Dobrossy István: Miskolc írásban és képekben 2. (Miskolc, 1995)

Angol nyelvű ismertető

advantage has become a commercial city. In the 18-19th centuries some Greek merchants came to the town and gradually dominated the market trading with wine, leather goods, wheat. From the second half of the 19 th century up to the first half of the 20th century joining to the industrial life, to the organizing and managing banking institutions and credit business the most of the Jews of the region came to live and work to Miskolc. In the course of carrying on research work we can constantly feel that Miskolc always wanted to be an important town of Hungary. It wanted to be the first in every respect as if going to prove its importance. For example, Miskolc was the first to build a stonehouse for the theatre in Hungary in 1823. It was an outstanding event of the Hungarian cultural life, The Casino similar to the English clubs - was established in 1827, in the same year as the National Casino in Budapest came to life, both helped and initiated by Count Stephen Széchényi whose statue can be seen at the Városház square - from October of 1994. Another example, in 1723 a decree compelled all of the counties to build a countyhouse. Miskolc started it in 1725 and finished in 1727. Among the first ten towns in Hungary Miskolc established the „Miskolcz Savings Bank" in 1845, but the intention of founding it had been 45 years old then. Miskolc is proud of a numerous of great sons as László Palóczy, Lajos Horváth, Bertalan Szemere etc. and has raised public monuments and statues to their memory. Miskolc had fought a battle with the crown lands in Diósgyőr with the set purpose of separation and of the right to selft-determination. Having gained them the council's next aim became to get the municipal law, meaning the separation from the county. Independence, free self-determination, to carry through the „Big-Miskolc" design, those were the most important aims of the town leaders. The local council wanted to make Miskolc the capital of the region, to make Miskolc the town of schools and university. Themayors (István Szentpáli, Ferenc Nagy, Sándor Hodobay) all worked, carried on negotiations, made agreements to realise these purposes. Spectalar successes were achieved by mayor Sándor Hodobay in the 1930-ies. The essence of the changes and development in Miskolc was written by a famous sociologist, Zoltán Szabó, giving a vivid and detailed mirror of the era and clinical picture of it at the same time. Examining the conditions of the year 1935, he couldn't show the „spirit" of the town only he found different „pictures". He found a settlement with a lot of streets, markets and shops. He found Miskolc had only goods, possessions but no integral spirit, mentality, attitude. Nothing like collective spirit. No traditions. Miskolc was not an integral whole, it was a „loose" town. Miskolc has never had a Patron, but had had a lot of rich people not too much minding the public interest, the common good. Miskolc meant a place to live in but not a home. There were no common features as characteristic of the different strata. The different layers of the society hadn't fused, only lived together side by side. The situation became worse after the II. World War. The war didn't claim casualties, yet the town suffered heavy losses. In 1941: 77.362 inhabitants; after 1945: 43.428 ones as to the census/ Most of the missing people had escaped from the nearing front-line. A lot of them was carried off or taken prisoner of war. This loss was compensated by creating „Big-Miskolc" in