Fresh air, entertainment, green trees and blooming flowers: this is the Public Park of Újszeged. It has been the air of the city since the 19th century. It is the home of rare plants, trees and animals. It is still a main place of entertainment in Szeged. You can get more interesting data if you keep reading.
Did you know?
There have been open air theatrical performances since 1949 in the Park.
The Park was established on a 17 hectares unkempt, bushy field by baron Vilmos Reitzenstein colonel with his Italian soldiers who stationed in the Fortress of Szeged. Alajos Gamperl who was the mayor of Szeged that time gave the order. A baroque bank-system was established. There work took one year. The Park preserved its old construction. By the 1860s, it has become a popular tourist spot and a place for entertainment among local people of Szeged.
Golden age
In 1880, Szeged and Újszeged united for the pleasure of local people. During the great flood in 1879, Újszeged had a big role in receiving and supplying damaged people. After the rebuilding of the city, the Park remained the only green area, so people visited it frequently. Tradesmen, merchants and noble people also had fun in the Park. Famous restaurants and clubs opened one after another. In 1883, a bridge was built in the downtown, in this way the Park became more accessible.
Landscaping and planting of tree were continuous. The Park was famous for its beautiful roses and plants.
In Újszeged, the building of St. Elisabeth Parish Church was initiated by a local person, Márton Paulovits. The inner length of the neogothic Church is 21 m long, its width is 13 m, the height of the tower is 30 m, the building height is 12 m.
From three altars and the pulpit of the demolished Church of Rókus, a new high altar, two side altars and a new pulpit were made. The high altar illustrated St. Elisabeth and the side altar on the right illustrated Virgin Mary. On the left side ,there is the True Cross altar.
The Church which could receive into 500 believers was dedicated on 19th November 1910, on the day of Elisabeth.
(Reference: http://www.ujszegediplebania.hu/index.php?option=com_content&view=articl...)
The sisters of Kalocsa order had an idea to build a cave of Lourdes in Újszeged, which could be a prayer place for the believers and it could be a beautiful decoration of the Park.
On 23th May 1937, Gyula Glattfelder bishop dedicated the cave on the 25th jubilee of his consecration as a bishop. The plan was made by the engineer’s office of Szeged, its builder was Tibor Kövér and its decorating sculptor was Lajos Kulai. The marble Mary statue was made by Antal Tápai. The cave was 11 m and the Mary statue was 190 cm high. There was a small park in front of the cave with a stream which went through the cave to the park. Above it, there was a relief. On the relief, there were two deer who are drinking from the fountain which symbolizes the immortal life. The gardening work was planned by Béla Gulácsy, head gardener of Szeged and he also led the work. At the opening ceremony, there were 30000 people.
During landscaping, the cave-altar which was surrounded by benches and chestnut trees was demolished in 1968, the statue of Virgin Mary was taken to the Church of Újszeged.
Lajos Tisza, the King’s commissioner wanted to take all of the confectioneries and clubs into one place during the re-building of Szeged. In this way, the Public Park of Újszeged was established. In 1883, Vigadó - which was designed by Andor Halmay - and the confectionery were built up. ‘Vigarda’ is a one-storied frame house, its furnishing meets every requirements. It has a beautiful tower, a big ballroom, a large drinking room, two dressing rooms, two dining rooms, a kitchen and some other small rooms.
There were always problems with the renting and the profitability of Vigadó. The tenants were changing continuously. During the cholera epidemic in 1886, the building was used as a hospital, which scared away the public. The golden age of Vigadó was in the 19th century. It was decided to demolish Vigadó and the Cave of Lourdes in 1968 when the Park was arranged.
In 1881, there was an international call for proposal for the planning of the road bridge. According to public, Lajos Tisza could cross the wood bridge just slowly and with a lot a waiting when he came from his accommodation of Újszeged to the inner city. This is why, he urged the building of a permanent bridge.
Only those could take part in the application, who also could tackled the building of the bridge. This is the reason why, János Feketeházy, the talented engineer gave his plan to the famous French Gustav Eiffel company. The plan won so Feketeházy’s plan could build up under the name of Eiffel.
The bridge was 401 m long, its width was 11 m with a 7 m wide road and two 2 m wide pavements. The architectural part of the bridge was planned by Albert Schikedanz. The bridge was opened to traffic on 16th September 1883. German soldiers blew the bridge up during World War II, on 9th October 1944.
Natural values of the Public Park of Újszeged
Old English oaks and plane-trees have been the lungs of the city for more than 100 years. Beside old trees, there are a lot of bird species (40 protected nesting bird species) and insects (the great capricorn beetle can be found only here in the county) in the park.
You can find the list of the flora and avifauna on the following website:
Resources:
Bátyai Gitta: Az újszegedi liget. Szeged, 1988
Bátyai Gitta: Újszegedi mozaikok. Szeged, 2002
Csongrád megye építészeti emlékei. Szeged, 2000
Péter László: Szeged utcanevei. Szeged, 1974
http://www.szegedvaros.hu/ertektar/7683-qujszegedi-nepligetq.html
http://www.ujszeged.hu/?page=liget
http://www.sk-szeged.hu/statikus_html/kiallitas/kiralylatogatas/index.html
