Horváth M. Ferenc (szerk.): Vác The heart of the Danube Bend. A historical guide for residents and globetrotters (Vác, 2009)
Tartalom
182 VÁC IN THE 20TH CENTURY Patronál Festival of Vác, 1980s all built at that time. The former pleasure garden was built up too: the modern building of the new community centre was placed there. The library was moved into the former small barrack. The riverside was rearranged by filling in the area between the Danube and the former promenade. This area has become a popular leisure- and festival-centre of the town. In 1975 Vác celebrated the 900th anniversary of its foundation. Since 1980 besides the “Patronál Festival of Vác" held In honour of the Virgin Mary at Hétkápolna (Seven Chapels) there has been an annual secular festival, first held in the Main Square where musicians, stand-up comics and TV stars have entertained audiences. However, all this was only an illusion. Decentralization and the economic reforms could not fix the national economy. Until the mid-1980s the people hardly realized how grave the situation was because the government had taken up foreign loans in order to compensate for the deficit. Between 1980 and 1989 the total debt of the country more than doubled, and of all the socialist countries the debt burden per capital was the heaviest in Hungary. In the early 1980s various opposition trends took shape. Civil initiatives were gaining significance. The Vác Museum Association was re-established, the Town Carers' Association was formed, and the Madách Circle started operating again. It was another sign of the softening of the regime that in 1988 the town could receive the Holy Right again; what was more, as a closing act of the celebrations the chairman of the [communist] council of the town himself made a speech. In the spring of 1989 events escalated. The opposition parties held a separate celebration from the official programme on 15 March. The winds of change were reflected in the great number of people marching from the Main Square to the monument commemorating the 1848 Revolution and War of Independence. In May the four opposition parties agreed upon forming the Vác Opposition Democratic Circle. On 23 October, the anniversary of the 1956 revolution a new constitution was announced and the Hungarian Republic was proclaimed. On the following day the chairman of the town council suggested that the Soviet monument be pulled down. With the participation and active assistance of the opposition parties the symbols of the declining regime were also removed from public places. The town also regained its old coat of arms. In 1990 the new government was formed, and at the end of October a new town council The demolished Soviet monument in Konstantin Square
