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

A SUMMARY OF THE HISTORY OF SZÉKESFEHÉRVÁR

fehérvár. The Assembly, held on the courtyard of the Town Hall enacted the memory of King Saint Stephen: "The only subject of the Assembly in Székesfehérvár is to frame the law in which the nation immortalises the memory of King Saint Stephen, founder of the Christian Hungarian state" (XXIV Act 2§ 1938). Not only was the festive year limited to recalling the historic role of the town and drawing a political parallel, but the festive proceedings became a cultural review. Numerous events took place in the festival that opened on 17 January 1938. We can mention the 'vitéz' initiation (it is heriable title, received as a military recognition after the World War I), educational exhibition, the visit of cardinal Pacelli, the National Art Days, the National Song Competition, the reburial of the mortal remains of the kings, the unveiling of King Saint Stephen's statue, the National Exhibition of Applied Arts and Folk Art held between 27 November and 4 December. As a result of a decade's efforts Székesfehérvár emerged as the primal municipal town and was mentioned as the model of municipality. The development of this period, however, soon came to a standstill and took another direction. Székesfehérvár was one of the Hungarian towns that suffered the most in the World War II. On 4 December major military redeployment started around the town. Soviet troops launched an attack against the defences of the Margaret-line and the villages around. The battle was fought on 20 December in the confines of the town. Soviet troops launched an attack to capture the town on 22 December; on the following day the town was taken. The German and Hungarian troops took an offensive to recapture the town in the Conrad III manoeuvre on 18 January 1945, which they successfully completed on 22 January. After the exhaustion of the German counter-attack in Transdanubia by the middle of March the fight continued again in the town's outskirts. In spite of its encirclement the town was the scene of desperate clashes till 22 March. Due to the three months' military occupation and front events the town's population fell to half of its previous number. One third of the buildings became uninhabitable, according to contemporary statistics Székesfehérvár was the third town to suffer the most damage. The inhabitants realised the peril late and only a part of those who