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Pécs - History |
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The first peoples mentioned by
written sources were the Illyrians and the Pannons, who were followed in
the 6th and 5th centuries BC. by the Celts They constituted the ancient
population, who were conquered by the Romans around the beginning of A. D.
The first known name of Pécs was Sopianae. This town was set up
approximately' in the second century BC. The local inhabitants and the
Pannons and Illyrians, who were immigrants from the west, founded it. In
10 BC. , Sopianae became part of the vast Roman Empire, one of the small
towns of a distant province. A small town, but not insignificant. Its
significance was due to the junction of important roads coming from even
more distant areas. These roads were important from the trade viewpoint
but primarily because of their strategic position. The difficult struggles
fought against the barbarians further increased the importance of the
town. After 293 AD. Sopianae became the centre of the civil administration
of the newly organized province of Valeria. This launched the town on the
road to considerable prosperity. Large construction work started, palaces,
villas and public buildings were erected. This was also the period when
Christianity spread in the area. During the recent building work, numerous
relics of that period were found in the inner city, around the Cathedral,
including graves, painted and plain burial vaults, and graveyard chapels. In the late imperial period,
the Roman Empire underwent grave crises. The militant peoples living
beyond the frontiers-called barbarous by the Romans-weakened the defensive
power of the Empire, with continuous attacks. Due to their attacks,
Sopianae also started to decline. Its inhabitants fled to more secure
places, primarily to Italy and the Balkans. However, the town did not
become completely depopulated. Many people lived through the difficult
times, and during the migration of the peoples banded together with newly
appearing peoples. In fact, Roman superiority did
not cease from one day to another, but in a gradual manner. From 433 to
455, Pécs and its surroundings belonged to the Hun Empire. Then
between 455 and 470, it was taken over by the Eastern Goths. From 470, the
East Roman Empire, extended its rule over the area, and then from 504
again the Eastern Goths gained the upper hand over the former Sopianae and
its neighborhood. In 546, the Longobards replaced them: the Avars followed
them in 568. Avar rule lasted until 803, and from then until the end of
the century, the area was ruled by the Carolingian state. In the Frank
Empire, the town-which again started to flourish-was given a new name:
Quique Basilicae. According to our knowledge, Archbishop Liupramm of
Salzburg consecrated a church here, perhaps the one, which laid the
foundations for the present Cathedral. Most probably the population of the
town was a mixture of all the peoples who set foot here during the great
migration. Most of them were Avars. Perhaps they lived here in the largest
grouping during the conquest, and merged with the Magyars We know very little and only
generalities about the conquest of the Magyars. Without doubt, the
Hungarians when occupying the area found a settled population here, mostly
Avars. According to the chronicler Anonymous, the Hungarians arrived here
around 899, led by Ete and Bojta. The archaeological department of the
Janus Pannonius Museum preserves archaeological relics from the era of the
conquest found at Pécs, and the more significant ones are on view
at a permanent exhibition. The history of Pécs had
three major periods. The first was the history of Sopianae in the Roman
age; the other two took place in the middle Ages. Despite the fact that-as
a consequence of the Turkish occupation-almost nothing survived intact
from the Middle Ages, the fragments allow us to presume a very high
standard urban life and flourishing culture. We know very little about the
events of the medieval history of Pécs, in fact the gathering and
processing of the medieval documentary material preserved in other
archives only starts nowadays. However, archaeological finds were
discovered over the past 100 years, in such large numbers on the site of
the town during building work and reconstruction, that in Romanesque
Hungarian architecture and arts, we have been speaking about the Pécs
School for a long time, knowing that it was in contact with the artistic
life of period Europe and its effect radiated all over the Carpathian
Basin. The other major period was the
renaissance, probably nourished by the university set up in 1367-for the
first time in Hungary. This development was most certainly affected by
Italy, which was not far away. Real prosperity was enhanced by the
humanist Pécs bishops and priests (Janus Pannonius, Zsigmond Hampó,
Zsigmond Ernuszt, György Szatmáry,
and István Brodarics) who were able to create a humanist centre
with centuries-long influence on this well established area, in the sphere
of the attraction of Italy, and in an extremely dangerous period in the
shadow of constant threats from Turkish attacks After the expulsion of the
Turks, life again started in the town, but soon another tragedy hit Pécs
and its inhabitants. First in 1704, the Kuruc, then the "Rác"
led by the imperial officers, devastated the town. According to period
chronicles, following the ravages, the funerals lasted for 7 days. The
next catastrophe was the Black Plague of 1710, which genuinely decimated
the inhabitants of Pécs. A very sharp fight against
feudal restrictions characterized the 18th century history of the town.
The burghers of the town, which started on the road towards economic
development, launched an 80 year long struggle against the landlord, the
Bishop, to gain the status of a free royal town. In fact, after the
expulsion of the Turks, the Bishop immediately wanted to effectuate the
feudal rights acquired in the middle Ages. However, Emperor Leopold I did
not return the town into his possession, but kept it under the
administration of the Treasury. The citizens of the town of Pécs
were pleased, because this practically hardly differed from what they
wanted. However, in 1699 the Emperor promised to restore the rights of the
Church, which was accomplished in 1703, and caused great consternation
among the Pécs burghers. They unearthed all the genuine (even more
forged) documents, with which they wished to prove that Ferdinand I had
granted free royal rights to the town of Pécs already in 1528.
However, nobody believed these documents, and the Bishop was the most
suspicious. The Emperor did not believe them either, he obviously knew
what was the truth, and nevertheless, he did not completely refute the
request, occasionally demanded by the Pécs burghers. True enough,
he expected a lot of money for this. However, the process of affairs was
very slow. Almost everybody had to be bribed, ranging from the clerks in
the Chancellery to the Emperor. In the meantime, emotions flew
so freely in the town that both sides resorted to every tactic. Abuse,
corruption and violence followed each other. Finally, György Klimó,
the enlightened Bishop, showed an inclination to satisfy the Pécs
burghers, however, his hands were tied by the severe restrictions of the
Vatican. In the end, the Queen (Maria Theresa) cut the Gordian knot by not
appointing a new Bishop after the death of Klimó, before Pécs
was granted its rights. The town spent a lot of money.
Wine, hay and fodder until-after almost 80 years of struggle-the burghers
attained their aim. In 1780 Pécs was granted the privileges of a
free royal town, which was festively announced. Peace was established
between the Bishop and the burghers of Pécs. The town in debt slowly
recovered and became economically strong. The grapes and wine ensured its
economic strength. It was no coincidence that the disputes always centred
around the taverns. The Bishop, the chapter and the orders all wanted
their share from the profit of the taverns. Naturally, the town wanted to
acquire all of it. Viticulture has long
traditions at Pécs. It is sufficient to cast a glance at an old
photograph or at an even older etching, where in the background extensive
vineyards can be seen stretching along the slopes of the Mecsek down to
the walls of the town. In addition to the known Arany hill, the Donátus,
vineyards and orchards covered the side of the Makár mountain, the
Frühweisz slopes, the eastern side of Kálvária hill,
and the areas of the Csoronika, Szkokó, the Upper and Lower-Gyükés,
Kispiricsizma, Szamárkút and Rigóder. The large
amount of wine they produced could not be drunk at home. It had to be
sold. A rivalry started. The wines of the church were not welcome, and the
serving of alien wines was even more forbidden in the taverns. After acquiring civil rights,
the guilds underwent rapid expansion. One of the strongest guilds was that
of the tanners (tabakosok), in the valley of the Tettye brook, in the area
of the Tettye in Malom (Mill) street (9 Felsõmalom street). The
craftsmen and merchants were mostly Germans, while Bosnians who lived
around Barátur worked in the manufactures. As they were the poorest
of Pécs society, they
became the most radical revolutionaries of the political struggles, and
the most enthusiastic supporters of Kossuth in 1848, even under imperial
occupation. Cultural life developed in the
second half of the 18th century, particularly under the bishopric of György
Klimó. The progressive and enlightened bishop did a good deal to
promote culture and sciences. In 1774, he opened his library with 15,000
volumes to the public, in 1773 he set up a paper mill and printing house,
and a girls' school in 1776. However, he was unable to materialize his
cherished plan, the restoration of the medieval Pécs University. Coal, which was discovered in
the mid-18th century, had a major significance in the economic prosperity
of Pécs, and coal started to be regularly mined from the mid-19th
century. Coal was used locally as fuel from the 1840s onward. In 1844, the
Limberger Sugar Refinery was set up, and a year later the Madarász
iron plant (on the site of the present Leather Factory). The significance
of coal continued to increase. János Náray, the bailiff of
the Bishop, wrote about it in one of his articles in 1845: "In
addition, coal is the great treasure of the town, which can be found all
along the mountain in large quantities and one can believe that this will
be the reason for the town's prosperity."
A boatman brought the news
about the March events of 1848 to Mohács, together with a copy of
the National Song and the 12 points. These arrived in Pécs on March
18, where soon posters appeared on the streets: "Long live
constitutional freedom!" and "Peaceful concord". The 12
points were read at the assembly meeting of the Town Council. The next
day, the Town Council held a public meeting, where the 12 points were
discussed and Freemen of the Town were elected, including Lajos Batthyány,
Lajos Kossuth, Mihály Táncsics, Sándor Petõfi,
Mihály Vörösmarty, István Széchenyi and József
Eötvös. In 1848-1849, Pécs only
played a secondary role. The organization of the defense line at the river
Dráva was the assignment of Kázmér Batthyány,
the Lord Lieutenant, and then Government Commissioner appointed on April
22, a landlord of Baranya County of progressive outlook. Although he
declared a popular rising, the events followed each other so rapidly that
even this was insufficient to assemble a considerable force to the Dráva
line. Between September 17-19, 1848 part of Jellasics' army, commanded by
generals Róth and Philippovic crossed the Dráva at Sellye
and unobstructed advanced towards Pécs. On September 24, the troops
occupied the town without a fight, then left it moving towards the north,
and proceeded towards Buda via Székesfehérvár. This
army was disarmed at Ozora by the National Guard, and its rear echelon and
ammunition were captured on September 27, at Oroszlán by the Pécs
National Guard, and seized it as war booty. Although the Imperial troops
moved into Pécs on January 31,1849 and immediately introduced a
state of emergency in the town, the resistance of the population could not
be broken. The poor of the Budai suburb and primarily the Bosnians
constantly harassed the occupying enemy. After the Imperial troops left Pécs,
the revolutionaries united with the soldiers of the national army, who
arrived in Pécs on June 12, and attempted resistance; nevertheless,
the enemy again occupied the town almost without a struggle. This put an
end to the revolutionary and war activities at Pécs, but the
revolution left deep imprints in the people. For a long time, Pécs
was in the vanguard of left-wing movements. Many people recalled the
1848-1849 events as a permanent reminder. |
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In
the mid-19th century, the inhabitants of Pécs numbered 14,000. It
was a small town; even in a Hungarian comparison, it was considered of
medium size. Some etchings and pictures were preserved from those times,
which enable us to guess what the town looked like at the end of the
Reform Age. The etchings of Rochboch and Varoni depict a bright and
friendly town. In the background, the forest covered Mecsek, with
vineyards and orchards on its slopes, and a town bathing in the warm
sunshine at the foot of the mountain. In 1815, Richard Bright, an English
physician wrote the following about the town: "Observing Pécs
from the south, one catches a fascinating view. It is situated on the side
of a limestone ledge of rock. One or the other of the houses is
conspicuously large, and as each of the churches have at least two small
spires, similarly to the monasteries, the whole seems to be much bigger
than a modestly built town of hardly 9,000 inhabitants " Another
traveller, Johann Gottfried Elsner, also wrote enthusiastically about the
town 24 years later: "Towards dusk, I climbed the Calvary Hill, and
looked down on the attractive landscape. The sun lit it up in a peculiar
manner, an extremely pleasant scent covered it, which lent a certain magic
to the entirety" The romantic tone roughly reflected the same
atmosphere as the etchings. János Náray's article was much
more practical. He was a local man, who also saw the problems very
clearly: "The town of Pécs in built at the foothill on a slope
and it's built day after day. New lines of houses are constructed, the
streets are mostly paved with cobbles, but there is still a lot to be
wished; the slopes suggest that without human hands, a good rain would
sweep the streets, but the occasional underground sewers are also filled
with mud. The streets are narrow and in an old fashioned way, disorderly,
one house stands in, whilst another stands out. . " 