Oldal 533 [533]
OCR
532 « Az udvar vonzäsaban and the Hungarian government elite. Although the last section (“Scenes of Life and Death”) is shorter than the previous two thematic units, nevertheless the examined areas are fundamental to the process of integration. First, housing conditions in Vienna, then the residence of the Hungarian nobility in the imperial city was analyzed using their birth, marriage and death records. Thus, in this volume, I have attempted to follow up the process of integration on the basis of a thematic rather than a chronological order. Also I have tried to reflect on the differences between the reigns of the two monarchs, Charles VI and Maria Theresa. The monograph omits the world of court ceremonies and only touches on the representational history of the various themes, which will be dealt with in a later volume. In the appendix to the monograph, I have provided a series of data which may be useful for further research. The integration of the Hungarian aristocracy and the Hungarian political elite at court was in the interest of both the Habsburg government and the aristocratic families. The ruling dynasty was motivated by the need to win and retain the loyalty of magnates in a strong position of power to achieve long-term consolidation and political stability. The obvious means of achieving this goal was to strengthen the integration, court presence and prestige of the Hungarian elite in Vienna. The aristocratic families were also interested in consolidating and developing their position in the imperial capital, since an active presence in the Habsburg residence city not only increased their representation but also their political influence and career prospects, and regular residence in Vienna provided them the opportunity to build contacts with the leading aristocratic families of the Habsburg Monarchy. In the first decades of the 18 century, members of the western Hungarian aristocratic elite, such as the Esterhäzys or the Pälffys, who had excellent Viennese connections for several generations, were represented in the imperial city most actively, and their presence at court remained dominant throughout the period under study. Alongside them, however, a new noble ruling class gradually emerged, including Antal Brunszvik (1709-1780), György Fekete (1711-1788), Päl Festetics (1722-1782), Ferenc Koller (1720-1780), Janos Ferenc Péterffy (ca. 1651-1731) and György Szäraz (11732), whose rise to power was largely due to the careers offered by the Viennese government. During the Theresian period an increasingly heterogeneous composition of the nobility was represented in the imperial city, the dominance of those from the Lower and Western Hungarian regions remained in place, but there was also a positive shift in the presence of the Upper and Eastern Hungarian and Transylvanian landowners in Vienna too. During the reign of Maria Theresa, the offices offered by the Transylvanian Court Chancellery became an increasingly attractive career goal for Transylvanian nobles, and there
