Kölesd Summary
Kölesd
Summary
Summary
The former borough lies on the border of two separate geographical regions in Tolna county between the Hegyhát and the Mezőföld, on the right bank of river Sió. The erosion formed valleys of the hilly Hegyhát approach the village from all directions. On the opposite side, the wide marsh along the Sió-Sárvíz is just a narrow belt here, offering a convenient possibility for crossing. These geographical facts made the region an attractive destination for those who wished to settle. Finds from the Bronze Age suggest that the area used to be populated by a significant number of long staying settlers before. Lime-lined dishes were found in the inner area of the settlement and on the Csont hill. Although we obviously cannot talk about continuity, later finds represent nearly all historic layers of the Carpathian basin.
After the settlement of the Hungarians, the valley of Sárvíz turned into a Pecheneg area. The name of Kölesd first came up in written sources in the XIII century. According to our scarce data, it was owned by the Apar dynasty in the XIV century, the Szerecseny family in the XV century, and also temporarily by Ozorai Pipo. Its significance is highlighted by the fact that it hosted different gatherings of the county on numerous occasions, and in 1490, this was the place where the troops of János Korvin and Pál Kinizsi had their fight over the throne.
The peaceful development that lasted for several centuries was halted by the Turkish invasion in the XVI century. The Sultan took Tolna county and Kölesd with it into his possession in the first half of the 1540-ies. After the troops marched away, a relatively peaceful period came, during which the population of the corn and wine producing settlement grew even further. As a result of the burdens of double taxation, and the renewed fights at the end of the century, however, the village became depopulated by the XVII century. Although, at the beginning of the 1700-ies, following the liberating war, it could have some Serbian inhabitants, the new settlement came only after the Rákóczi War of Independence, with one of its victorious battles fought near Kölesd. The new landlord, count Mercy settled German Lutherans to live next to the Hungarian Protestants and Lutherans, which added to the linguistic and religious versatility of the settlement promoted to the rank of a borough. After the initial difficulties, the population, and the animals kept, as well as the area of cultivated land started to grow quickly. Parallel to this, the landlord kept increasing the rent specified in the settlement contract. The obligation to cater for and provide accommodation for the soldiers who frequented the settlement further increased the burdens imposed on the serfs. All this gave rise to protesting strikes in the circle of taxpayers in 1766, similarly to other villages in Tolna county, and other regions in Transdanubia.
The movements of the peasants made the monarch, Maria Theresa fix the serfs’ lands and the related encumbrances in writing. The peasants of Kölesd in agreement with the landlord, worried about the increased burdens imposed by the state, kept more than half of the land used by them in secret. The long term consequences of this step were severe: thus, it became possible for the new landlord, count Apponyi to take away part of the peasants’ land, which they were compelled to redeem from their own sources after 1848.
Although the borough almost became the capital of the county, and in 1818 progressed to become the centre of the estate, the growth of the economy, and the population slowed down after the last third of the XVIII century, and Kölesd did not become one of the most significant settlements of the county. The growth of agricultural production was limited. More and more people remained without land, and were compelled to earn a living as farm-labourers, hired men, and sharecroppers on the neighbouring pusztas. The few craftsmen could only found local guilds at the beginning of the XIX century, and its trade and fair turnover also lagged behind those of the rival Högyész and Gyönk, thus, in the second half of the century, it was not even considered as a possible chief town of the district. The reaction of the population to the situation was a drop in settlements, and births.
The Order of Tolerance by Joseph II. liberated the rival Protestant denominations from the patronage of the Catholic Church. The Lutherans took the opportunity to become separated from Kistormás, and founded an independent parish. However, the life of the borough was still dominated by the Protestants. The religious versatility was further increased by the influx of Roman Catholics and Israelites. Those of German origin merged with the Hungarians as early as in the first half of the XIX century, which added to the creation of a local society of different elements but with a uniform facet. It distinguished itself both from the Germans living in the villages of the Hegyhát and the world of the serfs in the Puszta.
The revolution in 1848 liberated the serfs of the borough from the rule of the landlord and the burdens that went with it. The people of Kölesd were ready for sacrifice in order to protect their achievements. The population sent 148 national guards and soldiers to the army fighting for freedom. Although evolving bourgeois civilisation did not hold out promises of a turnaround in the development of the settlement, the local people tried to do their best to keep up with the speed of changes. Though, with the restructuring of public administration, the settlement was deprived of its proud rank of a borough, and became a large village, but could have an independent administration by way of its council and general assembly.
The local management stewarded their scarce funds well. During the period of the dualism, a post-office, a pharmacy, a public slaughter house were established, the three major congregations received a new school, and even the village hall was rebuilt. The functions of a district doctor and an assistant notary were established, and midwives were replaced by skilled obstetrix. Part of the costs could be raised by renting out the increasing assets of the settlement. It purchased a large restaurant to stand next to the mill on the stream at the end of the XIX century, and also acquired the right of organising fairs.
In spite of the fact that the I World War required lots of victims, and caused many trials in the population, it did not basically divert the direction of development. Modern machines appeared in the wealthy and still growing peasants’ fields, they started to use artificial fertiliser, pork-swine, and cold-blooded horses. The handicraft industry, which had been stagnating according to the financial ratios, was transformed, and new trades, like electric fitters and mechanics came to replace the disappearing bootmakers and weavers. People’s everyday life was also changing. Pavements, roads were built, electricity was introduced into the village, the radio became wide-spread, the cinema, and the football pitch appeared, and the roofs of houses were covered with tiles instead of the thatched roofs. The younger generation changed its garments, and instead of the traditional folk clothes, they started to wear modern civilian clothes.
The II World War and its aftermath turned the gradually transforming life of the village upside down. Jews deported to Auswitz, many soldiers and civilians dragged to the Soviet Union to work were among the victims. An attempt to change the communist society, did away with the peasant society, and economy of several centuries, and forced the people to enter the co-operative. Local factories fell victim to the concentration of the industry. The people in order to earn a living either had to commute or settle in towns, while the population of the village dropped drastically in numbers and got changed. At the same time, a new school was built, the road network was developing, and progress was made in introducing public utility services in tenant houses. This was the controversial inheritance that the citizens of the village possessed when they started their new life in 1990 after the change of the political and economic system. Their chances only had faint outlines.
