Tanulmányok Budapest Múltjából 31. (2003)

VÁROSTÖRTÉNETI TANULMÁNYOK - Gyáni Gábor: Budapest "tapasztalat története" 333-361

BUDAPEST „TAPASZTALAT TÖRTÉNETE" History of Experiencing Budapest The account given on the development of Budapest into a metropolitan domain focuses on the experiences shared by those who practically created and at the same time lived in the city at the formative period of its transformation during the late 19

th and early 20

th century. First the experiences of the city builders (town planners, architects) are presented by sounding the vice-president of the Board of Public Works, and one of the most eminent architects of the city. Not less important is that how the average city dweller has perceived the permanently changing physical image of Budapest. The latter is shown by citing several characteristic entries from the diary kept by a young Budapest couple in the mid-1870s. A second consideration may be to assess the perception of social differentiation in the urban space. In examining the social map of contemporary Budapest, the author tends to confront the various images cherished in terms of the same socio-physical units of the city (Tabán), or the perception of otherness manifesting itself either socially, ethnically or confessionally. The rule of always keeping in mind the fine and subtle distinctions and conventions among the members of the diverse social groups remained in valid even in the tenement houses where the social mix of the tenants was the most frequent pattern. With greater emphasis on the rigid threshold between the private and public domain, the street was able less and less to accommodate the varied manifestations of urban social life. Therefore, the precise knowing of who is who and what is what, the ordinary urbanité meets in his daily life is increasingly surrendered to the power of intelligent gaze which is able to decipher the latent meaning both of the strangers' behaviour and that of the events taken place around him. The practice of „reading the text of the city" is amply illustrated by excerpts taken by contemporary fictions, diaries and memoirs. The notion of the city as theatre, a realm where the more or less passive spectators (flâneur) encounter with „actors" who are at the centre of the theatrical performance of city life is also described by some examples, the burial of a great politician, the dramatic events of a mass riot and the May Day ceremony of the labouring classes. The conclusion drawn points to the relevance of gaining a much better understanding of the specific modes of experiencing the material evolution of urbanisation process. 361