Hörcsik Richárd: A Sárospataki Református Kollégium gazdaságtörténete 1800-1919 (Sárospatak – Miskolc, 1996)
Bevezetés
INTRODUCTION 1981 is an outstanding date in the research of the history of colleges in Hungary. The colleges in Pápa and Sárospatak celebrated their 450 th anniversary and on this occassion two books of studies and a number of essays were published. These studies became a milestone in the process of writing the history of protestant colleges. This is so, because a „quieter" period was closed and a new era was started with research conducted from a new historical point of view. These studies and essays turned the attenition of researchers and the public towards two colleges that were very important in the history of Hungarian education. A more methodical study was started by historians and researchers of the history of education. Finally, these studies, in spite of their shortcomings, provided further momentum in the process of research. Soon problems came to light hitherto unknown of thought to be unimportant. This is how the following definition was composed. The college is such a special institute, whose priority is to educate but it is also very versatile with self-governing, cultural, ecclesiastical and other sides to it. During the latest research, the lesser know area of the history of the college's management of its financial and agricultural enterprizes emerged. However, even with the existence of the 2 books of studies, it is important to reveal new sources and reeveluate the economic system of the history of the college's management. To reveal the college's econimic management becomes at once an important, exciting and a very difficult task. It is important because it sheds light on certain unexplained problems in the life of protestant schools, ie. what financial means did institutions have that were not supported by the court. What was the financial (economic) background to the intellectual achievements of the protestant colleges. At the same time it is interesting for what it says about the organization of educational policy. How can an educational centre keep its autonomy in, a centrelised state. How can the financial means be provided, what kind of management formula would be successful. In developing countries many problems resulted from how to build an educational complex and keep it flourishing far away from the catchment area of the capital, with little help from the state. It is also instructive, what pedagogical points of wien view considered in the inclusion of students into the self supporting economic infrastructure. (Esp. 17 th — 18 th Century) What kind of social background did the college build around itself.
