Ságvári Ágnes (szerk.): Budapest. The History of a Capital (Budapest, 1975)
Documents
tion, in so far as the environs are concerned, with the Executive Committee of Pest County Council not later than the period of the Sixth Five-Year Plan. Magyar Közlöny [Gazette of the Hungarian Government], February 16th, 1971, pp. 163-165. XXXVI Together for Budapest—Centenary Call of the Budapest Conference of Delegates of the Patriotic People’s Front April 8th, 1972 We are preparing for a centenary, the hundredth anniversary of the union of Buda, Pest and Óbuda. We shall be commemorating the historic event which enabled these three ancient cities to develop into a modern metropolis. This prospect had already been envisaged by the revolutionary government of 1848-49, but the Habsburg tyranny did all in its power in the next twenty-five years to prevent its realization. We are proud of the history of our city, because Budapest was the main scene of the political struggles of the past century and the struggle for social progress. It was here that the creative, inspiring work of organization was carried out by Mihály Táncsics. It was here that the socialists made their voice heard in all the languages of the peoples of the Danube valley. It was here that for the second time in world history the proletariat brought about the liberating dictatorship of the working class. Our city became the centre of the underground communist movement, and anti-fascist resistance of Hungary. After Liberation it was here that the progressive forces waged their war, it was here that the main struggle took place for workers’ power, for the acceleration of socialist construction. We are also proud of our city’s present. In these hundred years Budapest has developed as the centre of Hungarian economic, scientific and artistic life; literature and education were nourished here producing outstanding achievements which have won esteem and respect beyond our frontiers. This is also the largest city in South-eastern Europe. It is here that the transcontinental roads meet, and it is an important junction for the railways and for air traffic. Its singular natural geographical advantages, the whole peerless panorama of the city, and the friendliness and vitality of its population attract masses of visitors from all parts of the world. We are also proud to meditate on the great opportunities the progress of our city presents. Built on the past, the picture of the new Budapest unfolds before us. An important stage in this great progress is the Fourth Five-Year Plan, in the course of which—as compared to the preceding period—the money to be devoted to the development of the city has been doubled. This decision to expedite development will gradually overcome our present troubles: the housing shortage, overcrowded public transport, various urban difficulties, inequalities between the districts of the capital. In making preparations for the centenary many local citizens, filled with civic pride have proposed in public meetings and in the press that the centenary year should also be marked by some form of social action. This public-spirited proposal has found an active response beyond the borders of Budapest, and recently of the People’s Front declared at several county conferences that they considered Budapest’s great anniversary as their own. 134