H. Szilasi Ágota - Várkonyi Péter - Bujdosné Pap Györgyi - Császi Irén (szerk.): Agria 50. (Az egri Dobó István Vármúzeum Évkönyve - Annales Musei Agriensis, 2017)
Szecskó Károly: Az első egri zsidó polgár: Schwarcz István
Károly Szecskó EGER’S FIRST JEWISH CITIZEN: ISTVÁN SCITWARTZ Eger was ethnically diverse in previous centuries. Apart from Hungarians, its residents included Serbs, Greeks, Germans, Turks, Gypsies, as well as some Poles, Moravians, Czechs and Italians. According to the agreement between the Bishop of Eger György Fenesy and the towns delegates, made in 1695 “...it should not be allowed for Jews to dwell in and around the town”. The setdement of Jewish people in Eger was made possible by Act 29 of 1840. The first Jewish citizen to settle in Eger was the tanner István Schwartz from Sály, whose name is spelled differently in official documents. (Schwarcz, Schvarcz etc.) From the second half of the 19th century his descendants played a dominant role in Eger’s economic and cultural development, as well as the emergence of the bourgeois society in general. After 1880 some family members changed their surnames to Hungarians ones, such as Alföldi, Fekete and Székely. The most prominent members of the family apart from István Schwartz are: Gábor Schwartz entrepreneur, Vilmos Schwarcz entrepreneur, István Schwarcz vineyard owner, István Schwarcz (Reb Náftole Schwarcz) president of the orthodox Jewish community, Vilmos Schwarcz entrepreneur, Dr. Sándor Schwarcz physician, Dr. Artúr Schwarcz lawyer, Hermann Fekete entrepreneur, Dr. Dávid Alföldi lawyer, Irén Alföldi opera singer and Endre Székely businessman. István Schwartcz, who was the first to settle in Eger, founded a tannery and a steam mill in the town. The latter was the first of its kind in Heves County and was continuously modernised. The millstone, which can still be found in the Archbishops Garden, comes from this mill. He was the first president of the Jewish community, established in 1841 and the founding member of the chevra kadisha (holy society) that was established in 1843. István Schwartz was very interested in public affairs and he helped wherever he could. In 1848 he joined the national guard. He was involved in organising the Jewish school. He attended the Hungarian Jewish Congress as a delegate (1868). In the same year he set up a foundation for a secondary school to be established in Eger. He and his wife were actively involved in charitable activities all their lives. 526
