Cseri Miklós - Bereczki Ibolya (szerk.): Ház és Ember, A Szabadtéri Néprajzi Múzeum évkönyve 24. (Szentendre, Szabadtéri Néprajzi Múzeum, 2012)

Summary

SUMMARY As the sea in a drop - the 'traces' of man gradually conquering nature and landscape are hidden in this little village called Jósvafő at the end of the Jósva valley embraced by a ring of mountains. The philosophical unity and harmony of permanence and continuous change has materialized here, the basis of which is given by the natural environment and the population's attitude to nature which is characterized by humbleness, understanding and harnessing nature's powers. It was only the scarcity of financial resources which saved Jósvafő from having a main street typical in the 1960s lined with a row of so called 'cube houses' (houses with a square layout and tent shaped roof). As a result of a presumably intuitive decision the houses of the 70s and 80s were allocated to a 'New row'. Strengthening the illusion of permanence, a relatively homogeneous housing stock survived, the significance of which is also considerable in respect of vernacular architecture. In our essays we would like to provide some additional information so as to get to know and understand the present state of Jósvafő, preserved by being listed as a significant area of national monuments. In spite of this the firm fabric of the image of the village of the past has dented, asking for urgent intervention. The first research concerning ancient monuments was carried out by László VARGHA and later by Antal FILEP in 1964. The first comprehensive research and listing of vernacular architecture followed by recommendations was ventured by László VARGHA. The result was a summary of research and collecting on location between 1953 and 1968. His essay entitled 'The settlement of Jósvafő. its ancient monuments and their protection' appeared in 'Ház és Ember no. 3', one of the significant achievements of his oeuvre. VARGHA was urging to make a plan of recommendations which on the basis of listing ethnographic, vernacular monuments led to outlining areas of ancient monuments and on the basis of this to a detailed landuse plan, which could serve as a basis for restructuring the settlement. Unfortunately the accomplishment of the recommendations of the plan was postponed for thirty years. It was declared to be a national monument site in 1999, but in spite of this deterioration of protected buildings continued and because of the lack of recourses the recommended reconstructive work has not started ever since. During the summers of 1993, 1

994 and 1995 undergraduates of Ybl Miklós College of Building (YMCB) under the leadership of Lajosné VARGA (YMCB) and Zsolt ZSANDA (National Office of Cultural Heritage) organized survey camps in order to document vernacular architecture of national significance to be protected in the village. The results of these camps can be studied in a further chapter and in the Appendix of this volume. The use of the land and surroundings of the settlement shows a particular orbit. In the clearings created in deforested areas in the early Middle Ages arable and livestock farming diminished and then disappeared and reforestation resumed on the areas cultivated earlier. After the Aggtelek National Park came into being environmental protection in the use of land became a new element, which besides maintaining habitat it also includes activities to restore habitats. The first detailed description of Jósvafő is found in an ecclesiastical manuscript from the 14

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h century. Approximately 200 people lived here at that time. Making use of natural resources three mills were operating at this time, one of them was a so called tilt-mill which was a mill processing iron. Its stone church without tower has served the protestant community since the end of the 16

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h century by which time reformation had completed. By the end of the 18

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h century the floor area of the church was doubled, justified on the grounds of significant increase of the population. Significant movements of the population were brought about in the 19

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h century: a part of the population, in the hope of a better livelihood, immigrated to America. At the same time a significant Jewish emigration started from the Uplands, as a result of which a Jewish community of a particular composition came about. This community was eliminated without trace by the Holocaust; their memory is only preserved in a little Jewish cemetery. In the local battles of World War II Romanian troops took part as the allies of the Soviet Army. Gradual depopulation of the area was partly due to the drain of workforce due to 'socialist industrialization' and partly because individual farming became impossible and attempts to organize cooperative farms were also unsuccessful. Tourism based on caves of national importance made a favourable effect on the livelihood of people living here. The number of visitors was nearing 200 thousand at the end of the last century. Creating the conditions for cave-