The Age of Urbanization

Still, the Revolution created civic equality and fundaments for economic changes: the district was abolished, villeins became farmers and Kanizsa slowly regained its smal-town features. Near the town, close to Adorjan a new settlement was formed: Kishegyes that was later (1904) renamed to Oromhegyes while on the south-west side disperesed farms started to grow. After the Reconciliation (1867) the progress was rapid: by the end of the eighties Kanizsa had twice as much houses as in 1848 and was connected by railroad to the neighbouring Zenta and Szeged and also to other parts of the country and the world. From its own funds, the municipality finished the construction of the river damn (1856), drainaged and embanked Nagyret (Large Meadow), then, together with other districts, bought off from the state the public meadows in 1870. The meadows were not divided among the farmers, they could only rent it, and the income from the rent was used to cover the ever raising public charges.

In the meantime, the settlement developed to the west on the right bank the Koros creek near Nagyret, on the so called "Topart", beside Gyekenyto, following the highest peak line of the natural configuration. Four town qaurters were created so that were called "tenths": Koros-tenth, Topart-tenth , Market-tenth (the center of the settlement between the two - Roman Catholic and Orthodox - churches) and the so called "Part" (Bank) that was once the place of the Kanjiza fortification. In the area between the bank of Koros and Topart there were vineyards and gardens and in 1850 some 60 houses were build and this number became three times greater in the next 35 years, so this part of the town became the fifth quarter that was called "Ujvaros" (New Town), though this name disappeared very soon.

The widening, muddy inlet of the Koros creek was hampering the development of the town to the north. Beyond this territory there were vineyards. The Koros inlet was crossed by the road to Martonos, so in the sixties an embankment and a bridge were built there. On the south side of the bridge a monument to St. John was built in 1866. In the seventies, rapid construction started along the road to Martonos, beyond the Koros creek that resulted in the sixth quarter of the town, called "Falu" (Village), where the Tisa haven was established in 1872.

Horgos followed the development of the neighbouring Kanizsa, especially in the second half of the 19th century: a railway-station was opened there on the Szeged - Fiume railroad in 1863. In the region, after the Valkany stop on the Szeged - Temesvar railroad, this was the closest railway station. This railroad brought Horgos closer to Szeged and Subotica, not to Kanjiza. What else, even by its administration Horgos belonged to Szeged, more precisely to Csongrad County, as the competent court, tax office and land register were also there. At the time of renewed settlement in 1772 the structure of the settlement was conceived and planned by the precision of an engineer owing to the care of Miklos Karasz, who was in charge of implementing the arrangement. The plan with wide streets and enormous yards was destroyed by the innovations and renewed settlings in the 20th century. The arrangement of Horgos as well as the composition of inhabitants were more favourable than in Kanjiza; at the turn of the century five seventh of the population lived in Horgos and only two-seventh in the surrounding farmsteads: Budzsak, Kishomok, Kiralyhalom, Ottomos, Buzoganypuszta, Tiszaszentpeter and Korosoldal.

Martonos, similarly to Kanizsa, was part of the same county until 1848, than in 1870 bought off the public pastures - like many other municipalities - and became a municipality in the Upper Tisa District of Bacs-Bodrog County having Zenta for its capital. So, Martonos ( together with Kanjiza in the beginnings) was part of the Zenta District for more than a hundred years.

The geographical location of the settlement had been quite favourable during the Turkish invasion (was not on the way of invaders), still in later times - in the 19th century - it was disadvantageous, as it was a good while away from the Zenta-Szeged road (1882) and railroad-branch was also far away from the center of the settlement (1889). So, Martonos remained an "island" that was refelected in the number of its population as well: in 1860 it was 4955 while in 1890 it was merely 3725. Most of the population was engaged in agriculture and husbandry and is still today. The settlement could not take part in the trade actively, so on its west border - where the conditions for such an activity were much better- a new settlement was formed in the 20th century and its name: Kispiac (Small Market) significantly illustrates its role.

By the end of the 19th century, between Szeged and Zenta, Kanizsa came into the forefront of progress:the number of inhabitants grew slowly but withouth considerable fluctuation while economy was progressing based on local natural conditions. The number of inhabitants in 1850 was 9407, in 1857 11.074, in 1880: 13.689, in 1890: 15.494 and in 1900 is was 16.532 whereas 16.057 were Hungarians, 398 Serbs. 67 German and 10 other by nationality.

At the turn of the century, the Municipality had 35.819 cadastral yoke (acre) of lands whereas 20.615 acres were plough-land and 9.289 acres public pastures. The notion "public pasture" included reeds, lakes, barren lands, roads and other waste lands, so in fact the public property was 15.266 acres.

In 1904 the Municipality takes the name "Magyarkanizsa" (Hungarian Kanizsa) that had been used since 1774 and legalized in 1848 keeping this name even in 1908, when the town was awarded an "regular council " until 1920. In the year of 1908, when Kanjizsa was declared a town it also got a coat of arms: in a cornered escutcheon on green filed stands a Hungarian "huszar" (cavalryman) , in his right hand is a lifted sword and in the left is a coulter lent against the field while above the shield is a crown. The incomes from the public pasture rents were so abundant at that time, that the Municipality could cover all the expenditures for administration, public utilities, health-care and education.

At the beginning of the 20th century the economy of the town was featured by relatively developed processing craftmanship, several manufactures and mechanized mill and construction material industry. The number of craftsmen, - associated in corporation in 1886, - reached 210-300 by 1940. Ever since the 18th century, mill industry was presented in Kanizsa by numerous water-, wind- and other mills and there were times in the early 19th century, when there were more than 30 mills working on the Tisa. Later that century these water and land mills were replaced by steam- and mechanized mills (grinders) owned by capitalist entreprennuers.

The soil around Kanjiiza was a rich loess, yellow soil that was used for brick-backing as early as the 18th century. There were brick-makers and - manufactures even in the 19th century, but the first mechanized brick-works started in 1903, when an ambitious entreprenuer from Kanizsa, Hermann Grunfeld, established the first steam-brick and tile factory joint stock company. This started the industrial-economic activity that is still the most outstanding in Kanizsa: the construction material industry.

Kanizsa took part in trade only as a center of a smaller region: it attracted Martonos, the region of farms and Torokkanizsa on the other bank of the river with a considerably developed trade in cereals and animals. Especially after 1886, Torokkanizsa included in the Kanizsa trade region when the people of Kanizsa erected the pontoon bridge bought from the Szeged Municipality. The trade in merchandises gradually grew during fairs and markets resulting at the end of the century the appearance of colonial-ware, wood-, textile- and metal shops and groceries.

Economic growth was supported by loan institutes. The first of such undertaking was the Torok- and Okanizsa Savings Bank established in 1869. It was followed by the Okanizsa Self-supporting Coop in 1884. Yet, the possibilities of loan were limited as in agriculture mechanisation meant threshing and the process industry was represented by a few number of smaller mills. The birck- and tile making, the sawmills (that based their work on wood coming from Martonos) required a greater number of workers only during the summer. The surplus in agrarian population could not be engaged in the industry: part of them "dragged on" in other region ( the navvy from Kanizsa were famous for their capacity), still some other migrated to the New World, to north and south America at the turn of the century.

In the social life of the town the landowners, the intellectuals /few in number/ and the wealthy entrepreuers, merchants, craftsmen played a leading role in the second half of the 19th century. Their representatives were delegated to the municipal assembly on the right of virility (paying the highest taxes) and they had a decisive influence on the local organisations of political parties and local community associations. The Association of Landowners (Gazdakor) was a meeting place for landowners, the Casino was the place of intellectuals while the craftsmen gathered in the Carftsmen Club (Ipartestulet). This nation-, race- and confession-based social stratification resulted in interesting diversity: there were religious schools, national assosiations for books, trade unions, associations for young girls and boys, and fire brigades. The first association of actors was founded in 1845, the fire brigade in 1889 and the trade union of land workers in 1897. The end of the century was also the time when a number of local newspapers appeared in the town, and when in 1895 in the People's Park (Nepkert) the Great Terrace restaurant was built for the rich, and the House of Poor for the poor .

In the early 20th century Kanjiza regained the status of town with regular council and was awarded again the coat-of-arms in 1908. This period is marked by the construction of the Town Hall (1911) that is still used as the headquaters of the municipal leaders and the building of St. Paul's Church ( 1912) . A water with healing effects was found close to the town and very soon in the People's Park a spa was build (1913) that has grown into a health and recreation center by now. The landowner, Jozsef Toth built a church surrounded by a village on his land in 1905 and it was named after him: TOTHFALU (the Village of Toth). The progress was hampered by the world war when about 500 people from Kanizsa were killed, and after the Trianon Peace Treaty, the town finds itself in a new country: Yugoslavia.

Dobos János mgr.