Jakab Réka: Bérlőből polgár. Pápa város zsidó közösségének társadalom- és gazdaságtörténete 1748-1848 (Veszprém, 2014)

A hundred years later, there were thirty times as many Jews in the city (2,645 souls), which clearly suggests that the settlers found a positive environment in Pápa. The city’s wealth, primarily its trade and industrial concerns, provided livelihoods for more and more Jews. The growth in the numbers of the Jewish community significantly exceeded the growth of the city’s population overall.

To settle in cities, Jews had to have permission from the relevant landowner. The Esterházys, like other landowners, looked primarily at economic considerations when accepting Jewish settlers. These settlers worked in fields where there was a shortage of manpower, had well-developed networks, including to other parts of the Empire, and were highly mobile. They accepted only settlers who would be able to make a living for themselves and were provided with either a suitable trade or suitable fortune to do so. This was all the more important since in exchange for their right to live in the city and carry on their trade, they paid various taxes and rates. This represented a regular and predictable income for the landowners; in return, the Jews were accorded the protection of the landowners and communal rights. This relationship, contractually established, served the interests of both parties. The contractual legal framework aided Jewish integration and was a factor in encouraging further immigration.

As a factor of their obtaining permission to settle, immigrant Jews settled primarily on plots owned by the landowners within the city; securing either the lease or the title of houses on such plots. Those settlers who rented the tollhouse, public house, abattoir, shops or ‘ash-house’ usually occupied the property itself. This explains why in Pápa, as in other market towns belonging to large estates, it was the centre of town (also the busiest part of the city) that became most heavily populated by the local Jews.

The first sign of Jewish ownership of property in the sources comes from 1715, when one of the significant pieces of real estate on the town’s main square is referred to as the house of the Jews. Two decades later, members of the Hirschl family lived in the neighbouring house, which had come into their possession as a pledge. These were important houses on the main city square.

With the growth of the numbers of the Jewish community, we increasingly find Jewish residents in a greater number of streets within the inner city. On the basis of documents relating to the exchange of property, the street with the greatest density of Jewish residents was Ispotály (now Petőfi), where the Synagogue, abattoir, public house, ritual baths and the old infirmary were located. There were also a large number of Jewish residents in the neighbouring streets: Szent László, Új (now Rákóczi) and Kristóf (now

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