Horváth M. Ferenc (szerk.): Vác The heart of the Danube Bend. A historical guide for residents and globetrotters (Vác, 2009)
Tartalom
116 RESETTLEMENT AND THE AGE OF THE GREAT CONSTRUCTIONS - THE 18TH CENTURY The plan of the Stone Gate, the Theresianum, cemetery and Gipsy houses of 1771 The seal of the Greek Orthodox Church of Vác hand, and the Ottoman Empire on the other. As a resu It, the entire territory of Hungary was liberated from Muslim oppression. Some families fled the southern district and settled down ín Vác. Their number was small, 11-14 families with not more than 80 people, and their income was derived from their eight shops. The Greek merchants were also granted some privileges, for instance in 1733 they were permitted to establish their first trade association. According to the patent issued by Károly Mihály Althann in 1749, they were allowed to form a corporation of their own; they were under manorial authority instead of a municipal one, and they had to pay a defence tax to the landlord. The Greek merchants brought mainly oriental goods - spices, coffee, leather and carpets - from Turkey, The seal of the first Jewish rabbi, Adolf Neumann The Greek Orthodox Church and with the receipts they bought iron goods and fabrics in Vienna. In the early 1770s the Austrian government forced them to settle down, which meant the cessation of their foreign commercial relationships. From then on they only traded in the town and its vicinity. By the 1830s the Balkan Peninsula had also been freed from Ottoman occupation so most of the Slav settlers could return to their homeland. In the first third of the century there were 40 Jewish families, or 200 people, living in Vác but soon they were expelled by Bishop Frigyes Mihály Althann. In 1727 they were accused of having held secret meetings and they had to leave the town. They settled in the neighbouring villages and carried on trading by paying regular visits to the town. The Gipsies, most of whom were musicians or handicraftsmen, had come to the town during the Ottoman era. According to the register made by Maria Theresa's decree in 1775, there were 35 families, or 140 people living in Vác. In accordance with the absolutist monarch's provision, they were to give up travelling and settle down. Also, their children were to be raised by serf families until they were old enough to work. However, these measures were applied in the case of only four families. The seal of the Jewish Congregation
