Körmöczi Katalin szerk.: Historical Exhibition of the Hungarian National Museum 3 - From the End of the Turkish Wars to the Millennium - The history of Hungary in the 18th and 19th centuries (Budapest, 2001)
ROOM 11. Reform in Hungary in the First Half of the 19th Century "We Must Extricate Ourselves from the Morass of Decaying Feudalism" (István Széchenyi) (Katalin Körmöczi)
a result of the economic boom of the Napoleonic Wars and of liberal ideas, the way of thinking among the lesser nobility engaged in agriculture, commerce, politics and cultural life was transformed, and the conflicts between national traditions and xenophobia on the one hand, and modernization and a European identity on the other, died down. The new political movement developed at the Diet of 182527. Inspired by such great figures as István Széchenyi and Ferenc Kazinczy, it was led by the lesser nobility, and - in addition to pursuing redress of feudal grievances - it demanded bourgeois reforms built on liberal ideas and going beyond mere feudal nationalism. Fundamental to the modernization and evolution into an independent nation that the programme contained was the reconciliation of interests - from those of the serfs to those of the landowners -, and a liberal and accommodating national idea. During the first half of the 19th century a strong national culture and national consciousness were built on the Hungarianlanguage scientific and literary work which had taken shape at the end of the 18th century. Following mediaeval and then 17thcentury precedents, use of the Hungarian national colours - red, white and green, the Hungarian tricolour - developed during these decades. These three colours were first used as a symbol of national identity at the coronation of Matthias II in 1608. In 1806, Francis I settled the official colours and crest of the Austrian empire, and established red, white and green as the official colours of the Kingdom of Hungary. These were first put on the statute book by Law XXI of 1848, the first law to deal with the Hungarian national colours and crest. THE VIENNESE COURT THE SEAT OF POWER Bourgeois transformation, becoming a nation, and state independence - demands and endeavours representing a change of epoch - were opposed to the notions espoused by the Holy Alliance. They were also opposed to the interests of Francis I, emperor of Austria and king of Hungary, and therefore to those of the imperial chancellor, Prince Klemens Metternich (1773-1859), who shaped domestic and foreign policy. The chancellor - a conservative who supported the maintenance of the existing order in Europe - regarded abolition of the opposition Hungarian Diet, the ending of tax exemption for the nobility, and liquidation of the Hungarian feudal constitution as the guarantees of Austria's great power status. The empire's power, together with its weight and prestige, is recalled by Chancellor Metternich' s enormous desk, and above it by the portrait of King Francis I of Hungary and Bohemia (17921835); he ruled as the Holy Roman emperor Francis II and then, from 1804 onwards, as Emperor Francis I of Austria. The portrait of the emperor is by Peter Kraaft. During the first half of the 19th century everything and almost everybody in the Kingdom of Hungary were opposed to the emperor and the chancellery. The balancing role between the various parties was undertaken by Archduke Joseph (17961847) (Fig. 27), who, as palatine, headed Hungary's internal administration. The "Hungarian Habsburg", who resided in Buda and was of good judgment, was an advocate of modest reform, despite being a member of the ruling dynasty. He was in
