Horváth M. Ferenc (szerk.): Vác The heart of the Danube Bend. A historical guide for residents and globetrotters (Vác, 2009)

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RESETTLEMENT AND THE AGE OF THE GREAT CONSTRUCTIONS - THE 18TH CENTURY 131

Joseph II walking

arrangements for the appropriate reception of the Queen. What had been left of the Bécsi kapu ("Viennese Gate") was pulled down as well as the houses next to it. On the northern edge of the town a triumphal arch was erected (called Triumphal Gate at that time, while nowadays its common name is Kőkapu - “Stone Gate") in honour of the eternal Habsburg Dynasty featuring portraits of members of the family such as the Holy Roman Emperor Francis I, Queen Maria Theresa, and Archdukes Joseph, Leopold, Ferdinand and Maximilian. The construction of the Town Hall was completed and it was decorated with statues; the houses of

Migazzi family tree

the Main Street heading from north to south were reconstructed; the roads were paved; ditches were dug for rain water and sewage, and shrubbery was planted. Two smaller bridges were also built under which a covered drainage system carried the rainwater and sewage into the Danube. One of them was at the end of today's Eszterházy Street, while the other was at the end of the street leading from the Triumphal Arch to the Danube, with the statues

Palatine Joseph Maria Theresa

of St John of Nepomuk and St Christopher. The eminent guests were entertained lavishly and had a lot of sights to see: the armed forces wearing Hungarian and German uniforms went on parade, a mass was celebrated in the Dominican Church, the cathedral under construction was shown, Hungarian-Polish dances were performed, the millers and the fishermen held a boat race, there was a running race for the children and the infantry, a dressage, a sturgeon-catching competition for the fishermen, and fireworks closed the festivities.

On 16 October 1784 Joseph II, "the King with the Hat" paid an unexpected visit to the town. He inspected the cathedral, the bishop's palace, the seminary, the Piarist monastery, the buildings in the Main Square, and the Theresianum. As a result of his short visit the Dominican Monastery was closed down.

In August 1798 Palatine Joseph and his retinue visited our town and looked at the Triumphal Arch, the former Theresianum standing nearby, the cathedral and the bishop's palace. István Szabiik, a learned Piarist teacher of his age, gave the guests quite a start when he launched an air-balloon from the garden of the palace.

Evoking this century gives the impression of a lively and spectacular hundred years in Vác's history. The palaces, the wealthy town houses and the single-storey farmers'houses had all been created from nothing by their builders: the church, tradesmen and serfs. However, the population of the town was not strong enough economically to change the supremacy of the bishopric for the authority of the king. Due to the slow development of the bourgeoisie, the Enlightenment's arrival in Hungary would take effect only in the following century.

Kristóf Migazzi's family and noble coats of arms