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

THE HISTORY OF SZÉKESFEHÉRVÁR TOWN ARCHIVES

renovation of the town-hall. In later years the construction- and building-history data of the town-hall report on the placement of the archives. The town-hall is not simply a characteristic building of Városháztér (Town-hall square) (Theatrum Civitatis, Parade Platz), but it is also of distinctive importance as it has been the seat of the magistrate for centuries, thus it is a symbol of municipality. Presumably, the magistrate held its meetings in this building at the end of the 18

th century, after the end of the Turkish invasion; sometimes the meetings were held in the judge's house until the building was renovated. A few years later, although temporarily, the town-hall worked in one of the buildings of Városháztér, in Caraffa-house. The first data where the building is mentioned in the historical sources are the so-called No. 1 inventory, made in the month following the end of the Turkish occupation. According to the document the town-hall (Pro domo Senatori) is the property No. 122., while the owners are not indicated at the neighbouring sites and houses. According to data the ownership of the building gave rise to a great debate. Provisor Herdegen granted the house No. 122. to Ferenc Bahocsay the captain-general of Veszprém, in May 1688. In the following month, however, Herdegen granted it to the inhabitants of Székesfehérvár (as it is shown by the inventory) to function as town-hall. Both parties insisted on getting the ownership, but due to the protest of the inhabitants the Neoaquistica Commissio decided in favour of the ownership of the inhabitants; the captain-general appealed against this decision even on 23 July 1 688. The property debate was still not finished, as in 1690 the inhabitants appealed to higher authorities to regain the town-hall. Judged by the legal contest, the dispute was about a building in rather bad conditions dating back to the Turkish Period or even before. Its renovation, reconstruction was started in the 1690s. The election of officials on 27 May 1693 was held in this building (Domus Senatoria). Its final renovation, however, was not finished in this decade. During the renovation the judge's office and the two clerks of the chancellery moved to Fekete Sas inn for a short period.

2 The renovation continued in the following decade as well. We even have information about where the archives were placed in 1 729. That time the safety of the files required the installation of iron bars