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 14. Endurance, Compromise and Economic Boom "The Repudiation of That Which is Illegal is No Mere Option, But Rather an Obligation" (Ferenc Deák) (Katalin Körmöczi - Edit Haider)
system of weights and measures was used throughout the entire territory of the empire. Economic affairs in Austria and Hungary were independent, but were of "common value", and ensured the free flow of capital and labour. As in earlier times, the decisive component in the Hungarian economy was agriculture and the exporting of grain. Increased areas of arable land stemming from river regulation, the building up of the railway network, haulage, mining, transportation facilities, and a heavy industry which manufactured agricultural equipment - all helped output of the milling, sugar and distilling industries, as well as agricultural production. Behind the upswing were foreign capital, and the big banks and savings-banks which formed the basis of the credit system. As well as providing credit for commerce, the banks also participated in the floating of loans to the state and in the foundation of financial institutions and industrial companies. A series of laws supporting industry and commerce were passed: in 1868 a law regulating the operation of the chambers of commerce and industry, in 1872 an industry law which liquidated the guild system and ensured the freedom of industrial activity, and, in the same year, a law on a new tariff. The industry law of 1884 linked industrial activity to qualifications, established trade associations, and organized the training of apprentices. However, the work to organize and develop industry was unable to correct the structure of Hungarian industry, whose development was traditionally uneven. In 1868, a law regulated the issuing of money struck at the Hungarian mint, with the result that Hungarian money went into circulation (Fig. 58). When the neighbouring states had gone over to a gold-based currency, the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, with its silver-based currency, became financially isolated. The transition to a new, goldbased currency, the korona, occurred in 1892, within the framework of the financial reform associated with the name of Sándor Wekerle, Hungarian finance minister. Next to the standard weights for the goldbased korona issued at this time are goldbased korona coins issued in 1892, and paper money issued by the Austro-Hungarian Bank between 1878 and 1896. In 1899, a commemorative album was produced which was presented to the director of the Hungarian General Credit Bank, Adolf Ulmann, by the staff of the institution to mark twenty-five years of the bank's operation. The album is a relic of banking history, but apart from this is representative of the commemorative articles customarily commissioned at the end of the century and executed to a high artistic standard. The first generation of industrial workers came into being in the second half of the 19th century, representing a factor of increasing economic and social importance. Its first forms of organization, and the first structures of the early working-class movement, consisted of trade societies and selfhelp, sickness and burial clubs. The influence of German Social Democracy was felt in the life of Hungarian workers' organizations. One of the main aims of Social Democracy's early struggles was the extension of the franchise. With the workers' organizations and the trades-unions, the Social Democratic Party of Hungary, which was formed in 1890, continued the fight for the extension of political rights and for the improvement of workers' living conditions and educational opportunities.
