Lukács László (szerk.): Märkte und Warenaustausch im Pannonischen Raum - István Király Múzeum közelményei. A. sorozat 28. (Székesfehérvár, 1988)
Attila Paládi-Kovács: The Ethnography of the Markets and the Exchange of Goods in Central Transdanubia
All the same, just as most of the beef-cattle were bred in the Great Hungarian Plain, a great part of the exported swine arrived in Transdanubia from Serbia and Slavonia and continued towards the western markets. From the 17th century on we also have data concerning the export of poultry and eggs. This produce was transported from the western parts of Transdanubia to Vienna and other Austrian and Styrian towns. After the Napoleonic wars there was a steady increase in the export of grain which received a great impetus from the extension of the railway network in the second half of the 19th century. The transport of forest produce, lake and river fish, hay and the like to Vienna and other market centres could also be mentioned. From Austrian and Styrian parts mainly manufactured goods, ironmongery and wooden items came to Transdanubia. The exhibition shows the role of roads and ferries in the trade relations of the Pannonian region, and demonstrates the specific groups of traditional transport and trade, and the colourful world of Serbian, Greek, Slovakian, Jewish and other itinerant vendors. It is well documented that the geographical region surrounded by the Alps and the rivers Danube and Sava is not only a geographical unit. It is much more than that. It shows the. close economic interdependence of its nationalities, the role of vocational folk specialties, the continuous and permanent exchange of material and spiritual goods. This need created the different strata and groups of intermediators and encouraged the people living in the region to learn each other's languages. We can assume for sure that in the zone of the Hungarian-German language border there existed the institution of children on exchange visits, a successful way of learning a language, as early as the 16th-17th centuries. The process I mentioned, the permanent exchange of material and spiritual goods, had a decisive role in the Pannonian region's appearing as a specific province of culture on the map of Central Europe in mediaeval and also in modern times. This unity, of-course, should not be overemphasized. Pannonia was varied in Roman times, too, both ethnically and culturally. The peoples and cultures of Emona and Vindobona, Aquincum and Sirmium were different. The Roman roads and thermal baths - just like the achievements of today's civilization - did not obliterate the local cultures, languages or religions but connected them. Historical fate set different ways of development for Pannonia Superior and Pannonia Inferior. The peoples of Pannonia Prima and Pannonia Secunda, and even more the peoples of Savia and Valeria lived different lives. It is just this diversity that shows the richness of the region. This conference and this exhibition serve the exchange not of material but of intellectual goods. As the exhibition is a good means of exchanging and utilizing information it is a great pleasure for me to declare it open and dedicate it to all those interested in the subject. 139
