MaNDAHungarian National Digital Archive

Martfű became famous as the peak of Hungarian shoes, though the Czech born Jan Antonin Baťa was the one who first saw fantasy in the little village by the Tisza. He bought the site of the shoe factory in 1939 and started producing three years later under the name Cikta Inc. After nationalisations, it received the well-sounding name Tisza Shoe Factory National Company and the rest is history. The irony of fate is that besides the shoe factory, Martfű went down in history with the atrocities of a serial killer. This week we are travelling to Martfű.

“He built a hell of a lot of monuments. The next generation will have a hard battle with the committee of monuments if they want to demolish. His main works: the fourth floor of the Museum (what a pity that nobody goes up there), the assembly hall of the Ministry of Interior (nobody is allowed to get in there), and the Basilica of Esztergom in Tisztviselőtelep.” These characterising lines were published in the architect students’ joke paper Megfagyott Muzsikus (frozen musician) about Jenő Kismarty-Lechner. You are going to be introduced into his oeuvre this week.

The name of Komló has merged with coal mining; its heyday was during the 1950s as a socialist industrial city. In fact, mining started in the 18^th century here, but the town got into the limelight when the furnace of Dunaújváros started to be built. Because they found suitable quality coking coal here, after a long search. What was the town like then? Allegedly, three things were never lacking meat, alcohol and hookers. We are dealing with the history of the city and miners’ life this week.