Budapest, 1946. (2. évfolyam)

3. szám - BENEDEK ANDRÁS: Színházi esték

BUDAPEST ILLUSTRATED HISTORICAL AND SOCIAL REVIEW PUBLISHED BY THE CITY OF BUDAPEST RÁKŐCZI'S »KURUCZ« SOLDIERS AT THE WALLS OF BUDA AND PEST The »kurucz« insurrection spread like a spring flood. On 16th June, 1703, Rákóczi was met at the Polish-Hungarian frontier only by a handful of men and, on 29th August, the British Minister at Vienna notified his Government that the insurgents were threatening the heart of the country. A rebel leader. Bercsényi by name, marched against Buda at the head of five thousand »kurucz« soldiers and another detachment, coming from the trans- Tisza district, advanced on Pest. The unexpectedly rapid progress of the insurgents created profound unrest. Under the penalty of empalement, the commander of the Buda garrison ordered the villagers of the neighbourhood to send groups of workmen to help in strengthening the fortifications. The defences facing the so-called »Víziváros« district were re-inforced by deep trenches and everything was done to fortify the line of defence running from the old town to the heights. Ramparts were built in Pest and Buda. The citizens were armed, the municipal authorities of Pest published dramatic appeals to the. population ordering them to take up arms, to hand in their cattle, hay and fodder and summons were sent to the Magistrates to attend an extraordinary meeting on the 6th of November. In point of fact, lliat was the last reunion of the representatives to be held in Pest, for shortly afterwards Rákóczi elected a »kurucz« deputy-sheriff in the . Földvár camp. During that blazing hot summer, both the »kurucz« and the »labanc« factions reckoned on the possibility of Buda and, even more so, of Pest falling before Rákóczi's insurgents. Actually, Rákóczi was unable to take either Buda or Pest. During the protracted war, the two towns stood like rocks in the middle of a ring of »kurucz« insurgents. rp * v 1 amas Lsze TABÁN SPA Every country realises how vital to its economic well-being its tourist traffic is and how necessary it is to develop its international motorist traffic to the fullest extent. This explains the keen rivalry of all the interested countries when the motorists of the world resolved upon the necessity of creating a transcontinental road to stretch from Brussels to Stambul, and the lengths to which these countries went in their desire that they should l»e included among the countries this road would traverse. Hungary achieved this ambition some ten years ago when the road between the Austro-Hungarian frontier post of Hegyeshalom and the provincial town of Szeged in south-eastern Hungary became a link in this transcontinental road that, even before the first world war, had served as an artery of communications for the commerce flowing from the Atlantic Ocean to the Persian Gulf. It is on this very account that no effort was spared to repair the damaged portion of the transcontinental road in Hungary and that in Budapest, one of the focal junctions of this artery, the authorities have attempted to make the accesses and exits to the capital agreable, rapid and easy to attain. The road leading into the capital will pass through the Tabán district, the heart of Budapest Spa of the future, where are to be built spacious thermal establishments in the immediate proximity of the Rudas and Rácfürdő radio-active springs. Whereas the arterial roads leading into other capitals may present the motorist with a panorama of proud palaces, elaborate squares and modern transversal roads, the picture he will see in the Tabán will be of an entirely different nature. The road leading to the Tabán will cross undulating country, forests and treelined avenues to abut in the Tabán Park where the motorist will be presented with a spectacle of modern thermal establishments, built on classical lines, provided with every modern amenity and set in a background of spacious gardens. To apply a musical similie, the visitor will find himself in the surroundings of a pastoral theme where, at dusk, larks sing and where, on broiling summer afternoons, we may even expect to hear the pipes of Pan. The staccato of a serpentine road will lead from these placid slopes onto the bridge where the second contrast will be seen. The effect of the panorama spread before the eyes of the sightseer will be so striking and such an architectural counter-point which, if achieved on the lines we seek to follow, will be unrivalled by any other town. The reconstruction of the Tabán district on the basis of these plans would do more than arouse momentary pleasure ; it would give a meaning to life and substance to the picture presented to the foreign visitor seeking rest, recuperation or pleasure in Hungary. Virgil Borbiró OLD BURGH —NEW BURGH Although — essentially — concerning only a small area and buildings of modest quality, the one thing that hurts us perhaps most of all, is the cruel devastation of the Burgh. The ferocious fighting here destroyed this narrow quarter to such an extent that there it is no house undamaged. The Burgh was always dear to our hearts and thus, we simply can not take its destruction for reality. The historical value of the Burgh lies not in the excellence of certain buildings or in the finestyle of the same. Its unity is the unity of the building spirit that remained unchanged for long periods, stamping its mark on the styles coming from abroad and giving a local character to them ; first it made them »buda-ish« and only then baroque or rococo. We find in the Burgh a sound, economical, honest and frank way of building, restrained in ornaments, poor in the materials used, and in the carrying out, something that is subordinated to the picture of the street. Even in this — unconscious or perhaps rather conscious — harmonization, some Burgh streets became exemplary. The art-relic character of the Burgh — instead of in architectural forms — should be looked for in the relation of the houses as they stand near each other, and depend on one another. Under such circumstances, after the destruction, not the analizable forms but the athmosphere which can not be dissected into parts and details, should Béla Péczely MODERN HUNGARIAN DRAWINGS A sympathetic essay introduces the student of the most ancient form of art, — that of line drawings — to this work which appeared after the untimely and tragic death of its author, György Gombosi. Works of this nature are always upsetting, to a certain extent. In this instance, the observation made by the author that drawings are more or less incomplete, though they may be perfect in their nature, is in keeping with his style. In this course of his meticulous study, Gombosi examines the lines of classical drawings and the methods practised. At once, we are struck by some brilliant passages devoted to the hands and to the origin of sub-conscious medial ties between the artist and his instrument. The author then refers in detail to the different techniques of the past century, to the problems of contour and shading and to the theatrical beauties of line drawing as well as to the effects of light and shadow in modern line drawing. In the eyes of the author, the spirit of modern line drawing is to be found in its abundance of ambiguity recalling subconscious life and in the coherences »that cannot be rationalised, but rest on the traditional legal character of line drawing itself«. . „ Aurel Karpati БУДАПЕШТ ИЛ ЮСТРИ РОВ АН Н Ы Й ИСТОРИЧЕСКИЙ И ОБЩЕСТВЕННЫЙ ЖУРНАЛ ВЕНГЕРСКОЙ СТОЛИЦЫ КУРУЦЫ РАКОЦИ ПОД СТЕНАМИ ПЕШТА-БУДЫ Восстание куруцов (куруцами назывались принимавшие участие в освободительном движении Ракоци бойцы) разросталось как весенный разлив. Только горсть бойцов встретила Ракоци 16-го июня 1703 г. на польско-венгерской границе, а 29-го августа английский посол в Вене уже пишет в Лондон о том, что мятежники угрожают центру страны: Берчени с 5000 куруцами надвигается на Буду, а полковник приверженец Текели, пересекая реку Тксу, приближается к Пешту. Неожиданно быстрый темп восстания возбудил беспокойство. Комендант Буды приказывает селам области Пешт посылать еженедельно меняющиеся рабочие отряды на укрепление крепости. Он укрепляет рвы со стороны Водяного Города и линию от старого города до высот. В Пеште роют окопы ; в Буде и в Пеште вооружают население. Пештское областное ведомство отдает приказы призывающие к вооруженному восстанию ; требует орудий, сена и корма и приказывает старостам присутствовать на сходе 6-го ноября. Это последний областной сход в Пеште, вскоре, по предписанию Ракоци, куруц избирается вице-губернатором в Фелд-126