Dobrossy István: Miskolc írásban és képekben (Miskolc, 1994)

Angol nyelvű ismertető

history. Public statues of Lajos Kossuth (1898), General Artúr Görgey (1934), Quen Elizabeth (1899) were first raised in Miskolc. Great sons of the county (Bertalan Szemere, László Palóczy, Lajos Horváth, József Lévai) as well as thar of Hungary (István Széchenyi, Lajos Kossuth, Ferenc Deák) are dealt with in the essays. Naturally, the relationship between Miskolc and artists, actors, doctors and merchants (Mihály Munkácsy, Mrs. Déry, Aladár Henszelmann, Mór Jókai) is also revealed in the writings.

The fourth chapter comprises works that introduce churches and ecclasiastical buildings. This is followed by the schools of the city. Some of them trace back their history to several centuries, but most of them were founded around the turning of the century. One of the most noteworthy of them is the institution that houses musical education. The form and outer appearance of the present building of the College of Music has been retained throughout the past decades. The Academy of Law moved from Eperjes to Miskolc in 1919 it was present here until 1944 (in the last years, law education has again started).

The last two parts of the book deal with the buildings of catering and the most interesting mansion houses. Hotels, the 'descandants' of the eighteenth-century inns are introduced. Among them there are ones that were situated at the onetime city borders, while others on the medieval market place. The city had these old inns demolished at the end of the nineteenth century. They were replaced by hotels satisfying the needs of the citizens. They either owe their names to old traditions (e. g. 'Három rózsa"= 'Three roses'; 'Fekete sas'='Black eagle'; 'Fehér csillag'='White star'), or they received names taken over from somewhere (e. g. 'Korona'= 'Crown'; 'Pannónia'; Tolónia'; 'Budapest'). Some nemes remind us of outstanding personalities (e. g. 'Baross'; 'Széchenyi'; 'Erzsébet').

In connection with public catering, the author speaks about confectioneries and sweetshops and also about the profession introduced by Swiss confectioners at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The history of the first coffe- shops, cafés goes back to the middle of the eighteenth century - Greek merchants introduced them to the citizens of Miskolc.

A part of the material in the book has already been publisched in local papers in the past few years. So readers were given the possibility to supplement these writings with their own documents and memories. That is why such a high number of illustrations accompanies this publication. Beyond intending to show certify what has been written, the photos render the atmosphere of the past perceptible and illustrate changes in a subtle way. As a new source. I used letter-papers with ornamental letter-heads, which characterized the first two decades of the century. Where possibyc, commertials of the contemporary press appear as well. This indicates the humour and mood of the city and citiznes. The Archives assisted us in putting their abundant supply of frontal sketches of the buildings at our disposal. Most of the buildings, shops, factories has engineering drafts. Where the written text allowed it, I published these as well.

To sum it up, it is rather the pictures and the illustrations that speak about the history of the city. The written material only completes these. They call the attention to minor facts that a researcher dealing with the history of the settlement notices. He discovers things, and he makes other people see and love his city through these things. This thought explains the title of the book it is a brief account of a well-known city in words and pictures.

304