Oberungarn (Slowakei) in den Wiener Vormärz-Zeitschriften

The present volume draws heavily on the comparative methodology of the previous volumes of the series "References to Slavic cultures during the Vormärz Period in Viennese Periodicals and Almanacs" ("Russia in Viennese Vormärz Periodicals and Almanacs" /Vienna 1990, 1998/; "Poles and Ruthenians in Viennese Vormärz Periodicals and Almanacs" /Vienna 1992/; "The South Slavs in Viennese Vormärz Periodicals and Almanacs" /Vienna 1994/). As in these previous volumes the references on Upper Hungary, as the Slovak territories were called during that time, were arranged in the form of a critical inventory, according to the topics Literature and Writing - Linguistics, - Philosophy, Esthetics, Rhetoric - History - Educational Institutions - The Arts - Religion - The Legal System - Geography - Political Economy - Natural Sciences and Mathematics. As in the referenced volumes, the work is more than a list of articles and information concerning the various areas; where appropriate quotes were included. As a result of this it can be used as a combination reader, a reference work, workbook and collection of sources. The Slovak territories were part of the Hungarian Kingdom within the Habsburg Monarchy without any form of autonomous status. For administrative purposes the language used was up to 1842 Latin. The modern Slovak language was in the state of nascence. The Czech language was still in use for books especially by Protestant writers. Minority groups living in the counties of Upper Hungary spoke German, Hungarian, Ruthenian (Ukraine), Romanian, Jiddish or Gipsy dialects; considerable pressure regarding the increase of German influence came from Vienna respectively of Hungarian influence from Buda-Pest. The present study pays attention to books reviewed in Viennese periodicals which were published in Preßburg (Pozsony) and in other publishing houses on Upper Hungarian territories which show the co-existence of these various languages in as far as they were used not only as vernacular. At the beginning of the 19th century Viennese periodicals took much interest in news items concerning the Protestant school system which was well established in the Slovak territories. Viennese taste dominated theater and music in Preßburg (Pozsony) which can be studied in detail as the continuous references on theatrical and musical live were collected which were delivered by correspondents esp. for the famous "Theaterzeitung". Reports on fires, flooding even famine remind us of the miserable situation of the peasant population and townspeople which got even worse in the Forties of the 19th century. The present study is first of all a collection of new source for the history and culture of Slovakia and Hungary, for the fields of Czech, Austrian/German, Late Latin literary history and the history of books and print, for the history of the influence of Viennese theater and musical live; and it provides us with new insights explaining political conflicts in the past and prejudiced attitudes in the present. Cultural relations between Vienna and Upper Hungary are being brought to light.