XX. századi műemlékek és védelmük (A 26. Egri Nyári Egyetem előadásai 1996 Eger, 1996)

Előadások: - Sztálinváros – the Hungarian paradigm of socialist urban vision

ENDRE PRAKFALVI SZTÁLINVÁROS - THE HUNGARIAN PARADIGM OF SOCIALIST URBAN VISION ,,...the new Socialist ideology is expressed in every urban-form (in Sztálinváros)." Weiner Tibor, 1951. Sztálinváros (Stalin Town) The paradigm of new Socialist Town planning in Hungary. The role of Sztálinváros within urban planning and development in Hungary was described by the chief architect of the town, Tibor Weiner (who worked in the 30's in the Soviet Union too) as follows: ,,The greatest creation of our five-year plan.

.. and at the same time the first attempt to build a new socialist town on virgin soil." Based on soviet experience and in particular Comrade Stalin's directives for urban planning in Moscow, Weiner's following three points summarised the basic principles of town-planning: 1. There are no ,,inner" and ,,outer" quarters... The democratic nature of the socialist system is manifested in the fact that all parts of the town are of equal quality. 2. The ,,town" and the ,,Industrial estate" are two poles of an organic unity: the... ,,Towncentre and the main entrance to the Factory should stand in an immediate relationship to one another." 3. The structure and architectural resolution of the city should be suitable for all aspects of public life: from that of the individual and family through to the largest celebrations which draw together the entire community. Documentation of the day for the planning and construction Sztálinváros gives a graphic account of the characteristic contradictions between declared principles and practice, which often saw these original ideals undergo significant modifications whilst at the same time maintaining their ,,integrity". There was an attempt to embrace and define everything ideologically as well as a parallel attempt to explain the improvisations and corrections which occurred during the construction and accommodate these discrepancies with the original ideals. There was a need for everything to be planned but behind this stood the lack of planning and organisation. Sztálinváros was connected to the construction of the Dunai Vasmű (Danube Steel works), required to be in production by the end of 1953. Initially consisting only of a housing estate, according to Weiner, the city-fication began through a satisfying of ,,the needs of the populace". In decoding upon the siting of the steel-works (in which no architects were involved), a critical actor was the relationship of Hungary to Yugoslavia. In 1950, at 1950, at the beginning of construction, the main objective was the reduction of the cost of production beyond the national average, since, for the first time, clusters of identical housing types were being constructed in one location. Buildings from the first construction cycle bear the reminiscence of ,,modernism".