Vegetation of the „Kígyós-puszta"

The „Kígyós puszta"- landscape protection area - is located in the Southern Trans-Tisza region between two cities: Szabadkígyós and Ketegyháza. The steppes in Szabadkígyós and Ketegyháza are home to one of the last watery pusztas in the Southern Trans-Tisza region.

Several types of salty (alkaline)-, meadow- and chernozem soils can be found around this area.

The riverbanks connected to the deserted riverbeds of Maros are created by the accumulating activity of the formal water content.

The present alkaline microforms mostly originated from the superficial erosion of the water. Loess steppes, alkali steppes extend along the riverbanks that are connected to the riverbeds. Marshlands and reeds are surrounded by alkali clearings. Though the characteristics of the steppes are the alkali appearances.

The present study describes the habitats of „Kígyós puszta" in detail, including: marshlands, large sedge communities, alkaline lawns, loess steppes, steppe fields, alkali woodland clearings, oak-, ash- and elm-parks.

The habitat map of the forests and lawns of the landscape protection area highlights the present natural conditions.

The Romanian aspects of the Mollusca collection of Gyula Kovács (part of the Mollusca collection of The Hungarian Natural History Museum)

Reading the collection diary of the malacologist with a european reputation, Gyula Kovács (1932-1996) I discovered that during his life he collected data in many parts of Romania.

Out of his entire Mollusca collection (17 000 items) the Romanian collection is 802 items, almost 5% of the entire collection. Inspite of the many existing malacological collections there is only a few limited amount of data available concerning the malacofauna of the country.

Therefore I find it very important to publish the Romanian aspects of this considerable collection. In the article it's put in chronological and alphabetical order in order to be able to survey the data from either a chronological or a faunistical point of wiew.

I gave a brief summary on Gyula Kovács's life so that the ones that didn't know him would be able to form an idea of his personality, and the ones that knew him could commemorate this outstanding scientist with respect.

Aus dem Fundort Felvégi-Weide (Weide am oberen Ende) stammender Beinkamm aus der spätsarmatischen Zeit und die Zusammenhänge

Im Jahre 2002 haben wir in Békéscsaba, auf der Felvégi-Weide, Fundort Nr.l, Ausgrabungen durchgeführt. Die Rettung der Funde war erforderlich, da die Strecke der Hauptlandstraße 44 zwischen Békéscsaba und Gyula zu einer vierspurigen Straße verbreitert werden sollte.

Die Autostraße passiert den Fundort auf einer Strecke, die 270 m lang und 30 m breit ist. Während der Arbeiten haben wir insgesamt 200 Objekte freigelegt, von denen die Mehrheit aus der spätsarmatischen Zeit stammt.

Im Objekt Nr. 12 fand sich, zusammen mit Keramikbruchstücken und einem Tonlicht, auch ein Beinkamm, der zu einem seltenen Typ gehört. Seiner Form nach gleicht er dem Typ von Thomas am meisten. Unter den Typen von Thomas lassen sich die Vertreter des Typus C, dessen Ursprung umstritten ist, auf die Frühkaiserzeit datieren, ihre Blütezeit hatten sie in der Eggers B2 Periode. Ursprünglich stammen diese aus dem Gebiet der Elbe, ihre bedeutendste Konzentration ist im Gebiet des jetzigen Tschechien zu finden.

Dass das Objekt in der Spätperiode entstanden ist, ergibt sich eindeutig aus den gefundenen Bruchstücken von Töpfen, die auf Handdrehscheibe geformt und die mit Steinschlag, Glimmer dünner gemacht wurden, sowie auch aus dem gefundenen Griffteil eines Kessels.

Ein ganz ähnliches Stück ist jüngst im Komitat Szatmár (Rumänien), in einer Grube der Gemarkung von Piskolt, einer spätsarmatischen Ortschaft, zum Vorschein gekommen. Man hat Bruchstücke eines Kamms, der ebenfalls zu diesem Typ gehört, aber verziert ist, in Polgár, am Fundort Nr. 7, im Objekt 379 gefunden. Dieser ist nicht nur repräsentativer, aber auch kleiner als die beiden anderen Exemplare.

Ein Stück, das zu dem beschriebenen Typ gehört, wurde außerhalb der sarmatischen Schanzen (Piskolt) gefunden, und zwei in dessen unmittelbarer Nachbarschaft (Békéscsaba, Polgár). Ihre Verbreitung beschränkt sich nach dem jetzigen Stand der Forschungen auf den östlichen Teil der Großen Tiefebene, auf die nächste Umgebung der Csörsz-Grube.

Auf Grund der Begleitfunde und der Verzierungsart ist es wahrscheinlich, dass man hier einen neuen Typ identifizieren konnte, der sich auf das Ende des 4. und den Beginn des 5. Jahrhunderts datieren lässt.

Detail eines spätawarischen Friedhofs in Gyomaendrőd-Kecskészug

Der Fundort liegt nördlich von Endrőd, am nördlichen Ufer des Dreier-Körös (Kreisch). Bei der Durchstechung von zwei toten Flussarmen kamen hier awarische Funde zum Vorschein. Die Bergung der Funde war nur an der Böschung des neuen Kanals in einer Breite von 6 m und auf einer Länge von 25 m möglich.

Bei den Ausgrabungen wurden 15 spätawarische Gräber gefunden, unter diesen gab es zwei Bestattungen mit Gürtelbeschlag, eine mit Pferd. In den anderen Gräbern lagen neben den Bestatteten Gegenstände des täglichen Gebrauchs.

Hier fand man eine besondere Bestattungsform: ein vollständiges Skelett eines Pferdes und eines Menschen - diese lagen in getrennten Gräbern und in entgegengesetzter Richtung. Das ist eine Variante dieser Bestattungsform, bei der die zwei Gräber in großer Entfernung voneinander liegen.

„Párta"-belts (ornamented belts) in Békés county from the Middle Ages

Belts as well as buttons and hooks were supplementaries of clothing in the middle ages. One type of these belts was „párta"-belt that could be worn by women, men and children as well.

During the excavations in the cemeteries around the churches in Békés county they found numerous accessories of „párta"-belts out of metal and bone.

One type of „párta „-belts is called ribbon-belt and is weaved from flax-, silk-, and metallic thread. These belts were clipped together with bone-turned and cast-bronze braces and hooks.(Pic.l, 1-7)

The other type of the „párta"-belts is the ribbon-belt with bone accessoires. These belts were decorated with carved and turned flats of bone and buckles. (Pic.2-4)

The third type of „párta"-belts are the ones that are decorated with ornaments and buckles. These are especially well decorated, gothic „I" letters, inscriptions, roses on the entire surface, quadrangular ornaments and rivets serve as decoration. (Pic. 5-12)

The most beautiful „párta"-belts were found in those graves where the deceased was wearing a headdress.

The shape of the ornaments and the way the belts were decorated is similar (or even the same in some cases ) to the belt decorations found in other parts of the country.

The habit of „kommendálás" among the Hungarians of Békés county

Marriage is considered to be such a significant event that finding the right person, clairifying and closing the deal between the two families was often arranged by a person who acted as a go-between.

In traditional cultures, through the centuries, until the middle of the 20th century the habit of „kommendálás" was a living habit - in Békés county this habit survived mostly among the Hungarian population.

„Kommendálás" was typically done by middle aged or even older women who performed their task according to the expectations and habits of the community. It was especially the rich families that made use of their services because a long time ago most of the marriages were built on rational considerations and with financial gain in mind.

The young living on small farms and the for some reasons disadvantaged ones were squeezed out of the usual forms of amusement and making contacts, and often employed a go-between.

Poor peasants, day workers and agricultural workers didn't have to consider financial reasons in choosing their partner, they could choose freely considering only their personal attractions.

In the first half of the 20th century the go-betweens - various local terms were used for this profession among the folk in the Hungarian speaking world -were compensated for the trouble they've taken often in agricultural products or clothing.

If they managed to bring a marriage to an especially advantageous conclusion, they were invited to the wedding as well.

Survivais of the popular curing traditions of the Romanians living in Hungary

Medicine is part of the popular knowledge about Nature and part of the system of popular beliefs - includes either the superstitious beliefs or the rational elements of popular knowledge about curing.

The present study works up the data about popular medicine collected among the Romanians living in Hungary. Includes either the foregoing data that had already been published or the recent collection. The influence of the interethnical relationships on the procedures of popular medicine is also mentioned in the study. The collected material presents the traditions concerning the origins, causes, symptoms and curing of the diseases and the instructions and actions concerning the process of curing.

During the process of rational curing based on the knowledge left behind vegetable and animal material is used as well as other material, mechanical and surface treatment. The magical curing is an indirect form of curing that lacks the direct effect on the disease. These irrational methods are mostly used if the disease is caused by „rontás" (action aimed at causing harm to someone). The most often used methods in the magical curing are the folio wings: verbal pressure („ráolvasás" /magical rhymes and rythms/, swearing), sending away the disease by motion, curing by analogy, scaring the disease away, misleading it, locking it up, putting the disease on something, making the sick person touch something, spelling back.

Among the indirect therapies of the Romanians living in Hungary the magical rhymes and rythms (that can easily be collected even these days) deserve special attention. We're going to mention 3 factors related to the procedure of using magical rhymes and rythms in curing: the person him/herself who scans the rythms, the procedure as joint of ritual methods and the text of the magical rhymes and rythms as products of folk poetry. The factors that play a very significant role in medicine - the person who cures, the place, time and devices of the procedure and the magic numbers - help strengthening the effectiveness of the popular curing.

St. Stephen's law concerning the churches - in addition to the interpretation of a source

Two codes of law survived from the time of St. Stephen - founder of the Hungarian Kingdom, who was the reigning prince between 997-1000, king between 1000-1038. The laws that can be read in these codes give identical proof that the sacred king did his best to establish and deepen the christian faith, church and the christian way of life among his people. Among the laws aimed at achieving this the one concerning church building is the most significant. It's the first chapter of the second code and its first sentence in the latin original is:

„Decern ville ecclesiam edificent, quam duobus mansis totidemque mancipiis dotent equo et iumento, sex bobus et duabus vaccis, xxx minutis bestiis". (Levente Závodszky: Sources of laws and decisions of the council from the time of St. Stephen, St. László and Kálmán, Budapest, 1904. 153.)

This quoted sentence has been studied and translated into Hungarian since 1899 by outstanding scholars, such as Gyula Nagy, Emma Bartoniek, Lóránd Szilágyi, György Györffy, Gyula Kristó. But regarding the details there are fundamental differences among the single translations.

The present study examines the foregoing translations and tries to find the answer to the question: What could the correct and at the same time historically valid Hungarian translation of the sentence under discussion be? The study - after carefully examining the translations and comparing them with other sources -considers the following translation authentic:

10 villages shall build one church, provide it with 2 allotments and with just as many slaves, horses and draught animals, 6 oxen, 2 cows and 30 small cattle.

Soldaten aus dem Komitat Békés in den Registrierungen des Kurutzenheers von Siebenbürgen/Transsylvanien und der Großen Tiefebene (1704, 1706, 1708)

Unsere Region hat zu der Zeit des Unabhängigkeitskriegs unter der Führung von Ferenc Rákóczi IL nicht zu den bedeutenderen Kriegsschauplätzen gehört. Das Körös-und Maros- Land und der westliche Teil des Komitats Bihar waren in erster Linie Nebenkriegsschauplätze.

Obwohl das Gebiet des heutigen Komitats Békés praktisch während der ganzen Zeit des Freiheitskampfes unbewohnt war, trifft man von Zeit zu Zeit in den Quellen des Unabhängigkeitskampfes auf Soldaten aus dieser Region. Neben den Aufzeichnungen der Garnison der Burg in Sarkad sind durch die Musterungsbücher des Kurutzenheers die Namen von einigen Soldaten aus dem Komitat Békés nur in Siebenbürgen aus dem Jahre 1704 sowie die jenseits der Theiß aus den Jahren 1706 und 1708 überliefert worden. Die drei Musterungsbücher enthalten die Namen von insgesamt 104 Soldaten, die aus dem Territorium des Komitats Békés stammten. Von diesen dienten 92 Soldaten in Reiterregimentern und 12 in Infanterieregimentern. Von den von den Soldaten als Geburts- und Wohnort angegebenen 16 verschiedenen Ortschaften gehörten 8 zum Komitat Békés, 6 zum Komitat Bihar und eine zum Komitat Heves. Die meisten, nämlich 26 Soldaten kamen aus Békés, die weiteren 22 Personen aus Dévavanya, 15 aus Körösnagy harsány, 9 aus Sarkad, 7 aus Geszt, 6 aus Mezőgyán und 5 aus Szeghalom. Aus den übrigen 10 Ort-schaften-Békésszentandrás, Biharugra, Doboz, Füzesgyarmat, Gyula, Körösladány, Mezőberény, Okány, Zsadány, und aus der nicht mehr existierenden Ortschaft Nemes-Ölyved - kennen wir dem Namen nach 14 Soldaten.

Natürlich wird die Anzahl der aus dem Komitat Békés bzw. aus dem Raum Bihar des Komitats stammenden Soldaten wesentlich größer gewesen sein. Von den Einwohnern der umliegenden Ortschaften dienten viele in der Schanze in Sarkad, so hat z. В. die ganze Einwohnerschaft des benachbarten Remete(!) im Freiheitskampf in Sarkad mitgekämpft.

Durch Namensvergleiche wurde herausgefunden, dass weitere Soldaten auch aus Doboz, Gyula, Okány und Biharugra stammten.

The Romanian population in Bedő and Méhkerék, attested by the historical researches of the last two decades

The author tries to summarize the results - that she thinks are the most important - of her own research during the last few years concerning Bedő and Méhkerék communities. In her summary she puts her finger on the historical characteristics of the two settlements of the formal Bihar county based on historical statistics. We can learn from this summary, that the assimilation of the population hangs over Méhkerék settlement.

Although traditional values still exist, neither the Romanian native- speaking school nor the Romanian local government is able to stop the process of assimilation, because by this time the process of changing the mother tongue has started even in Méhkerék. In Bedő this process has started much - so to speak a few decades - earlier, because of the peculiar historical circumstances, and by now the result is that within the scope of school education Romanian language is only thaught as a foreign language. The children don't acquire Romanian at home as their mother language, their mother tongue is Hungarian, even in the families with a Romanian identity.

The study highlights the fact that the result of the national census and of the following research pointed out that the population lost its identity, the assimilation in language and the changing of mother tongue are processes that are continuously gaining ground, but the predominance of the population of Romanian birth is still provable.

Zwei Mezőberény er Baumeister: Ádám Maász und József Maász [Mérai]

Die letzten Jahre des 19. Jahrhunderts, die Jahrhundertwende sind durch landesweit große Bauarbeiten repräsentiert. Da die traditionelle Bauweise überholt war, kam es zum Bau von feuersicheren, imposanten Wohnhäusern, die den Baustil der Epoche widerspiegelten. Diesen Baustil bezeichnet man als Eklektik, dieser hatte sich unter dem Einfluss der Sezession entfaltet.

Die moderne Architektur erforderte entsprechende Fachleute. Die Regelwerke der behördlichen Bauarbeiten verpflichteten die Baumeister dazu, neben einem Kostenvoranschlag auch Bauzeichnungen zu erstellen.

In den verschiedenen Ortschaften der Großen Tiefebene, so auch in Mezőberény haben gut ausgebildete Baumeister gearbeitet. Zu ihnen gehörten Ádám und József Maász, die sich nicht nur hier eifrig bemühten, die Architektur der Stadt vielfältig zu gestalten. In Mezőberény wurde im Zentrum der Stadt das Rathaus und entlang der Hauptstraßen wurden öffentliche Gebäude und Wohnhäuser im eklektischen Stil gebaut (Haus des Notars, Sitz der Gewerbekorporation usw.). Besonders innerhalb des sog. „Deutschen Damms" ("Német gát" - das von Deutschen bewohnte Viertel) wurden auf den Grundstücken der Deutschen Wohnhäuser erbaut, die die Vermögenslage widerspiegelten. Dies waren standesgemäß verzierte Wohnhäuser von eklektischem Charakter mit einer sog. „trockenen" Toreinfahrt und Fassaden mit Verzierungen aus Klinkerstein.

Die Arbeit der einzelnen Baumeister wird bei den heute noch erhaltenen Gebäuden gelobt. Schriftliche Dokumente mit Zeichnungen, die die Ausführung derselben dokumentieren, sind leider nur selten überliefert worden. Zum Glück bilden hier die Werke der beiden Baumeister Maász eine Ausnahme.

The „Beer factory Nagyvárad-Szöllős"

after 1850 -in Szöllős, actually in the heighbouring Nufarul of the city Nagyvárad (Oradea), a factory is established, starting this way the industrial production of beer;

1870 - a building is built, being initially designed for malt manufacturing;

1875-1895 -after the factory goes uder the Wienn Bank's property it brakes down;

1899 - reorganization of the factory under the name of „Löwy Ignácz Beer Factory " from Nagyvárad-Szöllős;

end of XIX-th - the presence of the beer produced by the „Dreher-Haggen-century macher" company is felt on the market; - the factory expands with a new area designed for ice manufacturing;

1902 - the factory changes its owner, in the person of Krausz Béla;

1908-1914 - is the period when the factory allies with the Economy House of county Bihor;

1914, -takes place the transformation with in the shareholders February 26 company, under the name of „Nagyvárad Beer Factory". Friedmann Hermann is chosen as general manager;

1916 - in the middle of world conflagration, the shares of the company are taken over by the Local Bank of Budapest;

after 1918 - after the First World War the shares of the company are bought by the „Dreher-Haggenmacher" factory from Kőbánya-Budapest and the House of Economy from Kolozsvár (Cluj-Napoca);

1923, March 5 -the company exchanges its name for „Dreher-Haggenmacher" Beer Factory-, - the company also rents the Újarad (Aradu Nou) beer factory;

1929-1933 - in full economical crisis, the „Dreher-Haggenmacher" company buys the aradean factory, owned by baroness Nopcsa, the widow of baron Nopcsa Elek;

1932 - the „Dreher-Haggenmacher" beer brakes fast into the market of Bucharest;

1948-1952 -the nationalization (1948 June 11) as well as the money reform (1952 January 28), will leave its marks on the activity of the factory;

after 1952 -during the years of communism the factory proposes as object of activity; manufacturing of beer, malt, different alcoholic drinks, carbonized water and ice; - the field of activity grows with renting and keeping in function of some units with restaurant and hotel profile;

after 1989 - the company changes it's name into „S. С Веrе-Мalt S. A ";

in 1999, - The State Property Found sells 39% of the „S. С Веrе-Мalt S.

March 25 's shares to Evro Impex S.R.L, for 4 billion lei;

Picture postcards about Békéscsaba in the Munkácsy Mihály Museum 1899-1920

The first major postcard- purchasing for the historical collection of the Munkácsy Mihály Museum in Békéscsaba was in 1969. The biggest part of the entire collection of 1500 items is related to the settlements of Békés County. 121 items out of the 1500 represents Békéscsaba between 1899-1920. The first picture postcards about Békéscsaba came out in 1899. These postcards weren't only published in Békéscsaba, later on we can find publishers from Budapest and even from Vienna. Most of the pictures document the former conditions of building sor parts of the city. Andrássy street which gives the impression of being more „citylike", the center and the area nearby, the churches, the schools, Széchenyi park as a landscape, parts of the riverside of Körös were chosen as topics for picture postcards. But banks, factories or local works could also be subjects of the photos taken. They also photographed memorable events from the past of the city, such as the visit of the Romanian royal couple on 23 May in 1919, and the evacuation of the Romanian armed forces in 1920.

The formal portrait gallery of the County Hall in Gyula

The county portrait galleries developed between the 18th and the 20th centuries. The paintings that are part of the collection were usually exhibited in the meeting hall of the County House and usually portraied the leaders of the county administration, the lord lieutenants, other significant persons playing a national role or members of the reigning family.

It was the same in the case of the County House of Békés County in Gyula. But in the County House of Békés County it weren't only the lord lieutenant's portraits that were hang out, but also portraits of other persons. Portraits of Franz Joseph I. and queen Elisabeth, of governor Miklós Horthy and of the governor's deputy István Horthy, of great statesmen - such as Lajos Batthyány, Ferenc Deák, Lajos Kossuth, István Széchenyi and István Tisza, of other illustrious persons of Békés County - such as László Wenckheim president of the Savings Bank, Pál Jancsovics and Sándor Daimel deputy lieutenants could be seen as well.

Our investigations pointed out that before 1944 the portrait gallery of Békés County consisted of 27 pieces. Most of them can't be found anymore, because the military command of the Red Army that resided int he building between 1944-1946 seated the fate of these pieces of art.

Attempt to analyse János Nyisztor/NEStor's set of paintings entitled „deDOSZFÉRIKUS TÁJTEXTÚRÁK" in two sections

The artist, János Nyisztor/NEStor, who comes from Gyula painted his set of paintings „deDOSPHERIC LANDTEXTURES" between 1995-1998. They were exhibited in 1999 in the Dürer Hall supported by the Erkel Ferenc Museum of the Directorat of Békés County Museums.

The collection of 24 items is divided into 4 sections, that on the one hand seem to be well known and determining factors of the reality and of our private sphere, on the other hand they seem to be the possible levels of existence and can be taken two ways.

The different sections are determined by each other, exercise mutual influence and are connected with each other. Thus the set of paintings give the impression of being a rational and integral whole.

The board nr.XI is part of the stage that deals with the plant life/Flora/ -following the orientations and intentions of the receiver - but it can also be listed to the topic „the evolution of still life".

The first 10 works are about landscape-wiews and 4 of them are going to be analysed in detail (boards nr.I,II,IX,X).The study tries to make the concept „landscape-texture" clear, tries to identify the elements of the set of paintings as well as trying to explain the meaning and plot of the works of art under discussion. It allows us to examine the process of the works of art coming into being and the different technical methods during the different stages of the process of preparation.