Héjjas Pál - Horváth M. Ferenc: Régi képeslapok - Old postcards - Alte Ansichtskarten, 1896 - 1950 - Váci Történelmi Tár 2. (Vác, 2001)

Város a Duna partján - történeti áttekintés

from Zsitvatorok from 1606-1620 Vác was under Christian domination when the pasha of Buda occupied it again and the 2

nd Turkish period of Vác began. After the Nógrád fortresses went into Hungarian possession, Vác was at the northern peak of the occupied area and its significance grew. The castle was fortified and the number of the castle garrison increased. Vác became the headquarters of the Turkish Sanjak until 1663 that's why the Sanjak governor was called the governor of Vác until the Turks reoccupied Nógrád. The Bishop remained the landowner of Vác while the Turks ruled it as a "has" property of the sultan. Vác belonged to the Sanjak of Buda and it was a smaller center, the "náhije". 66 villages and 21 farmsteads belonged under its administrative district. During the Turkish occupation the inhabitants of Vác tried to establish a suitable livelihood for themselves in conformity with the conditions. We know of the operation of Hungarian and German guilds and industrialists. According to assessment of taxes apart from the Turkish craftsmen, among whom there were smiths, sword cutters, tanners, soap boilers, potters, stone masons, saddlers, barbers, boot makers, tailors, bath attendants, sailors, ferrymen, shop keepers, shoemakers, butchers, millers, fishermen, bakers, goldsmiths, fur traders, rope layers. Vác remained an important customs place even under the Turkish rule. According to the 16 century customs declaration more than 60-75 cattle were driven through from the Lowland to Vienna. Apart from this leather and fur goods and food constituted the export, while mostly textiles, clothing, groceries, metal ware and metallurgical products were imported. After the 15-year war (1593-1606) Vác had to pay the thirtieth part in tax again. The repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt bridge at Vác aided the Danubian trade. The inhabitants mostly dealt with agricultural production in serfdoms, where they mainly grew wheat and grapes. Apart from this, flax, hemp, cabbages, onions and fruit were grown. The Turks cultivated rice as well. Animal husbandry was not significant because of the lack of extended grazing lands, but fishing in the Danube and the Episcopal pond was considerable. According to the Turkish census around 1570 there were 374 houses in the castle and in the town surrounded by a wall. 91 houses were built of stone, and 9 were storied ones. Parts of the buildings were transformed: the cathedral of the castle, the jami of Suleyman pasha and ecclesiastical buildings were turned into military storage houses. There are a few mosques, minarets, baths, benefices and shops, which were built by the Turks. The town structure established earlier has hardly changed at all during their reign. The castle was separated from the town by a trench, only the districts inhabited by the Turks got new names. Apart from the mosque in the castle the Turks put into operation two more, Kasim governor's and Hassan vojvoda's mosques. From among the earlier Christian churches only St Michael's could be used, because they paid the "tapu" fee (a kind of tax) only after that. The St Margaret, St Jacob and Holy Spirit were crumbling into pieces as the possession of the Turkish treasury. We can speak about more serious constructions only in the case of the castle. Trenches, planks and earth constructions strengthened the existing defensive works of the castle containing a 350-450 men strong garrison. When the town got into Turkish possession the "umpteenth" time in 1620 the mediaeval Cathedral was completely pulled down, and its stones were used to fortify the bastion of the castle. In spite of frequent wars the number of town inhabitants reached 1,500-2,000 during Turkish rule. Hungarians and Muslims were represented by almost equal numbers, and apart from them, Serbians, Gypsies and Jews lived here in smaller communities. In the 17 century as it can be noticed in case of so many more Hungarian settlements, Vác became a Calvinistic place. In time of István Bocskai's rule a Protestant Minister served in the Cathedral and in György Pongrácz, the Bishop of Vac's "Information" from 1675 we can read that Vác became a Calvinistic place. The troops of Charles of Lotharingia expelled the Turks from the town so it was freed from the Turkish yoke on 27 June 1684 for the first time. Vak (Blind) Bottyán was nominated the captain of the castle. János Kéry was the Bishop who on his return to the liberated Vác, regained possession of the Cathedral from the Calvinists who fled to Fót and Tótfalu. The reestablishment works of the town haven't even started, when the Turks captured it again, and the German garrison stationed in the castle surrendered to them on 3 November 1684. The final liberation only happened in a year and a half, in June 1686. The contemporary resources depict a sad image of Vác after the Turkish occupation. It became almost deserted, its houses were destroyed, its churches demolished. Mátyás Bél wrote that there were just a few shanties in the town ravaged by fire, while the streets were obstructed by garbage, filth and rubble. Jacob Tollius, a traveller from the Netherlands could only give account of a few Serbian families taking cover in the shanties. The reconstruction works started soon. The Bishop, Miklós Balogh (1685-1689) immediately settled down to organize the bishopric, the restoration of the Market Square church and its surroundings. The Calvinists hiding on the other side of the Danube and in the vicinity of the town returned and received the subsequent settlers. At the same time as the spontaneous resettlement the town's organized population started as well, primarily with German settlers. In 1689 the Episcopal estate made an agreement with them. They received the buildings of the Turks, free building sites and an exemption from taxation. The rebuilding work had just started when Vác got into the whirlwind of the Rákóczi freedom fight, which caused new suffering and destruction. Because of the instability of luck in the battlefield now the Kurutz (nationalist fighters) and then the pro-Austrian soldiers occupied the town. In 1703 János Bottyán as an imperial colonel defeated the Kurutz troops at Vác, but following this went over to Rákóczi's side and became one of the Prince's best Generals. During the freedom fight, in 1709 the town passed through the hardest times when the Serbian mercenaries employed by the Imperials together with other towns, robbed Vác and set it alight. The Archives of the town were destroyed too. The town became an Imperial possession and most of its