Nyakas Miklós szerk.: Hajdúsági Múzeum Évkönyve 8. (Hajdúböszörmény, 1994)

Official Commemorations of István Széchenyi's Death in the Hajdú Towns

Bényei Miklós Official Commemorations of István Széchenyit Death in the Hajdú Towns Count István Széchenyi died on April 8, 1860. The news of his deat shook the whole country. An expression of sincere grief, the series of commemorations was also a demonstration of the desire of the oppressed Hungarian nation for national sovereingnty and progress. Public commemorative events and official commiserations of the Hajdú towns were also informed by this double allegiance. The extant documents published here provide an insight into the political views of the contemporary political elite in the Hajdú towns as well as relevant information on the initial phase of the nationwide cult of Széchenyi. Their publication seems all the more justified by the fact that these events and letters have so far passed unnoticed by works on local history. It was at the meeting on April 28, 1860 that the Hajdúböszörmény town council decreed a memorial service and decided to give their grief over the death of "the greatest of Hungarians" an official expression in the council records. The service was held on May 10. Letters of invitation were sent to the councils and the "nobility", that is the landowners, of the other Hajdú towns so that they could all "rejoice together in celebrating of the results of the unflinching and unswerving work, of which our area has also enjoyed the blessed fruits, done by this paragon of patriotism..." Letters of invitation were sent to the town councils of Hajdúdorog, Hajdúhadház, Hajdúnánás, Hajdúszoboszló and Vámospércs. Hajdúszoboszló, however, was even faster to react. Although the minutes of the town council meetings have not survived, Pesti Napló reported that the date of the memorial service had been May 1. About three thousand people convened first in the Protestant and later in the Catholic church, "showing genuine patriotic zeal and devout solemnity." "It was like a procession of princes consorted by the chosen citizens of their peoples, assembled for the accomplishment of some majestic cause; that is how the hoary officials of the former Hajdú province, clad in their magnificent robes of state, appeared amidst the hajdus in their knightly apparel." A few days later, on May 10, the aldermen of the town sent a beautifully worded letter of condolence, on behalf of the entire population of the town, to István Széchenyi's widow. In the letter, they called the deceased a "pharos", crediting him with the shaping of the national spirit "that will save the nation, if it is within the power of men." It had been more than a decade that the former seat of what had been the Hajdú district until 1851 had seen a service of such magnitude. Accepting the invitation, a fair number arrived from the other Hajdú towns as well. The events 102