Szlávik Lajos – Fejér László: 111 vízi emlék Magyarországon (KÖZDOK Kft. Budapest, 2008)
111 Memorials of Water Management in Hungary
111 MEMORIALS OF WATER MANAGEMENT IN HUNGARY Man is attached by some special, atavistic bonds to water, owing perhaps to his early life cycle in water. A calmly undulating water surfaces has a soothing effect on the human state of mind. But it is not only the sight of a water surface, of flowing water, springs, streamlets, brooks and rivers, which raises spirits, also direct contact with water, bathing, the magic of clean water evokes a spell of purification. Man is tied with thousands of bonds to water, though water has no history, only humanity has. This has prompted the idea of alerting the wider public to our wealth of water-related memories. Evidences thereof, both slight and impressive, abound in Hungary; not merely 111, but thousands, including traces of Roman activities, historical bridges, water mills, flood monuments, flood marks, pumping stations, sluices, memorable sites and a host of others. The ambitious reclamation and river engineering projects launched in the second half of the 19th century have retraced the map of Hungary. Several former streams have disappeared and are remembered by their name only, lakes and marshes have been drained, and others have been created. In order to settle industries, make fields arable for growing cereals, and to improve living conditions Man has interfered drastically with the aquatic world by building pleasing and repellent structures alike. He has excavated canals, developed springs, thrown up embankments, built dams and sluices, the brickwork stacks of pumping stations, the slender, or bulky supports of elevated reservoirs have turned new elements in the landscape. A number of these have become memorials, protected items of heritage without which the town-, or landscape could no more be imagined. Several minor settlements and communities have no memorials in the proper sense of the word, although there may be in the vicinity an old steam-powered pumping station with carefully conserved mechanical equipment, or a sluice in the river- or canal embankment. In a nearby levee ranger station a small exhibition may preserve the material remains and engineering accomplishments of water management in the surroundings. Besides professionals, tourists and visitors may also view these with interest. Recent decades have witnessed a growing interest in the history of science and technology. Coupled with the desire to preserve the past evidences of Hungarian technical culture this has given birth to several water history collections all over the country. On the other hand, owing to the very nature of civil-, fluvial and reclamation engineering, the accomplishments thereof are in their majority embodied in structures and projects difficult to transfer to a central exhibition site. However, the pages of a book offer opportunity to illustrate and focus interest on them. This volume is expected to stimulate interest of both the professional and wider public in the historical monuments of water management in Hungary. The editors 8
