A Historical and Archival Guide to Székesfehérvár (Székesfehérvár, 2003)

A SUMMARY OF THE HISTORY OF SZÉKESFEHÉRVÁR

started their constructions that lasted for decades. They were followed by the Jesuits, who were the first to arrive after the retaking of Fehérvár. They built a church from 1 745 to 1751 and monastery from 1744 to 1763. The building of the cathedral started in 1758, for which thev used the walls of the old parish church. Bv 1 768 the church was completed in its present form by the donations of the town, the parish and the Jesuits. The present townscape emerged after the Baroque, Rococo, Zopf-stvle constructions in the middle of the 1 8

th century, however the Baroque aspect is predominant. The town centre, like other towns in Transdanubia, maintained its medieval street structure, which was connected to the suburbs through the two gates of the castle. The castle ceased to be enclosed by the first third of the 19

th century, when new streets connected the suburbs with the city centre. The remaining parts of the castle were demolished during the expansion of the centre. First the Palota gate, then in 1809 the castle wall near the Buda gate was pulled down because Palatine József arrived to inspect the insurgent army of Fejér county. The town magistracy considered the gate to be too narrow, thus by demolishing some houses and the castle wall they created the northern part of Main street. One of the last remains of the Middle Ages, the Buda gate was demolished in 1872. The 18

th century, known as the century of the Baroque was in fact the period of the achievement of the bourgeois status in Székesfehérvár, which created not only the townscape but also new traditions. The fact that Marie Theresa granted the town's fifth annual fair of Saint Bartholomew day in the Charter of 13 June shows the town's development and its economical expansion. Along with the major construction works the draining of the swamps, which exposed public heath care was started; it lasted nearly for a century. Overall measures were taken after the Diet of Bratislava in 1 764 to regulate water. Representatives of Fehérvár raised the issue of draining the marshland of Sárvíz, that surrounded the town on the northern side. The suggestion was realised within the scope of a country-wide project. The greatest water regulation of the century affected (apart from Székesfehérvár) Veszprém, Fejér and Tolna counties. The public sewage system was built during the reign of Joseph II. The