Balázs György (szerk.): The abolition of serfdom and its impact on rural culture, Guide to the Exhibition Commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the Revolution and War if Independence of 1848-49 (Budapest-Szentendre, Museum of Hungarian Agriculture-Hungarian Open-Air Museum, 1998.)
labour service. He was responsible for public safety and was entitled to pass verdicts and issue orders. He was paid only a small salary, but did not have to pay taxes and tithe during his period of appointment. He also had the right to inflict punishment in minor cases, while cases of greater import were assigned to the manorial court. In the gravest cases, the county court was the competent authority. In villages where noblemen and serfs lived together the village mayor was subordinated to the senior juror representing the noble population. He was not allowed to intervene in matters concerning noblemen. Besides village communities, there were other types of communities as well, like the ones of wine-growers for example. Local regulations were valid here for both serfs and noblemen, irrespective of the location of the vine-yards. Strict laws regulated life in wine-growing communities for centuries. Everyone, including noble wine-growers, had to pay tax ( hegyvám or hill duty) to the given landlord there. These communities were led by the hill-mayor ( hegybíró) or hill-master (hegymester). He was the judge who decided disputes concerning the vineyards, kept the hill under strict supervision, determined the time of the grape harvest, and engaged a field-guard. He was assisted by a council of six to twelve jurors in some places. The architecture of Hungarian villages varied from region to region but was fairly uniform within an area. It was mainly the natural environment that determined the architectural character of a village, but the outward appearance of the houses was also influenced by the characteristic building style of the various historical periods. The surviving rural buildings of past centuries are witnesses of the economic factors determining their origin, the conditions of rural society at the time of their construction, the cultural level, pretentions, and taste of the given villagers, as well as of their architectural traditions. The interior design and the suites of furniture were characteristic of the age, but differed greatly with families, vil17
