A Móra Ferenc Múzeum Évkönyve: Studia Historica 2. (Szeged, 1999)

ZOMBORI István: Kétfejű sas és cserkész liliom. A szegedi Történeti Gyűjtemény 115 éve

types of objects found their way into the collection, for instance, medieval seals belonging to the city. There were also articles, of great historical significance, which belonged to the guilds: the guild flags, chests and documents, all of which were made after the expulsion of the Turks in 1686. The collection also includes customs, weapons and various articles, such as flags, bags with the crest of the city belonging to the militia of the 18th and 19th century and various paint ings and engravings depicting their members. Highly esteemed relics, flags, weapons and customs, associated with certain historical figures of the 1848-49 Revolution were also included into the collection. Objects from the great flood of 1879 have found their way into the museum. Discovered at the time of the rebuilding of the city right after the flood, artifacts belonging to the medieval period of Szeged were collected from city-grounds. We can state that the relics from Szeged originating from the Medieval Period and the time of the Turkish Occupation are very fragmentary. A significant percentage of the objects noted above and the various items listed in the catalogue are registered articles of the historical collection. However, this is definitely not the fault of the museum, but the shortcoming of the era which destroyed these historical materials. Beginning in the 18th century, a significant portion of the historical remains of the city of Szeged, materials of value and those representing the independent royal city status, became part of the collection at the time noted above and remain there even today. The founders and collectors of the museum have done a fine job. The exhibition was displayed in the Palace of Culture in 1896 and showed the relics of the city. This exhibition met not only national, but international standars as well. The institution, which became independent after 1950, continued to collect objects, photographs and documents that were associated with the past of Szeged. However, due to the increasing political pressure, the museum had to begin to examine the history of the leftwing political movement and the creation and functioning of the local worker and the communist party. The Historical Collection became an independent department in 1978 with 8-9 historians. It tried to fulfill the expectation of everyday politics, the collection of articles with traditional city historical value. The Historical Collection was moved into a building of its own to house the exhibition, a storage facility, and research center. This is the Black House, where this valuable collection can be found today.