{3-603.} 3. URBAN SOCIETY

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The evolution of Transylvania's towns mirrors the great social changes that occurred in this period. There was a certain symbolism in the fact that the last section of Kolozsvár's city wall was torn down in 1872, the same year that the ancient craft guilds were abolished by law. Apart from Brassó, Transylvania's small, somnolent towns began to expand rapidly, as was noted above in the demographic analysis. Obscure localities grew into industrial and mining towns, while previously noteworthy towns stagnated or declined into insignificance. The ascendancy of industry, and of the new working class that went with it, brought greater variety to the pattern of settlement; as did the development of civil administration and cultural institutions. The growing middle class generated new construction, thus altering the appearance of Transylvania's towns, which came to resemble the monarchy's cities. Towns in lowland areas generally retained a low architectural profile. Multi-storey houses became more common in the Saxon region but in Kolozsvár, even the new dwellings of the bourgeoisie had no more than two storeys. Only government and bank buildings, designed in characteristic end-of-century style, had a higher elevation.

In 1867, on average, a quarter of the townspeople made their living from agriculture, and barely 10–20 percent from industry and commerce; only in Saxon towns was the proportion of the latter as high as 30 percent. By 1910, the proportion of townspeople engaged in industry and commerce had risen to over 40 percent in Brassó and Kolozsvár (as well as at Resica, Nagyvárad, Szatmárnémeti, and Nagybánya, towns just beyond Transylvania's boundary). In Nagyenyed, Sepsiszentgyörgy, and Déva, the proportion hovered between 30 and 40 percent, and in no Transylvanian town {3-604.} was it lower than 30 percent; this pattern was similar to that in Transdanubia. The overall level of urbanization remained below the average for Hungary as a whole; similarly, the cities located at the so-called market-line (at the junction of the mountains and the Great Plain) — Arad, Temesvár, and Nagyvárad — were developing rapidly, but well below the pace set by Budapest. The modernization process was incremental and uneven. The first water mains were constructed in 1887 at Kolozsvár, and in 1894 at Brassó; in the early 1900s, many towns still relied on public wells. Only Kolozsvár and Marosvásárhely had extensive sewage-disposal systems. In Kolozsvár, kerosene streetlights were replaced in 1871 by gaslights, but many other towns, including Nagyszeben, continued to rely on kerosene lighting. Electric lighting was introduced at Temesvár in 1884, then at Marosvásárhely (where power was generated by a sawmill) and, in 1896, at Nagyszeben. By 1908, fourteen towns had electricity, generated either by a public power station, the Ganz Electric Company, or small private contractors. Local transport consisted mainly of taxis, although an urban steam-train was in service for a longer period in both Brassó and Kolozsvár; in Nagyszeben, trolley buses made a brief appearance in 1904, only to be replaced by conventional electric trams the following year.

The quality and range of health services improved. By the end of the century, effective measures were taken to prevent epidemics. A rudimentary ambulance service was introduced. Most towns had a state or municipal hospital, and there were a few privately-run clinics. A health insurance scheme, introduced in 1891 and improved in 1907, facilitated better medical care for the suburban working classes. Finally, a large number of workhouses, sponsored by more affluent citizens, offered an orderly refuge for social outcasts; they helped to keep the latter out of the public eye, and salved the conscience of the bourgeoisie.

The urban way of life included theatres, wide-circulation newspapers, casinos [gentlemen's clubs], and various associations {3-605.} of an economic, literary, cultural, political, and sporting nature. Many towns had theatrical companies, or at least performance halls; the biggest of these, Kolozsvár's National Theatre, was built in 1904. Motion pictures became popular at the turn of the century. Short films were shown in Gyulafehérvár, Kézdivásárhely, and Balázsfalva in 1898, and a year later in Kolozsvár. The first permanent cinema was opened in 1901 at Brassó, and by 1907 Kolozsvár had two of them. In 1914, there were at least 23 urban movie theatres in Transylvania. (Although the Wesselényi College at Zilah had its own movie projector, students were commonly forbidden to frequent cinemas.) In 1907, for the first time in Kolozsvár, street scenes were filmed; the first documentary was produced in 1907. In the early years of cinema, Budapest was heavily influenced by the multiplicity and themes of French films. Thus, almost by default, Transylvania became the cradle of a more Hungarian-oriented film industry. At Kolozsvár, Hungarian plays were adapted for the screen from 1913 onwards, and popular works of Hungarian fiction from 1914; the burgeoning industry's products were widely distributed. The productions employed actors recruited locally or from the capital, and among the directors, at least two — Mihály Kertész (Michael Curtiz) and Sándor Korda (Alexander Korda) — became leading figures in the international film industry.