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.)

outstanding representatives. Fényes, Elek wrote the following in 1842 about the 1820s: „A movement came into being and proposals were made about a new and just system of taxation, manumission compensation, a criminal code, public education, etc. But when steps were taken in order to start the realization of these objectives, we were astonished Rumanian, Hungarian, Slovak and German peasants in national costumes to see that however well-intentioned we are, we are unable to do our best because we do not know our country well enough." Vahot, Intre described the ignorance of Hungarian intellectuals as follows: „Living in isolated provinces, we, Hungarians live like bats clustered together. We do not know what we have and what we have not. Who knows, for example, the exact number of all true Hungarians in this country?" The demand of getting better acquainted with the country and its people became general and started a movement for the discovery of the country. Tavelogues became fashionable also at home. Let us just mention the ones by Kazinczy, Ferenc, Erdélyi, János, and Petőfi, Sándor. People found it important to know even the remotest parts of the country. Competitions were conducted to describe the countryside, the various ethnic groups, the characteristics of various dialects, and folk costumes. The periodical that published these research results was called Tudományos 23