Gyula History

III lit!' H ISTORY Of THE TOWN

I f OM GYULAMONOSTORAI GYULA SPA

Although later - over millions of years - as a resultof tectanic processes the area was filled and trans-formed into a lowland, we can still distinguishbetween two quite different regions today: ln thesothern part of the county, southwards fromBkscsaba, "Bkscsandi-ht" (BeKscsand Table-land) can be found without any rivers of consider-

abJe size, in the northern part, 20 metresdeeper, on the other hand, "Krsvide'k"(Regions of the Krses) lies with a lot ofrivers. There are plenty of them: theFehr (White) Krs, Fekete (Black)Krs, Sebes (Fast-Flowing)- Krs,after their running together the Ketts(Double)- and Hrmas (Triple) Krs,not to mention the River Beretty.

Gyula is lying on the border of thesetwo zones, on the bank of the FehrKrs, the most southern river of"Krsvidk" . Owing to that thetown is still surrounded with awood of a considerable size on 7406hectares.

, VI il" - spa town. The town having 33.000Irnhabitants is known like this ali around the

lIlIIIllY, but behind the country borders as weil.111'\\1ver, it is more than just a spa town. It usedIII I'j' Ihe center of Bks county for 500 years, and1I1111'1tlreits rich historical past had created per-11I111l'1l1sights in the town, and Gyula has a vividI"' .1'1l1as weil. We're constantly hearingt1"'lIllhc town.l \111travel guide is trying to present thisIII lilit 'ss to the Reader and make the11\ sp 'nt here memorable.1111111'south east of the country, 220I J1l1llldres from the capital. Gyula is

IIIII\~ for its visitors with the unfor-l' 1I.II11eambience of smalllowland111\ IlS, There is a huge stretch ofland asIII dS the eye can see with anamazing-I lit h history. 7000 metres deep under1111IIiwn there is an ancient mountain SCYTHIANURNFROMGYULA,Ih,i1 hradually rises southwards. At FROM5TH-6THCENTURJESBe.I 11I11nya,barely 40 kilometres away,tlu "peak" ofthe mountain is onlyII~~I kilometres from the ground. That is, millions of\' ,liS ago there was a mountain as high as the Hima-II .IS with 6000 kilometres of difference in level.

I oI!'lIlA FIBULAPAIRFROMI ,\II.AVRI, FROMTHEII tlND THIRDOFTHE5THIINIURY

GEPIDARBULAPAIRFROMTHEBANKSOFKRS,GYULAAREA,LASTTHIRDOFTHE5TH CENTURY

IIASEOFGYULA'SMEDlEVALCASTLEIN TRKZUC

BRONZE-CASTBRACELETFROMTHECROUNDOFGYULABRICK-YARD,10THCENTURY

GEPIDABUCKLEFROMTHEFIRSTHALFOFTHE6TH CEN-TURY,GYULAVARSND-LAPOSHALOM

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FROM GYULAMONOSTOR TO GYULA SPA

GOLDPLATEDBRONZEBELTMOUNTlNGFROMTHEGROUNDSOFGYULABRICK-YARD,10THCENTURY

BYZANTlNE-STYLEFERETORYPECTORALCROSSDEPICT-INGTHECRUCIFIEDCHRIST,FROMGYULAFROMTHE10TH-llTHCENTURlES

FROM THE PREHISTORIC AGETO GYULAMONOSTOR

Water in the vicinity of hwnan settlements is in-dispensable. The same applies to higher relievesdefending people from floeds. The region that laterbecame the site of Gyula, was suitable for prehistor-ic man to settle since there were higher lands voidof floods. Some of these areas were today' s towncenter, the site of the Parish Church, the "Klvria-dl", "Sndorhegy", "Aranyg", 'Trkzug"and the neighborhood of the sand mines. The firstmention of a man appearing in the

GOLDPLATEDSILVERBRAID-CIRCLETSFROMTHEGROUNDSOFGYULABRlCK-YARD,10THCENTURY

18

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-- -region was around the year 5000 Be, duringthe NeoUthic Age. From that time on, thepresence of human life on the higher partsof the town's environs was uninterrupteduntil rpd' SConquest of Hungary. As we

don't know the name of the Neolithic man,the earliest period of this era was given the name

'Krs-culture' by archeologists based on its mostimportant site. This continued at the end of theNeolithic Age as 'Tisza-culture.

IllllEXOFIMREPARlSHPRJESTOFGYULAFROM1454

FIRSTCERTJFICATIONALPRESENTATJONOFGYULAFROM BB

One of the country's biggest early Copper Ageremains have recently been discovered exactly here,in the Small-Delta of rivers 'Fehr' (White) and'Fekete' (Black) Krs. The findings belong to thecultural cm ter of Bodrogkeresztr (4000-3500BC). Thecontinuity is proved by findings from the Bronzeand !ron Age.The first known people, the Scythians finally ap-peared in the Iron Age. Remains belenging to thelndo-Germanic Celts were found from the last cen-turies before Christ. During the migration period,Sannatians - related to the Scythians - arrived herearound 50 Be. Their presence here had lasted forhundreds of years and they were replaced by dif-ferent migrating German peoples: Vandals, Gothicpeople and Gepids - who gat under the control ofthe Huns under Attila. Their rich remains werefound right within the current territory of thetown. Later the Avars lived in this region as faras unti! rpd's Conquest of Hungary.

Hungarian Gesta telis the history of the Hungar-ian Conquest. It was written in about 1200byAnonymus, the King' s notary called so since hehad no name. His detailed description of the region

1'lllVCSthat he knew it quite weIl. Still, we must not.uu-pt everything he wrote without reservation.Ihl' presence of the Hungarians was proven by theruulnineteenth century excavation of an equestrianhllli,,1place dating back to the time ofthe Hungar-1,111 'onquest

l'ItOM GYULAMONOSTOR TO THE TURKISH( l( 'CUPATlON (1313-1566)Illi' first mention of Gyula was found in two ofIllIhcrt Kroly's docwnents dating back to 1313.\ IIL'rruling for 300 years the rpd dynasty died

11111 (1301).After the struggles for the throne, RbertI .troly (King of Hungary 1308-1342)from Naples1111111 the House of Anjou became more powerful,llld he also wanted to be the King of Hungary11,1','d on a female descendant. (The mother ofI'llbcrt Kroly was the daughter of RudolfIldb burg. However, Rudolfs mother was a Hun-F"lri,n princess and this is why they could considerIhem elves eligible successors for the HungarianIhmnc.)He, however, carried on a fight againstl'I'lly monarchs for the throne and was supportedIlYthe southern regions. During one of his staysrn Ihe south in [une, 1313he dated two diplomas111Cyulamonostor (Tulamonustra"). These prove


that there used to be a monastery on site of thetown. The name "Gyula" first appears two decadeslater, in 1332.There are two theories conceming itsorigin. According tothe first one, the tribelead by the militaryleader of the first"Magyar" settlers ofHungary (the "gy-ula") settled downthere. The secondversion, the generallyaccepted one, is muchmore probable.ltsays that a noblemancalled Gyula wasthe founder of themonastery, and laterthe settlement wasnamed after hm.It must have been DUKEJNosCORVINRbert Kroly who set (1473-1504)up Gyula Domain, thatplayed a great part in the rise of the small settle-ment. After the House of the Anjou died out, Sigis-mund of Luxembourg (King of Hungary 1387-1437;the son of Cermn-Roman Emperor Charles IV;the husband of Queen Maria, the granddaughterof Rbert Kroly and the successor of the throne)succeeded to the throne and he endowed the MacsBan, Jnos Marti, with it and further increased itsarea. In 1418 already 73 settlements belonged to itand was ruled from three market-towns: Gyula,Bks and Simnd.

KINGMTYS(1458-1490), PROPRIETOROFTHELORDSHIPOFGYULABETWEEN1476-1482

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ll)

('\'Iild Iillt/,iI/t'dt/ 'Nldlll'd III dt'I'l'i1l1' lillll d /0((111 ill1111'/./lilll'lIllll . 1~lIhl'11"Mili gJ'dlltl'd ils first royalIli ivill'I-\l'S:Ih 'light 10dl"l jlldges and magish'ates,.is well ,lS, Ih 'highly important right of 1l0ldingIars. Jno Marti also ga ve privileges to Gyula,The t wn was allowed to collect its own taxes, sitin judgement on its own citizens and Sigismundexempted its citizens from taxaron. That is not aljMarti did for the rise of tOWJl.During his reignFranciscan friars settled down and the building ofthe castle started,ln 1476 the Marti family died out and the Domainreverted to the crown. King Mtys 0458-1490)endowed his son John Corvin with it along withhis other properties in order to further ensure thePrince' s Succession to tlle throne. His order of 1484setting up lord-lieutenancy, deputy-lieutenancy anddistrict administration in Gyula served the sarnepurpose and made it the county seat for almost 500years, untill950,The beginning of the 16thcentury, however, broughtforth a chain of tragedies in the Hunyadi family. In1504Jnos Corvin died in the Szermsg, A yearlater his son, Kristf also passed away. Erzsbet,his daughter, died in Gyula in 1508 and two yearslater, in 1510,the same happened to BeatriceFrangepan her mother. King Mtys' family diedout. The estate was inherited by her secondhusband, the Marquis of Brandenburg,Gyrgy HohenzolJem.Ouring the time of the great Europeanpcasant uprisings, in May, 1514GyrgyDzsa's peasant troops were drawingup at Gyula. Dzsa "encamped on the field,alld ell1l1nerated his anny for the third time"

SEALOF HUSAfN,BEYOF- rcported the chronicIer of the age, but GYULA(1600)w do not have any da ta about the siege10 Ih fortress, Dzsa had heard aboutIh, nobility gathering at Csand, the nearby sertle-mont, therefore, he marched away with his army(111 24

1hMay. (TheMemorial Plaque at 5-7 Dzsa

(: rgy Street treasures his memory.)'1'11('Turks defeated the Serbian troops in the BattleIIIRigm z and subjected thern to their domina-1/(111 in / 89. From that time on, people living onIhl' south 'm borderland were in constant danger ofhl'illg ,lli,l ked by the Turks who tormented them11'11h l11('ir fl'cquent raids, It was only in August,

THETURKlSHARMYUNDERGYULACASTLEIN1566

1526when Sultan Suleiman (the Magnificent) at-tempted to conquer the courttry Though the Turksdefeated the Hungarians in the battle of Mohcs,

they still decided to evacuate the country af-ter the battle and returned home, Tragedycame about when the Hungarian nobl-ity chose two kings mstead of choosingone in place of the deceased ruler.The aristocracy enthroned the Austrianarchduke, Ferdinand Hapsbursg inthe hope that his brother Charles V,the Holy Roman Emperor, would heJpthem in their war against the Turks (andthe Hapsburgs would rule Hungary

until 1918),At the same time, the lesser nobil-ity chose Jnos Szapolyai, the the Transylvanianvoivod, since he embodied the independence ofthe nation to them. That double enthronement wasfolJowed by savage fight. Gyula Castle felJinto thehands of the Hapsburgs. The tOWJl,on the otherhand, supported Szapolyai. ln 1552Ferdinand tookover Gyula once and for alJ, and from that time on"Vg-Gyula" (a fortification along the borderline ofmedieval Hungary against enemy attacks) started

l, I ~ ISI I MIN!ATUREDEPICTlNGTHEOCCUPAT/ON'I (;YULAIN 1566 ?---....

1" I'I'l'pare for the fight against the Turks. In l~~)1111'iurks occupied Buda, the capital, and wantd toI IIIiquer more and more territories eastwards andII t .,twards, After the surrender of Temesvr1/ ,0,2)the southern part of Bks County11,1"ruled by the Iurks, further expan-II,n was held up by Gyula Fortress."liHe years later, eJderly SultanI ti rleiman started his third - and lastmilitary expedition in summer of

I 1(16 (simultaneously with Szigetvr).IhM time the fortress was taken andlill' l29-year-Jong Turkish occupationunmenced.Ihe golden age of Gyula before thelurkish rule was in the 15-16th cen-luries, In 1525it had a population of almost 3000,Aceording to the narnes originating in occupations,JH% of the inhabitants were artisans and merchants,while 21 trades were represented in the town.


Maros kze") was given up to the Turks whosettled down there, It became the seat of the Sanjakof Gyula annexed to the Ejalet of Temesvr, Con-querors were followed by agle Turkish craftsrnpnand merchants living almost exc1usively in towns.Many of them settled in Gyula. A Turkish historiandescribed Gyula as a town inhabited by Turkishand Hungarian people, with the Turks living inseparate quarters,After occupying Gyula the Turks started to builda lot 91religious buildings. ln 13years they bulittwo ~tate houses of prayer (a djami and a minaret)- one of them in the outer fortress, the other onein the town -, in addition, there were five privatehouses of prayer in the tOWJl:Bey Iszhk's and Ali'sdjamies, Agha Mehmed's, Kethada lljsz's and BeyKurd' s mosques (smalJer temple), They equippeda school for themselves in the town - as their dos-est schools were in Arad and later in Vrad, Forthe construction works they used the stones of thechurches found in nearby villages.Weknow a lot about Gyula during the TurkishDomination from Cselebi Evila's description from1664-1666,Cselebi was commissioned by the"Porta" (Turkish Covernmenr) to go to every coun-try of Europe and the Middle East and jot down

everything he saw during his years of service.He wrote 10bulky volurnes during his

forty years of traveling. After depictingGyula Castle, he turns to the 11h cen-tury town of burghers, to the suburb(that is the name he calJs it):"Although that is a fairly developed

and dellsely populated suburb, it is notenclosed by ali four sides with stock-ades ... it has only one palisade Alithe houses are timber-covered Thereare four districts altogether, with fourhouses of prayer. Khan Suleiman's and

Bey Ali's djamis are nice djamis with lead roofing.Bey Ali, thefounder, is buried in this djami. Apartfrom the above mentioned two djamis ... thereare no other buildings with lead roofs. It has nine"zaous" (a building divided into small cellsfor students and monks), three "mendreszes"(school for training rnonks), two monasteries,three elementanJ schools and eleven baths. It has200 shops, three churches in the outer toum ... It is

THE PERlOD OF TURKISH eCUPATION INGYULA 0566-1695)With the surrender of the Fortress the whole areaendosed by the Krs and Maros Rivers ("Krs-

[STvNSZEGEDIKIS0505-1572)

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GYULAMONOSTORTl A FRDVRDSIG

V AROSHZ STREET AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY

ROMANlAN FaLK DRESS IN THE FIRST GERMANS IN GYULA (1857)HALF OF THE 20TH CENTURY

HUNGARIANS IN GYULA (1857)

,1I1d1711the country tried to win its independenceluck. (It is called the Rkczi War of Independenceorigineting from the name of the leader). AfterI'Ight years of war, the battle for independence waslost and the split from Austria was not successful.I'l'population and the immigration of new settlersIV,1 completed only after the War of Independ--nce, and Gyula's history after the Turks is to be set110m1714on.Ihe Court considered the reoccupied territories10 be their "newly gained" lands, and four-fifth ofIhe county was given to the army contractor, Jnos( oIjrgy Hamlckern for his merits.When the first settlers - about 20Hungarian familiesarrved at Gyula in 1714,they built their houses

11Ilthe highest point of the town in the vicinity ofIhe present parsonage. The Serbian soldiers remain-IIlgin the fortress "adapted" some Romanian peo-pic to live with them in order to replace their losses.

weird to see that from one house to the other, fromone garden to the other, to the mili, for visiting theirfriends or relatives everybody uses boats."

The region was often the scene of Turkish-Hungar-ian battles causing much destruction because Gyularemained a "vgvr" for hundred years, until theoccupation of Vrad (1660).Still, it was not until the15-year-war that the region was completely de-stroyed for the first time. Many of the demolishedvillages were never again rebuilt. The Turks wereforced out from all territories behind River Marosby the end of the 17th century, but Gyula Fortressand the town were only freed a few years later in1695.By that time there were 27 uninhabited settle-ments in Bks County.

FROM THE FORCING-OUT OF THETURKS TO THE BORGEOUS-DEMOCRATICREVOLUTIO N (1695-1848)The desertedness of the region is certified by a lotof records written after the Turkish occupation.In 1698 the bailiff of the "Hofkammer" (the organof Hapsburg financial adrninistration of the 16th-18th centuries) had been all around the area fromGyulavri to Szentandrs and found merely tenpeople in Bks. Life had to start from scratch onthat particuJarly savage territory.Serbian soldiers stillliving in the fortress ransackedthe town in 1703, thus the few families that hadcome back to the town fled again. Between 1703


After the elirnination of the garrison the Serbs leftGyula. Some Romanian families were in serviceat the Castle and lived dose to it. By doing so theyfound ed a new district called "Romnvros" (Ro-manian Town), or - named after the patron saintof the church - "Miklsvros" (Nicholas Town).After 1724 the new landowner- grasping his legalopportunity to do so - brought Gerrnans from theRhineland. The first bigger grout of immigrantsleft Gerolzhofen (Bavaria) on 241 Aprill724 andarrived at Gyula around Pentecost.1111734the Germans elected their judge, and afterbreaking away from the town, had their own mu-nicipal self-government "Nmet-Gyula" (CermanGyula) for 123years. That is how the town wasdivided into three parts: Beside the Hungarians inthe rniddle and "Nmetvros" (Cerman Town) inthe western half of the city "Romnvros" in theeastern half carne into being. According to the cen-sus 116Hungarian, 100Gerrnan and 34Romanlanfamilies lived in Gyula in 1730.In the 18th century most people still earned theirliving by raising livestock. Urbanisation, however,soon changed the population's way. By 1724therewere 57 craftsmen in the town and they created 17guilds by the 19th century. In 1737two of the coun-ty's six merchants lived in Gyula and this propor-tion did not change for long. Harrucken gained theright of holding fairs for the city in 1723.Fairs werethe scene of the exchange of products produced in

NATIONALITIES IN HUNGARY IN 1855

22IIROOS BRIDGE (1808)

23

IIUILDING OF THE LAW COURTS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 20TH CENTURY

FROM GYULAMONOSTOR TO GYULA srA

the mountains and in the Great Plain. The goldenage of the far-farned Gyula markets was the secondhalf of the 19th century.From among the medieval buildings only somemanaged to survive: the Castle, the Rondellabeside it, the Hussar Tower and the me- ~dieval Bath built into the downtownschool. The Turkish mosque and mina- ~ :-ret built in the place of the presentparsonage were still in their places in1772. Behind them there used to be adomed Turkish bath, a minaret andmosque in the garden of the Pala ce.These were pulled down in the 1740'sand 1750's. Descendants found andexcavated a Franciscan church andmonastery. Recently the basement wallsof the huge parish church of medievalGyula have come to light in Trkzug.A precious relic from the first half of the 18thcentury is the house of the cantor, the school andthe Holy Trinity Chapel built in 1735.We can giveaccount of more relics dating back to the secondhalf of the century. The Roman Catholic Parsonage,the Roman Catholic and the Reformed Churches,the County Hall, the Schoolhouse in "Nmetvros"

and some town-houses prove that the burghers hadbecame more well-off by the end of the century. Thefirst stage of the construction of the Palace also fellin this century. In the 1790's the first surfaced road

was completed between "Kapus" Bridge andthe Palace. (It was the first pitched road inthe county.) At the beginning of the 19thcentury the first stone bridges replacedthe wooden ones: first the "Little"Bridge at the entrance of the Palace,later "Brdos" Bridge and "Kapus"Bridge - still in use today.The thatched and shingled houses of the

Great Plain were often ravaged by fires.Over the hundred years from 1782to 1882 there were altogether sevenfires in the town. The one in 1801wasthe most devastating of ali. Fire broke

out in "Nmetvros" and destroyed the whole cityincluding the churches and the Palace. The draft-ing of ordinances regula ting constructions becamenecessary after the fire. After it the square in frontof the County Hall was widened and today's triadof Petfi - Erkel- and Harrucken Squares carneinto being. In order to be able to defend the Castle,construction works were not allowed on the right

COAT-OF-ARMS FROM THETOWN HALL'S CElLING

DECORATION

-lde of the street. That is how Marti Square, to-d'lfs Szent Mikls (St.Nicholas) Park, was bom.Wc inherited several Neoclassic buildings datingluck to this era. Streets lined with sngle-storiedmiddle-class homes also reflect that age. That was(:yula of the rniddle classes.lhe rise of the bourgeoisie was manifested in othertorms, too. The town already had a caf at the endIlf the 18th century. It is calied the Hundred- YearOld Confectionery today, and still preserves the.imbience of social life of the Reform Period.Apart from fire water also endangered the town. Atthat time the Fehr Krs flew past Gyula and itsrises often flooded it. 179 houses collapsed in "Mag-vargyula" (Hungarian Gyula) in 1816.Another 203tumbled down in 1843.l'he second quarter of the century (1825-1848)ist he so-called Reform Age since the most prominentIigures of the society aimed at getting rid of feudalronstraints and wanted the rise of the middlerlasses. The politicallife of Gyula became livelier.lnos Tormssy, the chief medical officer's son, wasone of the leaders of the 1832-1836"orszggylsiIfjak" (Youthful Parliamentarians). One of theleading personalities of the progressive gentry wasAlbert Rosty, the deputy lieutenant of the county,HUNGAR1AN MARTYRS IN 1849

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FROM GYULAMONOSTOR TO GYULA SrA

Jzsef Etvs' fther-n-law (Etvs was a writer atthat time and Minister of Education later) ln 1841the "Kaszin" (Casino), the forum of social life,modelled on the one in Pest, was set up. And herewe are in the year 1848.Cultural life was also bustling in that era. The firstschool was built in 1735,and the stately downtownschool at the beginning of the 19th century. They arestill in their places, Two well-known personalitiesFerenc Erkel and the writer, Albert Plffy,were bothborn in the first half of the 19th century. During theReform Period they held theatricaI performancesin the Palace. The first sanitary measures weretaken only in 1770,when the first doctor started hispractice in the town. In the same year the county' s

SAVINGS BANK ASSOCIATION IN BKS COUNTY

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IltOM GYULAMONOSTOR TO GYULA SPA

CONTEMPORARY CMC INTERJOR (LADICS HOUSE)

first chemist's shop, Megvlt (Saviour) Pharmacyopened. The building next to the main entrance ofthe present hospital started to function as a hospitalin 1846.

THE REvOLUTION AND THE WAR OFINDEPENDENCE (1848-1849)The news of the Revolution in Pest on 15thMarch1848reached Gyula by 20th, March. The residentsof Gyula crowded in the streets during the assem-bly announced for 22nd March and informed eachother about the events in Pest at the assembly heldin the yard of the County Hall.A new Lord Lieutenant was elected, and since Hun-garian army was non-existent, the Home Guardwas set up, which was already command ed to pulldown the riots in "Dlvidk" in [une. T11enew LordLieutenant - a reformer politician named BaronBlaWenckheim was appointed in May.Jn autumn [elasics' attack broke out the War of In-dependence. The Hungarian "Honvdsg" (army)had to be organized urgently. The attack of the Aus-trians in December forced the Parliament and thegovernment to move to Debrecen. Gyula also tookits share in the preparation for the spring campaignin the defence of the country. Guilds produced great

26

amounts of miJitary equipment, The town run anindustrial unit manufacturing gunpowder. Duringthe first months of 1849General Damjanich oper-ated a military hospital for his1hdivision in Gyula.In the spring of 1849during the "glorious springcampaign" the Hungarian army forced the enemyout of the country again, but the army of 200.000soldiers sent by tsar Nicholas of Russia to helpFranz [osef was too strong for the Hungarian army.The War of Independence was lost.At the end of the War of Independence the townsawa tragic event. Disarmament took place at Vil-gos. The miJitia officers were allowed to keep theirside-arms and were escorted to Gyula. Russiansoldiers occupied the present County Hall, TownHall, Lajos Kossuth and Nagyvradi Streets. Theyset up tents in place of today's Szent Mikls Squareand quartered their prisoners there. General Anrep,in charge of the captives, accommodated himselfin the Palace. The Russians treated Hungarianofficers surprisingly weil. They went to Restaurant"Korona" (Crown) together, where they made thegipsy musician play the "Rkczi indul" and the"Kossuth nta"; no one thought that the captiveswould ever be handed over to the Austrians. Theprisoners-of-war camp was alrnost unwatched.From among the later "thirteen martyrs of Arad"eight - ten according to indirect data - stayed inGyula. Generals were quartered in private houses.(Wewill mention their billets in our detailed walks.)On 21st August General Rdiger brought Paszkiev-ics' order to disarm the generals of the Hungarianarmy and hand them over to the Austrians. In themorning of 23rd August the disarmament of 1300- 2000 according to other sources - militia officersstarted in the square between the Palace and theCastle and it lasted for about 10hours. The nextday, 24th August, Russians handed them over to theAustrians who escorted them back toArad whereHaynau's Vehmgericht was waiting for them.

FROM THE ABSOLUTISM TO THE FALL OF THEMONARCHY (1849-1918)The collapse of the War of Independence wasfollowed by Austrian absolutism in Hungary.Bks County was first ruled by the King's com-missioner, later by the Emperor's county chief. In1854Bks and Csand Counties were unified

hlRMER LlTTLE MARKET AT THE BEGINN1NG OF THE'Onl CENTURY

.md controlled from Gyula. Gradually life started10 grow freer. Jn 1852 theatricaI performanceswere held in the count's riding hall. One of thesewas conducted by Erkel who happened to stay in( :yula, (his hometown) for his summer hoJidays.I'he "Kaszin" - the center of social life - reopenedln 1857.Although Austrian autocracy served the Ernper-ur's purpose;', some of its achievements lasted forlong.ln 1855,after the town's most devastating fIood(including the farms as well, approximately 1.500houses were under water), decision was made011diverting the Krs from Gyula. In two years,IH56-1858,the alrnost 19kilometres long KrsCanal was dig, and it is still the bed of the FehrKrs and partly that of the Ketts Krs. It wasIhe biggest earthwork of the age of absolutism. As,111outcome. today River Fehr-Krs fIows out-side Gyula, while the old Krs still exists insideIhe city and it is called "lvz-csatorna" (LivingWater Cana]).1111857agreement was reached with the inhabit-.mts of Nmetvros and on 15th [une the minutesonifying the towns was signed. Nmet-Gyula andMagyar-Gyula became one city - today's Gyula.Tyranny weakened by 1859. In 1867 the Austrians.md the Hungarians carne to an agreement and theCompromise was signed creating political basisfor bourgeois development. Hungarian economybecame part of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy'sl'conomy.Most people still earned their living by doingfarm-work. The main sector of agriculture, though,was no longer livestock raising, but cultivation. In1872the out-of-date guilds cJosed down and the

FR.oM GYULAMONOSTOR TO GYULA SPA

first signs of manufacturing industry appeared.The first steam mill, later followed by others, wasbuilt in 1866,match factories opened employingcheap workforce. Finally, at the end of the century,people of Gyula were also in the fever of founda-tion. Co-operative societies, share companies andprivate enterprises were forrned one after theother. From among the factories the most mpor-tant was the one manufacturing stockings. With itssubsidiary company in Temesvr it was the big-gest factory in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy.As a-r"esultof the accumulation and infIow of

BUILDING OF THE FTNANCIAL OIRECTORATE OF GYULAIN THE 1910s

THE BUILDING OF THE F1NANCIAL DIRECTORATE OFGYULA IS TODAY THE ARCHIVES AND LAND OFFICE

27


capital, banks and co-operative savings bankswere established.Transport, on the other hand, lagged behind therequirements. The county did not have a surfacedmain road. The raiJway buiJt between Pest andArad in 1858did not reach Gyula. The town'srailroading began only in 1871with the openingof the Nagyvrad - Fiume line. Still, it was Bksc-saba that became the centre of transportation andthat held the development of Gyula back: in 1887,the town was only the fourth on the county listwith its 554manufacturers.The townscape also changed a lot. The great build-ing operations at the end of the 19th century and illthe first half of the 20th century still define Gyula'sarchitectural image. We can name only somebuildings of Baroque and Neo-classicist style. Ro-manticism did not really influence the townscapeeither (the Town Hall built in 1860is the mostimportant example of that style), Public buildingsand private houses dating back to the beginningof the 20th century, however, define the characterof some of the streets. Most of the public buiJdings

determining the townscape were built at that time:the Court-House, the Palace of Finance Manage-ment, the pavilions of the hospital, the secondaryschool, the higher elementary girls' school, theKoml Hotel, the cinerna, the lodging-houses etc.Elementary education was not homogenous.Catholic, Reformed and Eastern Churches hadtheir own denominational schools. The higherelementary boys' schoolopened in 1874,the sec-ondary school in 1903and the higher elementarygirls' school in 1904.Theatrical performances were heJd first in thePavilion, and later from 1901on, in the SummerTheatre. Gyula has had its local newspaper since1869.Dobay Printing House - founded in 1860- had a prominent role in letter-press printing;several authors - among them Sndor Brdy - pub-lished their first works here.

BETWEN WORLD WAR IAND WOLRD WAR II (1920-1944)Trianon Peace Treaty ended World War I and ithad grave consequences for Gyula: Transylvania

A THERMAL POOL Of THE CASTLE BATH

28

i'lJLK DANCE FESTJVAL NOWADAYS

was given to Romania and the Romanian borderwas redrawn to 5 kilometers away from Gyula.From among the 30 settlements serving as an eco-nomic background, only four remained within the.ountry. besides, villages eastward and westwardhad already belonged to Bkscsaba."he introduction and further development ofmarket-gardening (Bulgarian gardening) was aspecial feature of local agriculture. The first Bul-~arians doing irrigation in small gardens of 100-JOO "ngyszgl" (about 357 - 714 square metres)


appeared in the town in the 1890's. Inhabitants ofGyula learnt their method and improved it. Hun-garian market-gardeners ("Bulgarian gardeners"as they called themselves) irrigated bigger areas,moreover, hothouse cultivation also appearsd.Farmers of Gyula became well-known ali aroundthe country that time.

"It feels good to go along the banks of the RverKrs, engines are hummmg, water is gurglingon arid earth, vegetable gardens are blooming"- wrote Gza Fja at that time.

Industry. on the other hand, suffered the conse-quences of the economic decline. Master builders,who had once worked even in Herkulesfrdwere present in large numbers, and they lost theterritories in Bnt and in the Balkan where theyhad undertaken projects.At the same time, there were also such favourabledevelopments as the expansion of the CountyHospital into an institution of national rnpor-tance. The powdered milk factory was buiJt,and sausage-making also became a sector of theeconomy at that time.

I'ERFORMANCE AT THE POND STAGE

29

FROM GYULAMONOSTOR TO GYULA srA

Urbanisation of the county seat undeniably wenton: several public buiJdings were built, and theinhabitants' pretty private houses still determinethe character of some streets.Due to the bold allotment plan new districts cameinto being: "Mriafalva" was created in 1920,"Krinolinkert" in 1921 and "Calbcskert" the nextyear. The "Krinolinkert" (Crinoline Garden) andthe later allotted "Kastlvkert" (Palace Garden)became the town's most beautifuI suburb of villas.The Museum reopened for the public in a newplace. Local publications inspired regional history,Scherer's two-volume monograph and Endre Ver-ess' archives are two of the bests. At the colony ofpainters fine arts flourished. The season of theatri-caI performances has always been an importantcultural event of the town.For the promotion of tourism, cheap excursiontrains run on a regular basis to Gyula for pig-kill-ing ceremonies. Late 1950's were not far off when,with the ruruting of special trains Gyula' s touristindustry flourished again. FlAGS AT THE TOWN HAll'S TERRACE

BOATING POND NEXT TO THE CASTLE

30

TODAY' S GYULA

III 1950 county administration was transferred toBkscsaba and almost a decade passed untiJ Gy-ula's new "face" was formed. As a resultof favourable local conditions and well-planned city development, Gyula's CastleBath became one of the most popular spas\ If Hungary in a decade after finding me-dicinal waters.lndustry was represented by factoriesprocessing agricultural products satisfyingthe inhabitants' needs: meat processingplant, miJIing industry, stockings factory,hoots factory and dairy plant. (Only the mcat-processing plant remained after 1990). The last fourdecades' biggest project was Gyula Meat Combine.Iransportation went through changes as well. Thel1arrow-gauge railway crawling along Bke Avenuewas the vehicle of local public transportation until1961.Buses run instead of it today. In 1963 - after,1 break of almost two decades - trains run againbctween Gyula and the adjacent town, Nagys-zalonta. In 1971 a frontier station was opened onlhe confines of the town for public traffic towardsRomania. !ts traffic has multiplied during the lastdecades. Gyula had a population of 25.000 between

FROM GYULAMONOSTOR TO GYULA SrA

World War l and ll. As a result of immigrationfrom the 1950's on, and the town' s unification withGyulavri (with a population of 5.000) the numberof inhabitants increased. At present 33.000 people

live in Gyula. (The rapid growth of tourist industry madethe town much more attractive and helpedits development, too. The restored Castleattracted visitors by itself. !ts reconstruc-tion has just been finished, and a new,representative Castle Exhibition opened.The thermal bath has been an attractiveforce since 1958. Companies, institutionsbuilt and build their holiday houses ll) the

town one after the other. The Castle Bath ll) sum-mer is a huge tourist centre bustling with peopleand innumerable vehicles.For the population the p/aces of excursion and 1J0lidayresorts on the outskirts of the town are excellentplaces for recreation. The division of the holidaycentres of V roserd into plots started in 1963.Today hundreds of eottages line along the FeketeKrs. At the junction of the two Krs Rivers aholiday centre called Szanazug developed with thewoods of Doboz behind it.The planned cultural programmes of Gyula Summerawait tourists eaeh year. The outeome of the addi-

K U l T R ItM It G Y A. R

V R o S A.","'"2 o o 8

fHE STATE FlK BAND'S DANCE GROUP (2001)

31


tion of new programmes is that today "Summer"lasts from the concert held on the first day of theyear until the open-air festival on New Year'sEve, this way covering the whole year. Besidesthe performances of the Castle Theater, we canchoose from more than 70 programmes - manyof which last for more than one days - andseveral institutions provide cultural entertain-ment. The new Cultural Centre was opened in1975. The Ferenc Erkel Museum directs sevenexhibition venues; one of them is the FerencErkel Memorial House. Kohn Gallery opened in1979, presenting the oeuvre of the town's Kos-suth Prize winner painter. The building formerlycalled the Town Hall, is now the beautifullyrestored Municipal Library serving culturalpurposes.The Castle Theatre, ranked among the coun-try's bests, was put into operation in 1964 andhad a reputation for staging historical dramas,long-forgotten plays and undertaking worldpremires of new dramas. Today a wide range ofperformances offer unforgettable experience foreverybody. It stages everything from operetta toopera, from light to classical and folk music.The number of festivals is increasing rapidlyand they attract large multitudes with theirspectacIes. Since the environment and the hotelaccommodation suit them, conferences are alsofrequently held here.Secondary school education extended: in placeof the old secondary school, there are three oth-

LIVING WATER CANAL, FORMER FEHR-KRS

32

WATER TOURISM ON THE CANAL

ers now. Vocational schools can also be foundand higher education is represented by the train-ing of graduate nurses.Romanian minority has both its centre of self-government and the centre of its cultural life inLceum Square and its neighborhood in Gyula.The importance of the cultivation of the relationswith the Germans is emphasised and traditionsare observed again. Relations between sistertowns are getting closer in the spirit of bridge-building. Finally, we should not forget aboutsport either, since that is a form of entertain-ment for thousands. The town's sport club wasfounded in 1869and it was one of the first in thecountry. It offers colourful programmes fromtennis to motorcycle-race, The Sports Hall wasopened in 1994.Rivers within easy reach attract anglers, andrecently facilities for horse-riding have also beenavailable. Boat ports necessary for water tripshave recently been finished along the Living Wa-ter Cana!. The smallest ones, the town's modelaircraft builders are multiple World Champions.The center of the town has visibly changed in thelast few years. An only for pedestrians street anda fountain system were forrned in the city center;


given to the city the next year: as a consequenceof its 700-year-old history, the weil protectedhistorical landmarks, the outstanding use of EUresources in order to make the town more attrac-tive, quality improvement of the city center, thecarefui support of public collections and the richcultural events, Gyula won the title "The Hungar-ian Town of Culture" in 2008.

rOWN CENTER fOR FLOWERY HUNGARY

tcns of thousands of flowers are situated alongIhe streets and as an outcome of years of work,Gyula won the 1st place at "Flowered Hungary" inlhe category of towns in 2007.Another prize was

We offer ali these - past and present - in theshape of walks to the town's guests and wishevery Dear Reader of this tour guide a good timein Gyula.

FLOWERY GYULA

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Page 1Titles17 III lit!' H I STORY Of THE TOWN I f OM GYULAMONOSTORA I GYULA SPA

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Page 7TitlesAND WOLRD WAR II (1920-1944) 28 29

Page 8Titles31 FROM GYULAMONOSTOR TO GYULA SrA FROM GYULAMONOSTOR TO GYULA srA 30

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Documents

Gyula History