Magyar News, 1994. szeptember-1995. augusztus (5. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1995-01-01 / 5. szám
ON THE GOLDEN JUBILEE TRAIL by Fr. Emeric Szlezak After the Sunday Mass in Sümeg, we traveled to Lake Balaton. As we watched the people wading in the shallow water, I remembered the days long ago, around the year 1922, when as a family we took a day ’ s vacation on the Lake. Somehow my father was able to obtain reduced rates on the railroad. We city kids, “pesti srácok” as we were called, had no idea how hot the sun could be as it reflected from the sand and water. When I arrived home I was so sunburnt that I had blisters for a week. So my early experience of Lake Balaton was not very pleasant. However within the past twenty-five years during my visits to relatives in Budapest, I had other occasions to enjoy the delights of the Lake, at Balaton földvár and Balatonalmádi. At these times I had sense enough to know when enough is enough. With my brother we returned to the village of Dunaharaszti to the home of my mother’s first cousin Stephen Beck and his lovely wife Teréz. They were 88 and 81 years old respectively. In spite of their advanced age, they were the most obliging hosts with old world hospitality. Their home was neatly furnished. Bathing facilities were not very modem, but sufficient for our needs. We stayed there from Monday to Friday. It was the center from which we traveled to the other cousins who lived nearby. The main roads are paved but the side roads are not. One cannot drive more than ten miles an hour over the many potholes. The village of Dunaharaszti lies at the southern tip of B udapest on the banks of the small branch of the Danube river. The village has about 6,000 Germanspeaking inhabitants who are mainly Roman Catholics of Bavarian origin. According to historical research the village was once a Roman colony called Transaquincum. From this outpost the Roman Legion defended Budapest, then called Aquinicum. This outpost was built in 293 during the reign of Emperor Dioclecian, and remained so until the fourth century. In the year 1270 King Stephen V donated the territory to the Order of Sisters who lived on Margit Island. During the Turkish occupation, the village was entirely destroyed. In 1690 it was still uninhabited and deserted. After several changes of ownership, about 1737, German ethnics began to move in. The land was then parcelled out to 1,800 families. Originally the village was called Haraszti because it was overgrown with brushwood.. .But since the village was along the Danube, it became known as Dunaharaszti. Although the homes do not have luxurious conveniences that we in the U.S.A. are used to, they are neat and tastefully decorated. Delicious apricots, apples, pears grown in their back yards, as well as plenty of grapes for wine-making. Some have farm animals. However the luxury of a 6 telephone is something to be desired, because the main lines have not reached the side streets, yet. During this week we visited relatives in Soroksár. This district has a population of around 13,000 also Roman Catholics and of German origin. The Bavarian Germans settled on the land around 1724. A Church was built in 1758, although the Register of Births began only in 1743. Then we went to Taksony on Friday to prepare for the Jubilee Mass in the Church of my Great-Grandparents. The village of Taksony is very important to me because most of my relatives live there. Our great grandparents Dominic Beck, bom in 1840 and his wife Anna Grimm, bom in 1844 had sixteen children, of whom three died at an early age. As the owner of a large estate, he and his wife were able to support the large family. After much research I have been able to correspond with the descendants of seven of the original thirteen families. I met two, Joseph and Paul Beck in Germany in the year 1962, who were still alive at that time. On Friday evening we had lodging at the home of my Mother’s first cousin in Taksony. On Saturday we became acquainted with Fr. Peter Pecar, the pastor of St. Anna Church, who joined us at dinner. To my surprise there was a three fold celebration on Sunday, July 24: it was a farewell Mass for Fr. Peter, who was being assigned to a parish in Australia, it was the Patronál Feast of St. Anna, and also my Golden Jubilee celebration. After Mass we were presented with flowers with the usual recitation of poetry. Naturally the Church was filled to capacity with relatives from many parts of Hungary and as far away as Germany. After the Mass there was the usual banquet. While in Hungary I did a little research of the history of the village of Taksony, also known as Tax. The village lies a few miles south of Dunaharaszti, along the east side of the little Danube. At present it has about 464 homes, with 2,952 inhabitants, most of whom are Roman Catholics of German ethnic origin. The village was named after Taksony, the grandson of Prince Arpad, who settled on die land in the early part of the tenth century. Taksony was a warrior-like prince who even invaded Italy in 947. It is alleged that the resting place of the Prince lies somewhere in the area. In 1281 the land was noted in the annals as Terra Toxum, or Taksony. The land belonged to the Sisters of St. Clare, who lived on Margaret Island. In the year 1711 Taksony was settled by Germans from Würtenberg, Germany. By 1715 there were already twenty swabian houses in the village, and five years later forty-one. A parish was already in existence in 1730, and the church was built in 1811 in Romanesque style. In 1874 the Church became the victim of a fire and in 1894 it burned down with the whole village. From November 4,1944, for six weeks, the village fell under artillery fire of the Russians who had captured the Island of Csepel in the Danube. The invading Russian soldiers showed no mercy to anyone. During the bombardment the people huddled in their dark, dank cellars. The Church tower was in ruins from the first day of the attack. The Russians took a quota of prisoners of men and women, whether young or old, made no difference. Ethnic German speaking families were driven from their homes and deported to the coal mines of Russia or to Germany where they either died or were sent back to Hungary in a disabled condition. Again in 1956 the Russians invaded Hungary and destroyed many homes in the village. Those who survived the aborted Revolution rebuilt a modem beautiful Church in honor of St. Anna. Joseph Beck was the village senior for thirteen years. During his term of office he had built a memorial to the fallen veterans, a school and roads to the outskirts, also a street named after St. Emery. This is where my cousins live at the present time, and where I spent several memorable days of my Golden Jubilee in the Priesthood. We're not Hungária a pretty good jot n, but we do anyway. ICAm% W PRINTING & GR STRATFORD -APHICS 377-6571 THE FIRST/THE FINEST HOWE DRIVING SCHOOL JOYCE HOWE - SPEAKS HUNGARIAN 2318 MAIN STREET 588 MONROE TPKE. STRATFORD, CT 06497 ROUTE 11 I (AT THE FLAG POLE) MONROE. CT 06468 375-HOWE 261-0500
