpose any longer, a fact that has gradually disturbed the uniformity of the morphological picture of the village. Due to the introduction of cooperative farming the small strips of land have been succeeded by large fields and the picture of plough-lands has changed. At the same time no considerable change has taken place in the vine-lands whose old vinestocks are dying out. The farmers' cooperative is only part of one evtending to three villages and it numbered in 1965 84, half of which were over 60 years old. In 1960 only 32,3% of the population belonged to the agrarian section. Concerning its role in bread-winning industry has caught up with agriculture. In each occupational branch the breadwinners outrate the depandents. The majority of the non-agrarian breadwinners have to work far away from their places of residence and they commute daily. One part of the commuters have been white-collar workers. Also the inhabitants of the village have commuted. Alsóörs serves principally as a residence for people who work in far away working places. In the life of the permanent population agriculture and commuting to the working place plays a greater role than the seasonal occupations connected with the bathing estabilishments do. In the summer season of 1965 the number of bathers was 5700 one half of which were accommodeted in holiday resorts. Through the shore-embankment the open-aii bath and camping have been enlarged. The latter in 1965 entertained 1300 persons. Besides the holiday resorts and campings many people spent their holiday in their own homes in family corcle. The keeping up and even extending of this trend in the future is desirable. In general the bathing establishment presents a more civilized picture which, as a result of the introduction of public utilities (street lighting, water-conduit) has expanded also to the village. The ancient village — deprived of its exclusively agricultural character — as regards its functional and morphological aspect is subject to further changes in the future. Ernő Wallner 88