Abstract
The aim of the Hungarian Association of Engineers and Architects as a professional and interest association, which had been in operation since 1867, was to promote mutual acquaintance, exchange of ideas, discussion of conventions and professional issues, the creation of a library, the publication of journals and books, and the establishment of a provident fund. From the beginning of the 20th century, the Association sought to concentrate technical professionals from the countryside into local sections, hence preventing the establishment of independent countryside associations. During the Dual Monarchy (1867–1918), 16 sections in the countryside were set up, and 4 more between the two world wars. The one in Pécs had been operating since 1930. The study describes the functioning of local sections, their relationship with the parent association and analyses their membership. It traces the history of the Pécs Section from its establishment to its liquidation in 1946, covering the changes in the composition of membership, the tasks and work of the officers, and the activities of this section as well as its relation to the Association. Among such activities, historical sources, recorded lectures, debates, field trips, social dinners, soirees, and exhibitions. Most of the members of the Pécs Section were engineers, as in the parent association, who worked in various technical offices in the city, such as the Hungarian Railways (MÁV) offices and in the coal mines of the Danube Steamship Company (DGT). However, the architects were also very active in the life of the Pécs Section, organising lectures, debates and exhibitions. The most significant local event of the period between the two world wars was the association’s 1936 travelling assembly held in Pécs, and the 1941 field trip. Despite the late establishment of the Pécs Section it was the largest and one of the most active local sections of the Hungarian Association of Engineers and Architects.
INTRODUCTION
The founders of the Hungarian Engineers’ Association probably followed the Austrian model when they united engineers and architects into a single association in 1866.1 According to its statutes of 1867, the association aimed to promote the interests of all “technical matters”. The association’s mission included mutual acquaintance within the profession, the exchange of ideas, the discussion of professional and business matters, the foundation of a library, the publication of a journal and books on architecture and engineering, and the establishment of a relief fund.2 In response to the threat of the architects’ secession, the association took the name of the Hungarian Association of Engineers and Architects (hereinafter: Association) in 1871, and continued to operate under this name until the mid-1940s. The new name reflected not so much the actual balance of power between engineers and architects, more so the equal role that architects of lower social status aspired to; since they were financially unable to organise their own association.3 The members were active in different branches. In 1868, six branches were created, and in 1871, another branch was added to the only architectural branch.4 With the establishment of the Chemical Engineering Branch in 1906, the number of branches increased to eight. In the period between the two world wars, two more branches were set up: the Economics and Social Policy Branch in 1926 and the Forestry Branch in 1940.
The Association, which had 3,754 members in 1914, lost much of its former importance between the two world wars, as it was no longer the sole representative of ‘technicians’5 in professional and legal advocacy matters. The Society of Hungarian Architects was founded in 1902,6 the National Association of Private Engineers in 1905, the National Society of Hungarian Engineers and Architects in 1919,7 and the Chamber of Engineers in 1923. Until 1895, members from the countryside were in the majority; later, however, those from Budapest outnumbered them,8 while in the countryside separate chapters and engineers’ societies were formed. The Association’s leadership first encountered the latter phenomenon in 1874, when the Timisoara Engineers and Architects Association was set up, which was successfully linked to the Association as a section.9
The organisation of engineers in the countryside gained momentum in the years after the turn of the century. The first to start was the Miskolc-Diósgyőr Engineers’ Section that consisted of technicians that gathered at local restaurants as a ‘table company’. They were visited by the metropolitan colleagues in May 1904. In 1905, the Association of Engineers and Architects was founded in Oradea. On October 22, 1905, at the Szeged travelling assembly – connected to the inauguration of the statue of Pál Vásárhelyi – the Association itself took the initiative for the establishment of local chapters or sections. The officers rightly recognised that it would be better if the engineers’ associations from the countryside did not function as separate organisations, but as sections of the same Hungarian Association of Engineers and Architects. The establishment of the local sections was made possible by the statutes amended in 1906 and approved by the Minister of the Interior in 1907. The organisation of a local section was possible where the Association had at least fifteen ordinary members. In addition to the ordinary members, the local sections could also have local members who were not affiliated with the Association. The local sections adopted the statutes of the Association, but they were free to determine their own rules of procedure, for example the way they operated. In addition to the President, they sent members to the Electoral Board and the Association Council. Their meetings and programmes were also reported in the Bulletin. To cover their expenses, the association passed on 25% of the membership fees of ordinary members, while local members were charged a membership fee set by the local section.10 All this suggests that, although the local sections were very similar to the Association, there was only a loose connection between them.
The local sections were organised in the following order: Kaposvár (1906), Győr (1907), Debrecen (1907), Nagyvárad [Oradea] (1908), Pozsony [Bratislava] (1909), Miskolc-Diósgyőr (1909), Temesvár [Timisoara] (1909), Szeged (1910), Szombathely (1910), Fiume [Rijeka] (1910), Komárom [Komárno] and its surroundings (1910), Székesfehérvár (1910), Sopron (1911), Brassó [Brasov] (1912), Losonc [Lučenec] (1913), Kolozsvár [Cluj-Napoca] (1914).11 Although the establishment of the Pécs Section was on the agenda from 1907, it was not until very late, in 1929. It is also difficult to explain the delay in setting up the department, given that 6 of the 16 local sections (Temesvár, Komárom, Fiume, Brassó, Losonc, Kolozsvár) ceased to exist after being moved outside the new borders following the Treaty of Trianon. Despite this, only 4 new sections were organised between the two world wars. It seems from the dates of the statutory meeting that this issue was not really on the agenda until the late 1920s, as the first local section was established in Szolnok in November 1927, after the Great War. After the establishment of the Pécs Section, the Association also organised a local section in Kecskemét (13 April 1930) and Újpest-Rákospalota (27 June 1934) (Fig. 1).12
Statutes of the Hungarian Association of Engineers and Architects, 1932 (MNL BaVL: IV. 1428. 113)
Citation: Építés – Építészettudomány 2025; 10.1556/096.2025.00136
ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF THE PÉCS SECTION
For two years from 1907 onwards, the architectural journals and the local press reported that the establishment of the Pécs Section was imminent. Unfortunately, the sources do not really explain why this did not take place during the period of the Dual Monarchy, even though the technicians’ table had been active since 1899.13 In the spring of 1908, the Pécsi Napló noted that the movement to form an association among the engineers of Pécs was a long-standing one. The failure to do so was justified by the departure of Károly Raichl,14 the head of the “club”, from the city. In 1909, Pál Holfeld, the head of the cultivated engineering office15 in Pécs, was the head of the Technicians’ Table, but he caught smallpox on his return from a fieldwork to Egypt and died.16 Press reports suggest that perhaps all that was missing was a charismatic leader to turn the once-a-month meeting, lectures, excursions and discussion of professional issues into an official association. It is also possible that the local technicians considered that belonging to the metropolitan Association rather than a less formal but well-functioning group or “table” would only lead to higher costs instead of providing them more benefits and advantages. In the era of the Dual Monarchy , the organisation of local section became a topic once more, in 1912, when an increasing number of engineers living in the city was expected in connection to the establishment of the Pécs branch of the Hungarian Railways (MÁV).17 In any case, it seems that the Technicians’ Table in Pécs did not cease to exist, because in January 1929 they prepared the establishment of the local section.18 The founding assembly was held on 9 November 1929 and the inaugural assembly on 23 February 1930.19 The statutory meeting of the section was held on 12 January 1930. According to its minutes, the rules of procedure were drawn up in the autumn of 1929, and after its approval by the Association, 32 ordinary and 83 local members joined the Pécs Section. At the January statutory meeting, attended by 70 members, the officers of the Pécs Section were elected, and the membership fees were set.20 It should be noted here that the Pécs Section of the National Society of Hungarian Engineers and Architects was founded earlier, on 6 March 1928.21
The rules of procedure of the Pécs Section mainly regulated local membership and administration. Membership of the local sections was structured in a similar way to that of the parent association, the most significant difference being in the fees they paid. The Pécs Section, unlike the Association, had no extraordinary, temporary or external members.22 Ordinary members of the local sections were those members of the Association who lived in the area and who had submitted a written notification to the Section’s Electoral Board about their intention to join. Ordinary members were eligible for election not only to the Electoral Board and Council of the Association, but also to the ranks of the officers and the Electoral Board of the Section. Ordinary members also paid a membership fee to the local section in addition to the Association membership fee. The membership fee of the Association for members from the countryside was 22 Hungarian pengő in 1927, while the membership fee of the Pécs Section was 5 pengő in 1930. Local members had neither obligations nor rights towards the Association, but they had the right to vote and to be elected within the local section. However, to accept the positions of president, vice-president and secretary, one had to become an ordinary member of the Association. Local members paid only section dues, which were also set at 5 Hungarian pengő at the statutory meeting. Honorary members were elected by the (Electoral) Board in recognition of their merit, on the recommendation of the General Assembly. Founding members were those ordinary members who paid 100 Hungarian pengő (200 for legal entities).23 Legal entities could exercise their voting rights through their representatives but were not eligible for election. Individuals who paid a fee of 12 pengő per year, were in technical training or had an interest in technical matters could become patronising members. Ordinary, local and patronising members were required to make a 3-year commitment, with quarterly dues payable in advance.24
The matters of the sections were managed by officers, the electoral board and the general assembly. The officers, consisting of the President, the two Vice-Presidents, the Secretary, the Director, the Notary and the Treasurer, were all elected by secret ballots by the General Assembly for a term of 3 years. The President and Vice-Presidents could not be re-elected immediately after the expiry of their term. The president represents the section in the Association, in dealings with public authorities, private indviduals, and shall convene, chair and remit the general assembly. The Vice-Presidents were to replace the President if he could not attend. The Secretary was responsible for the written affairs of the section, the archives and the annual report. The Director was responsible for the financial affairs, property and inventory of the section and organised field trips and meetings. The notary’s task was to assist the secretary and, if necessary, to replace him. The treasurer managed the assets of the section, collected membership fees, made payments and kept accounts. The Electoral Board was composed of the officers, the members delegated to the Electoral Board of the parent association and the Association Council, the honorary members and one representative elected by the General Assembly for every 15 members. Meeting at least once a quarter, it decided on the admission of new members, discussed current business and prepared the General Assembly. The General Assembly met at least once a year, in the first quarter of the year. The decisions of the General Assembly required the presence of 1/3 of all members and a simple majority of votes, except for the dissolution and the modification of the rules of procedure. Any member of the section could make a motion, which had to be submitted in writing 8 days before the General Assembly. The General Assembly was responsible for adopting the annual budget and the final accounts.25 The rules of procedure were amended in 1935 and approved by the Association in January 1936.
As in the case of the Association, the sections held a general assembly at the beginning of each year, at which the secretary reported on the events and achievements of the previous year and the changes in membership.26 The members present at the general assembly approved the final accounts prepared by the treasurer and reviewed by the audit committee and held a re-election if necessary. In 1933, the Association transferred 4 Hungarian pengő per ordinary member to the Pécs Section, and the same amount was paid for local membership. At the 1934 General Assembly, however, it was voted to reduce the local membership fee from 4 pengő to 2 pengő “until better times”, citing the difficult economic situation.27 In 1934, the Pécs Section had a total of 490 Hungarian pengő. The budget of the Pécs Section in 1935 was 1203 pengő and 45 fillér. Of this, the annual fees of ordinary and local members amounted to about 400–400 pengő. The former amount was sent to Budapest, of which a quarter was later refunded. Among the costs, the rent for the premises amounted to 100 pengő, and 20 pengő was paid for the chamber in the town hall, which was the venue for the annual General Assembly. Most of the costs were taken up by the administration. The largest item of expenditure in the 1936 draft budget was the cost of the travelling assembly. The income of 600 pengő was offset by an expenditure of 930 pengő, the deficit being covered from the section’s capital. As an indication of the dire financial situation of the membership at the Pécs Section, by 1940 there was a membership fee arrears of 641 pengő.28
MEMBERSHIP OF THE LOCAL SECTIONS BETWEEN THE TWO WORLD WARS
We have data on the membership of the local sections from 1936. According to this, just under 2% of the membership were honorary members and 6% were supportive, extraordinary or founding members. Most members belonged to the local section or the parent association. The 263 ordinary members made up 26% of the countryside membership and the 675 local members comprised of 66% of total membership. In other words, it seems that local members did not find being a member of the Association an added attraction and many remained only local members.29 This may also have been due to the difference in the amount of membership fee: while in the Pécs Section an ordinary member paid 27 Hungarian pengő per year, a local member paid only 5 pengő. Only in Szeged were the ordinary members (51) in majority compared to the local only members (9).30 In 1936, the Pécs Section consisted of 1 honorary, 3 supportive, extraordinary or founding members, 26 ordinary members (18%) and 110 local members (78%) (Fig. 2).
The local membership of the Hungarian Association of Engineers and Architects by type of membership (1936) (MMÉEK 1936. 191)
Citation: Építés – Építészettudomány 2025; 10.1556/096.2025.00136
Among the local sections in the Hungarian countryside, the Pécs Section had the largest number of members (140). The cities of Győr, Debrecen, Szombathely and Miskolc followed, the latter with over 100 members. The Kecskemét section had the fewest members (34), but the first section to be established in Kaposvár only had 42 members. For several sections, the number of members has been significantly reduced compared to the Dual Monarchy. For example, in 1913 the Szeged Section had 110 members,31 while in 1936 it had only 63 (Fig. 3.).
Membership of local sections (1936) (MMÉEK 1936. 191)32
Citation: Építés – Építészettudomány 2025; 10.1556/096.2025.00136
We can examine the ordinary members of the Pécs Section in four time periods (1929, 1934, 1937, 1943). According to these figures, the section had 34 ordinary members in 1929, 26 in 1934, 21 in 1937 and 19 in 1943. In other words, while the number of members was increasing, the already small number of those who had membership with the Association as well was decreasing. Of the 31 Pécs members registered in 1914, only six were still members of the Hungarian Association of Engineers and Architects twenty years later.33 After 1934, only three people joined the Association. Not surprisingly, the number of engineers far outnumbered the architects. This means that in 1929 there were 26 engineers and 8 architects, but in 1943 there were only 14 engineers and 5 architects among the ordinary members. Of course, there may have been several architects among the technical councillors, for example, Gyula Rózsahegyi, the chief of the State Architecture Office, also had architectural tasks, while Ödön Szentkirályi, engineer and chief inspector of the Danube Steamship Company (DGT), was also a master builder. The proportion of mechanical engineers among the engineers was high, around 40% in all four years. It is clear from the data that the high number of engineers in the city is mainly related to the operations of DGT and the Hungarian State Railways (MÁV) Directorate in Pécs. The number of technicians was also increased by the offices in Pécs. In addition to the ordinary members, the Pécs Section had two founding members, the Beremendi Cement Factory as a legal entity and Miksa Roboz. At the 1934 General Assembly, János Rauch, former Chief Technical Councillor and István Bari,34 former Ministerial Councillor were elected Honorary Members of the Pécs Section for their unparalleled merits, and in 1936 Aladár Balsay, former Chief Mining Councillor and Leó Hervay, former Chief Technical Councillor of MÁV received the same honour. In 1929, only 4 of the 91 local members were architects or building contractors, while in 1936, 11 of the 111 local members. Some of the members of the Pécs Section have had national, and even international success and recognition. István Vényi, a mechanical engineer, was awarded the Cserháti Award Plaque in 1933 for his lecture on “Domestic heat and power generation from the perspective of coal mining”.35 The work of Ödön Szentkirályi, the head of the Architectural Department of DGT’s Pécs mine branch, has also received international recognition (Fig. 4).36 In 1933 István Bari and Hermann Kamprád were appointed ministerial councillors, and Viktor Vágó was appointed ministerial departmental councillor.37
Ödön Szentkirályi (Source: A felszabadulás aranykönyve. Compiled by Oszkár Zsadányi and Endre Kussinszky. Pécs, 1931. 169)
Citation: Építés – Építészettudomány 2025; 10.1556/096.2025.00136
While there is a great deal of movement among the local officials of the Pécs Section, as the members sent to the Association’s leadership, especially after 1937, showed a steady pattern. From 1932 to 1944, the members of Pécs Section delegated Miklós Zsolnay Sikorski to the Board, and from 1937 to the end of the period, Leo Hervay to the Association’s Council. As to the number of years officers could hold their position, the model agenda prepared by the Association in 1937 for the local sections did not provide clear guidelines, so this may have varied from section to section. In any case, we often find the same names among the heads of the Pécs Section, but in different positions every three years. Thus, for example, Lóránt Kalenda, senior technical councillor, was one of the vice-presidents of the Pécs Section between 1931 and 1932, a second member of the Association’s Council between 1934 and 1936, and vice-president again from 1937 to 1940 (Fig. 5). Elek Nagy, a mechanical engineer and director of the city tram depot, served as chairman of the factory department in 1934–1935, vice-president in 1936–1937 and president once again from 1939. The longest serving officer was secretary János Hegedűs, who managed the affairs of the section from 1931 to 1939. As technicians working in state offices, they could be transferred to other cities at any time, so that could also disrupt their role in the Association’s local sections. In 1933 there was no summer field study and no major activity in the Pécs Section because Géza Pénzes, the president, was transferred to Debrecen. In his address to the 1935 election, the incoming president, architect Gyula Kőszeghy, thanked the General Assembly for its confidence, “which was an honour for the engineering profession in private practice, which is the great majority of the civil engineers of the Section”.38 In 1933, in the largest Pécs Section with the greatest number of members, building and factory departments were established, with separate presidents and notary officers. Apart from Pécs, only the Debrecen section had four separate departments in 1936.39 Among the officials of Pécs, we do not find a housemaster, which is related to the fact that the section did not have its own room (Table 1).40
Lóránt Kalenda (Source: Pécsi fejek. Eds.: Oszkár Zsadányi – Gyula Klamár. Pécs, 1928. 32)
Citation: Építés – Építészettudomány 2025; 10.1556/096.2025.00136
Officials of the Pécs Section 1930–1944
| Year | President | Vice-President | Vice-President | Building Department | Factory Department | Secretary | Notary | Director | Treasurer | Auditor | Member of the Association Council | Member of the Electoral Board |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 | Bari István | Pilch Andor | Blaschek A. | – | – | Hegedűs János | Loykó Miklós | Taxner Béla | Pénzes Géza | Gyapay Á., Schölnast Ö., Réhling József | Rauch János | Kalenda L. |
| 1931 | Kalenda Lóránt | – | – | Visy Zoltán | Hidas József | Gyapay Árpád, Schölnast Ödön, Borbély Gyula | Blaschek Aladár | |||||
| 1932 | Blascheck Aladár | – | – | Schölnast Ödön, Borbély Gyula, Simonovics Béla | Pilch Andor | Sikorski Zsolnay Miklós | ||||||
| 1933 | Hejzmann Leó | Balsay Aladár | Pilch Andor | Rózsahegyi Gyula | Erreth Ede | Pénzes Géza | Hidas József | Borbély Gyula, Moticska József, Simonovics Béla | Bari István | Sikorski Zsolnay Miklós | ||
| 1934 | Rózsahegyi Gyula | Pilch Andor | Nagy Elek | Dulánszky Jenő | Borbély Gyula, Simonovics Béla, Nagy Tibor | Kalenda Lóránt | ||||||
| 1935 | Hervay Leó | Rózsahegyi Gyula | Kőszeghy Gyula | |||||||||
| 1936 | Kőszeghy Gyula | Nagy Elek | Borbély Gyula | Hegedűs János | Póhl Béla | Loykó Miklós | Simovics Béla | Simon Vilmos, Mittinger Gyula, Nagy Tibor | Kalenda Lóránt | Sikorski Zsolnay Miklós | ||
| 1937 | Kalenda Lóránt | Ludwig Károly | e: Schindler Aurél j: Nick István | Takách Miklós | Borbély Gyula, Mittinger Gyula, Kander István | Hervay Leó | ||||||
| 1938 | Czibulka Vilmos | Borbély Gyula, Mittinger Gyula, Kander István | ||||||||||
| 1939 | Nagy Elek | e: Dulánszky Jenő t: Weber György | e: Beke Zoltán t: Péter István | Nick István | Bodó Imre | Dulánszky Nándor | v. Ács István, Engert Ádám, ifj. Nendtvich Andor | |||||
| 1940 | ||||||||||||
| 1941 | ||||||||||||
| 1942 | Beke Zoltán | Gosztonyi Gy. | Selényi Pál | |||||||||
| 1943 | ||||||||||||
| 1944 | Beke Zoltán | Lipthay Kálmán dr. | – | – | – | Gosztonyi Gyula dr. | Selényi Pál | – | – |
ACTIVITIES OF THE PÉCS SECTION
This section, established at the end of 1929, brought together technicians from the eastern part of Baranya and Tolna counties. On 23 February 1930, the inauguration ceremony was opened by Gyula Forster, Deputy State Secretary, followed by a lecture by Gyula Feyér, Ministerial Adviser, on the problems of energy management and electrification.41 It was not an ideal time to organise a section, as the financial problems faced by members during the global economic crisis were affecting the life of the entire Association. Since the section had no premises of its own, members met once a month in a restaurant of Pécs, like the way other “Technicians’ Tables” did at the time. In 1935 they met alternately at the Nádor Inn and the Corso Restaurant, and in 1936 in the building of the Downtown Catholic Circle. We do not know where the meeting room was in 1935, but it was open on Tuesdays and Saturdays in the afternoon. Members of the section could read the professional journals here (Közlöny [Bulletin], Technika [Technic], Pályafenntartás [Railroad Maintenance]). The secretary asked members to offer any architectural and mechanical engineering journals that they had read so that the meeting room could be supplied with these as well.42
The Pécs Section carried out activities similar to those of the Association; they organised lectures, field trips and excursions, debated current professional issues, submitted petitions and transcripts to offices and professional organisations, and participated in the committees of architectural design competitions. The organisation of programmes and the management of current affairs was the responsibility of the local 12-member Board, which met 9 times in the first year (instead of the 4 times) as laid down in the rules of procedure.43 Unfortunately, we have no information on the frequency of the lectures, but some of the more interesting ones were reported in the local press. It seems that the board tried to attract not only local experts, but also experts from Budapest. The parent association also offered to repeat in the countryside the lectures given in the capital to build closer links with the local sections. Among the topics covered in the press, there were many lectures on architecture and on modern technology (such as lighting, refrigeration, and sound film) by mechanical engineers. The lectures, which were open to the public, were usually held in the physics lecture hall of the main building at the Erzsébet University. After the presentation, the members of the section had a dinner together. We also found an example of a member from the Pécs Section giving a lecture in the Association in the capital. On 10 January 1942, Gyula Gosztonyi spoke about the development and monuments of Pécs at a gathering of the Hungarian Association of Engineers and Architects, and then screened a documentary by Antal Hamerli.44
Among the debates, the press reported on the discussion of the energy bill held on Sunday, 4 May 1930, in the Chamber of the Town Hall.45 On 12 November 1932, the Board sent a committee to draw up a programme to alleviate unemployment, which was discussed on 26 November at the Corso Restaurant.46 In the first year, a transcript was sent to the Chamber of Engineers for the nomination of provincial members to the Chamber’s Board, and to the mayor of the city of Pécs for the delegation of a member from Pécs to the jury of the Architectural Design Committee.47 In 1933, a memorandum was submitted to the Minister of Commerce on the draft Construction Bill.48 In 1934, the Minister of Finance Decree No 89 000/1934 was intended to extend the sales tax part of the tax to architects.49 They were represented several times at the Kaposvár Section’s readings, such as in 1930 or 1934.
We know much less about the professional field trips. Only eight field trips were reported in the press, mostly to Pécs (Tettye, Pécs radio station, the automatic telephone exchange, and to factories), and to two nearby sites (Vajszló dredging works and the Kaposvár sugar factory). To improve social life, in addition to field trips and dinners, family dance parties were also organised, such as the one held on 5 February 1938 at the Downtown Catholic Circle.50 The Pécs Section was also represented in the local social events, for example on 28 February 1930, they took part in the Horthy celebration, on 25 May in the Heroes’ memorial celebration, and on 4 June in the Trianon mourning ceremony in the theatre.
The members of the architecture department of the Pécs Section were not only active in the organisation of professional lectures and debates, but also in developing closer links with the public. In the 1930s, two exhibitions were organised to promote and raise awareness about modern architecture. In both cases, the material of exhibitions held in Budapest was brought down to Pécs; in 1931, to the Hungarian group of the 12th International Congress of Architects, and in 1933, to the “How to Build?” exhibition organised by the Hungarian Association of Engineers and Architects. The exhibition, held in the Hall of the Downtown Catholic Circle from 25 to 30 January 1931, offered visitors examples of modern architecture ranging from private dwellings to monumental public buildings. On the final day, Virgil Bierbauer, editor of the Tér és Forma [Space and Form] architectural journal, gave a lecture on the problems of modern housing.51
Two years later, an exhibition at the headquarters of the Pécs Charitable Women’s Association focused only on the construction of small houses, but also featured the work of local architects in addition to the designers of the capital.52 Local craftsmen also participated in the exhibition with their modern building materials and structures.53 The exhibition was open for only three days, from 5 to 7 November 1933, but in that short time it had 1,400 visitors.54 Following the opening, Andor Pilch gave a lecture on the principles of modern architecture, and during the exhibition several local architects spoke about various construction issues.55 Aside from the usual propaganda character of the exhibition, it intended to educate about poor construction solutions of previous buildings, which could not keep up with the growing demand, and hoped to alleviate the aversion and fear of modern architecture.56
The most significant event in the history of the Pécs Section between the two world wars was the 1936 Travelling Assembly of the Hungarian Association of Engineers and Architects, which was held in Pécs on 28–29 June, together with the travelling assembly of the Countrywide Association of Urban Engineers (Fig. 6). This was the third visit of the Association to the city after the previous ones between 1889 and 1907 during the age of dualism. Among the more than 140 participants there were state secretaries and ministerial councillors, Géza Bornemisza, the Minister of Industry, representatives of professional associations, county and city leaders, and the representatives of local sections. The programme began on the evening of 27 June with a garden party with dancing and entertainment in the National Casino. The next day, after the Holy Mass in the Cathedral, the guests gathered in the chamber of the Town Hall. After a welcome speech by Gyula Kőszeghy, the president of Pécs Section, the president of the Association, Gyula Wälder welcomed the guests, and then Gyula Feyér gave a presentation, titled “The place of Hungarian engineering in the society and economy”. Lóránt Kalenda then spoke about the technical facilities of the city of Pécs, while László Gratzl, Chief Engineer, presented the new wastewater treatment plant in Pécs. After a gala lunch at the Downtown Catholic Circle, the group went on a sightseeing tour by car, visiting the downtown area, the Mecsek resort hotel called Kikelet, and then Tettye. A debate on Gyula Feyér’s lecture was held the following morning. Those who did not want to debate could visit the DGT coke works. The travelling assembly ended with a lunch on the terrace of Balokány Bath.57
The emblem of the 1936 Travelling Assembly (Csorba Győző Könyvtár Helyismereti Osztály Fotótár [Győző Csorba Library Local History Department Photo Library])
Citation: Építés – Építészettudomány 2025; 10.1556/096.2025.00136
Between 6 and 9 September 1941, a few members of the Association were again in the city for a field trip. In addition to the usual sights, more attention was now paid to the monuments and museums of Pécs (the city wall, the Church of All Saints, the seminary, the County Hall), and the newly built or under reconstruction buildings (the Dömörkapu mountain hut, the Pauline Church, and the parish church in the city centre). The last afternoon, the members from the capital were hosted by Gyula Gosztonyi, the organiser of the trip, at his home.58 After that, the war made the life of the section rather uneventful. According to the secretary’s report, all planned programmes, lectures and excursions were cancelled in 1942. The only event worth mentioning was the unveiling of a memorial plaque to the architect Andor Pilch59 and the laying of a wreath on his grave on 24 November 1942.60
The history of the Association after the Second World War did not last very long. As a part of the liquidation of the civil sector, the Pécs Section of the Hungarian Association of Engineers and Architects was reviewed under Decree 20.165/1945 B.M., and then the Association was dissolved by Decree 288.201/1946 (IV.14.) B.M. As for the assets of the Pécs Section, the president, Zoltán Beke, replied to the city reporter that the section has only one real estate asset, a plot of land near the Kikelet resort. Since “the modest financial circumstances of the section did not allow it to keep permanent official premises, it held its meetings and board meetings occasionally in the premises of the Railwaymen’s Home, thanks to the courtesy of the MÁV Board of Directors”,61 and the secretary and the treasurer conducted their affairs in his home. Secretary Gyula Gosztonyi was still a prisoner of war in Austria at the time, and treasurer Béla Simovits had died in the meantime, so they could not hand over the archives and the cash books to the authority. The movable assets of the Pécs Section could not be confiscated.62 The 307 square hectare plot in Mecsek became the property of the National Federation of Hungarian Free Trade Unions.63
SUMMARY
The Hungarian Association of Engineers and Architects lost much of its former importance at the turn of the century, but especially after the end of World War I, as the establishment of new technical associations meant that it was no longer the sole representative of the interests of engineers and architects. Therefore, from the beginning of the 20th century, the Association sought to bring together technical professionals from the countryside into its local sections, thus preventing the establishment of independent local associations. During the Dual Monarchy, 16 regional sections were created, and 4 between the two world wars. The local sections were similar to the Association, but there was only a loose connection between them, as most local members did not hold membership to the parent association. Although the Pécs Section was established in November 1929, which was rather late compared to the other local sections, it was one of the largest and most active local sections of the Hungarian Association of Engineers and Architects in the 1930s. Pécs had a great number of outstanding technicians in the city thanks to the Hungarian State Railways (MÁV) offices and the coal mines of the Danube Steamship Company (DGT). Although the Pécs Section was dominated by engineers, among them even nationally and internationally renowned professionals, architects were also very active in the association’s life, organising lectures, debates and exhibitions. The importance of this professional community in Pécs is also shown by the fact that the Association visited Pécs several times in the framework of a travelling assembly and field trips.
SOURCES
| MNL OL | Magyar Nemzeti Levéltár Országos Levéltára [Hungarian National Archives] |
| MNL BaVL | Magyar Nemzeti Levéltár Baranya Vármegyei Levéltára [Hungarian National Archives Baranya County Archives] |
| FSZEK | Fővárosi Szabó Ervin Könyvtár [Szabó Ervin Library of Budapest] |
| Címtár | Magyarország tiszti cím- és névtára. M. kir. Központi Statisztikai Hivatala, Budapest [Directory of Officers’ Names and Addresses Hungarian Royal Central Statistical Office, Budapest] |
| Évkönyv | A Magyar Mérnök- és Építész-Egylet Évkönyve [Yearbook of the Hungarian Association of Engineers and Architects] |
| MMÉEK | Magyar Mérnök- és Építész-Egylet Közlönye [Journal of the Hungarian Association of Engineers and Architects] |
| MMÉEHÉ | Magyar Mérnök- és Építész-Egylet Heti Értesítője [Hungarian Association of Engineers and Architects Weekly Bulletin] |
Dunántúl [Transdanubia]
Pécsi Figyelő [Pécs Monitor]
Pécsi Napló [Pécs Daily Journal]
MNL OL K 150 Általános Iratok [General documents] 1867–1944. Statutes of the Hungarian Engineers’ Association, 1867.
Ferkai 2003. 135–136.
The 7 branches are: I. Road, Railway and Bridge Engineering, II. Hydraulic Engineering, III. Mechanical, Electrical and Industrial Engineering, IV. Mining and Metallurgy, V. Geodesy, VI. Architecture, VII. Public Architecture.
Throughout the paper, I will consistently use the contemporary term used at the time to include all ‘technicians’ working in the fields of engineering and architecture.
The association was founded in the autumn of 1919, after the Hungarian Soviet Republic, to keep the national idea alive in the engineering community. According to its constitution, the aims of the Association were to build Hungary, and particularly its economy, on nationalism and to guard patriotism and morals of the engineers and architects. MNL BaVL: IV. 1428. 113. The archival collection of the statutes of the associations of the city of Pécs. The statutes of the National Society of Hungarian Engineers and Architects. Budapest, 1920.
This required an amendment to the constitution, which was approved by the Minister of the Interior in 1876. Article 26 of the constitution stipulated that the society would establish “direct links” and closer relations with other associations formed for similar purposes and would support their activities, provided that these groups included in their constitutions that only members who were also members of the Hungarian Association of Engineers and Architects could be elected as officers and members of the electoral committee. They also accept that their constitutions may only be amended with the agreement of the Hungarian Association of Engineers and Architects and that, in the event of their dissolution, their assets will be transferred to the parent association. The Timisoara Section was finally formed in May 1877. MNL OL 150 General Documents 1867–1944. Statutes of the Hungarian Association of Engineers and Architects, 1876; MMÉEK 1877. 10. 397–398.
FSZEK Budapest Collection: B 620/84. The Statutes of the Hungarian Association of Engineers and Architects 1907.
Évkönyv 1934. 147–151.
In 1942, after the 2nd Vienna decision, the Cluj-Napoca Section was reorganised. Évkönyv 1943. 26.
Read more about this topic in Pilkhoffer 2023b.
Károly Raichl was an industrial inspector of the Pécs industrial inspectorate under the Ministry of Trade. Címtár 1907. 240.
Jenő Kvassay played a key role in the organisation of the institution, which was set up in 1879. These skilled engineers were primarily concerned with the preparation of soil improvement plans, and they also took on the related administrative tasks once the Water Law Act of 1886 was entering into force. The latter led to a reorganisation of the institution. As a result of this, the country was divided into eight regional districts of cultivated engineers. In 1895, due to the increasing number of tasks, the offices of the Ministry of Agriculture were reorganised again, bringing the total number of regional offices to twelve. In Pécs, the Office of Cultivated Engineer of District XIV started its operations on 1 August 1898, with jurisdiction over Baranya and Somogy counties. It is possible that the new office also contributed to the formation of the Technicians’ Table. Pallas Nagy Lexikona; Pécsi Figyelő 17 April 1898. 4.
MMÉEHÉ 1909. 44. 446; Pécsi Napló 14 November 1909. 4.
Dunántúl 17 November 1912. 4.
Dunántúl 17 January 1929. 5.
Évkönyv 1934. 152.
MNL BaVL: IV. 1428. 113. Minutes of the Inaugural General Assembly of the Pécs Section of the Hungarian Association of Engineers and Architects.
The Pécs Section of the society, which had more than 60 members, was headed by Aladár Blascheck, Deputy Director of the Mines at the First Danube Steamship Company (DGT), Leó Hejcmann, Superintendent of the Hungarian Railways (MÁV) as the vice-president, and István Vényi, Chief Engineer at DGT, was the second secretary. All were also members of the Hungarian Association of Engineers and Architects.
According to the 1927 Statutes, extraordinary members were to be engaged in technical sciences or practice, but without a higher education degree or equivalent qualification. Temporary members were those who had completed their college education no more than 3 years before joining the association. External members were technical disciplines, but their admission was decided by the Electoral Board. MNL BaVL: IV. 1428. 113. Statutes of the Hungarian Association of Engineers and Architects, 1927. 2–3. 10.
In the case of the Associaton, the same amount was 1,200 Hungarian pengő at the time of admission, 900 pengő after ten years of membership and 300 pengő after 35 years.
MNL BaVL: IV. 1428. 113. Rules of the Pécs Section of the Hungarian Association of Engineers and Architects, 1929. 3–4.
MNL BaVL: IV. 1428. 113. Rules of the Pécs Section of the Hungarian Association of Engineers and Architects, 1929. 5–6.
Only one secretary’s report survives in the archives, the 1935 report.
MMÉEK 1934. 127.
MNL BaVL: IV. 1428. 113. Minutes of the 6th Annual General Meeting of the Hungarian Association of Engineers and Architects, 9 February 1936.
In 1940, the parent association also found it worrying that only 257 of the 1,097 members of the 12 regional sections, i.e. 23% of the local members, were full members of the Association. MMÉEK 1940. 8.
While in most local sections the ordinary and the local members paid the same amount, in Szeged the ordinary members paid 4 pengő, while the local members paid 10 pengő. MNL BaVL: IV. 1428. 113. Minutes of the inaugural general assembly of the Pécs Section of the Hungarian Association of Engineers and Architects.
Évkönyv 1913. 157.
In the case of the Újpest-Rákospalota Section, we only know that there were 71 members, but we have no details about these members.
Bertalan Imre, Czibulka Vilmos, Engel Richárd, Mantuano Jenő, Papp János és Pilch Andor.
MMÉEK 1934. 127.
MMÉEK 1934. 177.
In a study published in Glückauf in 1928, the author recommends a new foundation technique for high-rise buildings in mining areas, which can be used to avoid damage to buildings caused by ground movements. The importance of this article is shown by the fact that Szentkirályi’s paper is the basis for the recommendation of this construction technique in the 6th edition of the Heise-Herbst German textbook on mining, published in 1930. And his article on the construction of free-standing blasting sheds is also reviewed in German and English journals. Pécsi Napló 10 November 1931.
MMÉEK 1934. 127.
MNL BaVL: IV. 1428. 113. Minutes of the 6th Annual General Meeting of the Hungarian Association of Engineers and Architects, 9 February 1936.
I. Architecture, II. Mechanical Engineering, III. Public Administration, IV. Engineering. MMÉEK 1936. 190.
In 1941, the local press reported that Andor Pilch’s widow had donated the house on Apáca Street, which she had inherited from her husband, to an engineering welfare institution. Pécsi Napló 1 November 1941. 3.
For the inauguration ceremony, the members of the Pécs Section also invited the other local departments and organised an excursion and a social gathering with a dinner for their members on the Saturday before the General Assembly. In the afternoon, there was a choice of sightseeing (Zsolnay Museum, Zrínyi Military Academy, Cathedral, Early Christian burial chambers) or a visit to the DGT mines. Perhaps most of all, the community spirit was enhanced by the fact that members of the Pécs Section offered to accommodate guests free of charge in their homes. MMÉEK 1930. 86.
MNL BaVL: IV. 1428. 113. Minutes of the 6th Annual General Meeting of the Hungarian Association of Engineers and Architects. 9 February 1936.
Members of the board in 1930: Almássy István, Beczkay Jenő, Czibulka Vilmos, Engel Richárd, Heicmann Leó, Hidas József, Kamprád Hermann, Kőszeghy Gyula, Makay Gyula, Nagy Elek, Péntek László, Sikorski Zsolnay Miklós. Alternate members: Mantuano Jenő, Rózsahegyi Gyula, Katona János, Oranich Gyula, Hrobács József, Paróczy Vendel. MMÉEK 1931. 222.
The 16-minute film, titled One Day in Pécs, shot in 1939 by ironmonger Antal Hamerli with a 16 mm Kodak camera, is an early example of amateur filmmaking in Hungary, showing the sights and locations of the city as a driving tour for a visitor arriving from the capital for a day. MMÉEK 1942. 14.
Pécsi Napló 3 May 1930. 3.
Pécsi Napló 24 November 1932. 2.
MMÉEK 1931. 232.
MMÉEK 1934. 126.
MMÉEK 1934. 304.
Dunántúl 28 January 1938. 7.
Pécsi Napló 24 January 1931. 5; 25 January 1931. 7; 29 January 1931. 4.
More about the modern achitecture of Pécs: Mendöl 1983; Mendöl 1987; Pilkhoffer 2023a.
Pécsi Napló 3 November 1933. 6.
MMÉEK 1933. 276.
Gyula Gosztonyi presented the contents of the exhibition, István Erdélyi, an engineer, gave a lecture on the thermal insulation of dwellings, László Hoffmann held a presentation about different roof structures, and Gyula Kőszeghy addressed the urban aspects of housing construction.
Pécsi Napló 3 November 1933. 3.
MMÉEK 1936. 75, 229, 255–256.
MMÉEK 1941. 171.
The glazed pyrogranite plaque made in the Zsolnay factory was placed on the wall of the house of the Chamber of Engineering Pilch Andor Memorial Fund at 8 Apáca Street. It was removed during the monument restoration in the 1960s. Romváry 2014. 482.
MNL BaVL: IV. 1428. 113. Report on the activities of the Pécs Section of the Hungarian Association of Engineers and Architects in the year of 1942.
MNL BaVL: IV. 1428. 113. Letter from Zoltán Beke to Dr. Antal Botond, City Secretary, dated 5 December 1946.
The documents of the Pécs Section were never found later. The apartment of Gyula Gosztonyi was destroyed during the operations, and the brother of the secretary did not find anything related to the association among the remaining belongings. Nándor Dulánszky, the utilities councillor, did the same after Béla Simovits’ safe was broken open. MNL BaVL: IV. 1428. 113. Letter from Antal Botond to the Mayor dated 30 December 1946.
MNL BaVL: IV. 1428. 113. 35064/1 – 1947.
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