Baják László Ihász István: The Hungarian National Museum History Exhibition Guide 4 - The short century of survival (1900-1990) (Budapest, 2008)

Room 16. From the Belle Epoch to the Collapse of the Monarchy (1900-1919). László Baják

Hungary looked forward to the 20

th century with self-confidence, and that optimism was not without grounds. With its two centres, the Monarchy appeared to be a power able to guarantee its citizens security and the opportunity for prosperity. Within the country, practically every sphere of economic life was enjoying unparalleled development. Following the liberal economic policy and the considerable influx of capital, the infrastructure grew at a tempestuous rate. (As an example, the length of rail track per capita exceeded those for Germany and England.) Between 1890 and 1913, the value of industrial production doubled. Due to an economic growth exceeding the European average, national income rose by an average of 3.7% and deposits in Hungary's financial institutions rose to five times their value. While Budapest may not have contained Europe's most important stock exchange, by 1905, as a symbol of self-confidence, it had built the continent's largest stock exchange palace. Productivity and technical development grew hand in hand with rapid economic growth. Agriculture began to be mechanised, and flourmilling, already a world presence, was joined by the new traction branch of industry, the electric energy and electro-technical industry, the two citadels of which were Ganz's Electricity Plant and the Egyesült Izzólámpa és Villamossági Rt. (United Light Bulb and Electricity Company: Share certificate of the Hungarian River Géza Faragó: Tungsram factory and Sea Shipping Company, 1918 light-bulb advertisement, c. 1912