Cultural Institutions and Scenes in Miskolc, 1830–1930
STUDIA HISTORYCZNE549 R. LVI 2013, Z. 4 (224) PL ISSN 0025-1429 Éva Gyulai CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS AND SCENES IN MISKOLC, 1830–1930 Abstract In the Reform Age, the market town of Miskolc gained a distinguished cultural status in Hungary: it boasted a printing press, a permanent theatre, casinos, an 8-grade school, a famous seminar for young ladies, bookshops, a scholars’ private society and a liberal intellectual elite. During Dualism no buildings were erected for cultural purposes as culture was not top priority for the business elite. After WWI Miskolc acquired new social and cultural functions in the region, but some facilities were lacking: a Palace of Music was built, but there was still no public library. Key Words: Urbanization of Miskolc, cultural institutions, museum, casinos, cultural scenes. Słowa kluczowe: urbanizacja Miszkolca, instytucje kultury, muzea, kasyna, sceny teatralne. The century between 1830 and 1930 can be regarded as the age of modernisation for both Hungary and Miskolc. The investigation of such long historical periods brings us nearer to a successful comparative analysis of Central European cities and their level of urbanisation. It seems expedient to divide this century-long period into three parts in accordance with the events of both the national history of Hungary and the urban history of Miskolc. The first part, the period lasting from the 1830s to the 1860s, is called the Reform Age or the post-revolutionary period (following the Revolution of 1848) in Hungarian historiography. This period includes the final decades of the pre-modern social order as well as the first period of capitalism and embour- geoisement.
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