Sipos András: Joint Database as Research Tool – Sources on the Society of Budapest (1870s–1910s) on ’Hungaricana’ Portal. Tagungsblog En route to a shared identity. Sources on the history of Central Europe in the Digital Age. 2016.
■ Real estate registers of Pest and Óbuda (1878-1921/26) ■ Database of Associations ■ Topographical database By querying and filtering these records ,,en masse” - which are preserved and arranged on the basis of the principle of provenance, that means following the administrative logic of the original creators - the individuals can be seen in the context of their transactions and interactions with other members of their social networks, and the user of the database can reconstruct these lines of networks in timeeffective way. Let me present these possibilities shortly through one example. Gustav Petschacher (1844, Wien -1890, Budapest) [http://keptar.oszk. hu/html/kepoldal/index.phtml?id=59328'| was one of the excellent architects who resettled to Budapest during the era of metropolitan transformation after the Compromise of 1867 and creation of Capital Budapest through the unification of three cities, to capitalise their expertise and creativity here. He was the apprentice of Heinrich Ferstel and Friedrich Schmidt in Vienna, and resettled to Budapestin 1873 (yearofthe unification ofthe municipalities) as the chief architect ofthe Radialstraßenbau-Unternehmung. The opening of this new boulevard connecting the Inner City with the City Park (Stadtwäldchen, in Hungarian Városliget) was decided in 1870 and the construction work began in 1872 (Radialstraße, today Andrássy Straße). The enterprise bankrupted as a consequence ofthe 1873 crisis, and Petschacher continued his career as a private architect. He became an outstanding master ofthe neorenaissance architecture ofthe era. His first important independent work was the villa Nr. 126 Radialstraße which was built in 1875. http://gallery.hungaricana.hu/en/BudapestGy uj temeny/3294/?img=0&bbox=-2325%2C- 3708%2C7082%2C25] The builder was Vince Wen inger (1834-1879), Director ofthe Hungarian General Credit Bank, one ofthe most important figures ofthe Hungarian financial elite and adviser of the government in financial affairs. Gustav Petschacher married Irma Weningerthe daughter of the builder in 1878, which was a decisive step to integrate into the local society. His „oeuvre” includes representative palaces and tenements on the Andrássy street. [http://gallery.hu ngaricana.hu/en/BudapestGy uj temeny/2858/?img=0&bbox=-2266%2C- 3712%2C7140%2C20, http://gallery.hungaricana.hu/en/BudapestGy uj temeny/2964/? img=0&bbox=-1629%2C-3572%2C6997%2C-149] When he died unexpectedly in his prime of life, he left behind 6 children and a five-storey tenement under construction, which he planned for himself and his family as a safe investment. He had chosen a corner plot on the section ofthe Great Ring Boulevard (Großring, Nagykörút), which passed through Josefstadt: 27. József körút, District Vili.
