Horváth M. Ferenc (szerk.): Vác The heart of the Danube Bend. A historical guide for residents and globetrotters (Vác, 2009)
Tartalom
VÁC IN THE 20TH CENTURY 167 it whether coming into town or just passing through. Széchenyi Street, connecting the railway station with the town centre, also led here. The Town Hall, the institute for the deaf and mute, the savings bank, restaurants, shops and hotels were all situated here along with the Church of the White (Dominican) Friars, which was also the parish church.The Main Square was the scene of weekly markets. It was the heart of the town, the administrative, economic and cultural centre both in the ecclesiastic and the secular sphere. Significant local events took place here: ecclesiastic and secular ceremonies, commemorations, election campaigns, inaugurations. The importance of the area was increased by its geographical location as it was a traffic junction as well. The town relaxed and socialised in the cafés and confectioners of the Main Square. Balázsovits confectioners, besides being famous for its delicious ice-creams, attracted townsfolk with its terrace protected by sun-shades. It was built in 1896and people enjoyed sitting there and watching the colourful bustle of the Main Square. In the summer of 1908 the completely transformed modern EMKE Café was opened with a music evening. The name referred to the fact that the tenant of the café supported the Transylvanian Hungarian Education Association. (EMKE is the acronym for the Hungarian name.) This café determined the image of life on the Main Square between the two world wars. In August 1901 Mór Deutsch's book- and stationery shop celebrated the 20th anniversary of its opening. The shop, which occupied the ground floor of the Town Hall, offered a wide range of goods from illustrated calendars through national and international newspapers to school equipment and picture postcards. The shop remained there even after the Town Hall had been completed with an art nouveau wing designed by Kálmán HQbschl around 1910. The largest ballroom in the town was on the first floor of Hotel Curia, where balls and dances were held and pre-election political meetings were organized in case of bad weather. Due to the Edison Electric Theatre, there were cinema performances in the building of the Curia as early as May 1907. Later the Curia Movie, one of the cinemas of the town, also operated here. Performances by the Vác Town Theatre and travelling theatre companies were also held in the Curia. Sometimes even such famous performers from the capital city as Sári Fedák, one of the most famous actresses of the turn of the century, entertained audiences here. The rapid spread of the cinema affected Vác as well. In 1911 the First Permanent Moving Pictures ofVác owned by Sándor Markovits was opened on Kossuth Square. This square was the other popular place in town with not only a cinema but also a café and a confectioner. Market-traders could stay at Törzsök Inn, which had a large courtyard with enough space for carts carrying goods to the market. Garden of the Hornung Café in Kossuth Square
