Horváth M. Ferenc (szerk.): Vác The heart of the Danube Bend. A historical guide for residents and globetrotters (Vác, 2009)
Tartalom
THE 1 9TH CENTURY - THE CENTURY OF GREAT CHANGES 149 was no overall town development plan either, as it was only in 1905 that the county ordered the town to employ an architect. Contemporary pictures of the town also confirm this state of affairs. In the first half of the 19th century the cattle herds of Püspökvác, Káptalanvác and Kisvác are still driven along the Main Street. Because of these herds, carts often get jammed and it is difficult to get around. The vast area of the Market Place also presents a peculiar sight with the stalls, which are set up temporarily during the markets, but from the beginning of the century they become permanent fixtures starting from the Crown Inn. Barrows pulled by donkeys are common sight, and sometimes a stagecoach or the bishop's coach that rolls through the town In a dignified manner. In the course of our sightseeing tour let us have a look at the 19th-century town from some spots that aroused our ancestors' attention, too. Whether we approach Naszály Hill from the direction of Bácska Field, Kis-Gombás, the old Postaút or Egyházmöge, we have the chance to take a rest at the roadside crosses. Having reached the higher parts of the hill we can enjoy a full view of the town. Ifit is clear, we can see as far as Rákospalota being constructed right now, nottomentionTahitótfalu on the opposite bank of the river on Szentendre Island, or the neighbouring Verőce and Kismaros. All around there are manorial forests, cultivated ploughlands, orchards and vineyards, which latter will be destroyed by phylloxera in the 1880s. The leaseholders are exploiting workable stone used for constructions from the quarries of the bishopric manor. Here and there, on the downy hills we can see farm buildings, field-guards' shelters and a few houses dwelled by noblemen or eccentric artists in the summer, as well as the white walls of the Chapels of Spinyér and St Michael. However, there is no point in searching for the ruins of the church of the medieval village Naszály, as the chapter gave permission to exploit the remains of its stone walls in 1802. Its former place is marked with a stone cross. The water of the Danube below us is driving the wheels of about forty floating mills fastened to poles at Kőhíd Island, and it will keep doing so until steam-powered mills take over towards the end of the century. The last mill on the Danube will survive until the middle of the following century. If we come towards the town from Szentendre Island, before crossing the river we can rest in the
