Horváth M. Ferenc (szerk.): Mária Terézia Váci látogatása (Vác, 2022)
Tartalom
SUMMARY With the publication of this volume, the Municipality of Vác wants to commemorate the 305th anniversary of the birth of Queen Maria Theresa of Austria. What ties united and still unite the former sovereign with this small town of the Habsburg Monarchy, at the time just heading towards rebirth and reconstruction after a century and a half of Ottoman occupation and the war of liberation led by Rákóczi? The reconstruction work was begun by the foreign bishops - the two Althann - feudal lords of the city, and was then continued, starting from 1761, by Mgr. Cristoforo Migazzi, archbishop of Vienna and bishop of Vác. Migazzi, who had excellent relations with the imperial court, obtained a visit from the Viennese court and the sovereign herself in Vác, thus having the opportunity to show the results already achieved and illustrate the new projects to be carried out. The queen and her entourage spent five days in Vác, between August 27th and September 1st, 1764. Various historical sources have detailed the preparations and the visit itself. In the municipal registers of 1764 of the episcopal city (Püspökvác) we find detailed accounts of how the city prepared for the visit, other sources - such as the diary of the Grand Marshal of the Court Joseph Khevenhüller or newspapers and annals of the time - have preserved detailed descriptions of the events of those five days. We are now publishing the translation of part of these documents originally written in Latin and German, accompanying the texts with two short essays that illustrate the importance and positive effects of the events of those days on city life. To everyone’s great satisfaction, the visit of their imperial heights was a great success. Bishop Migazzi was thus able to have further help, confirmation and hopes to carry on his efforts. Thanks to his work, Vác became a well-functioning city, and the buildings erected in the second half of the eighteenth century still determine the urban aspect of the historic center today.
