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VICTOR NEUMANN was inclined to obey the political rules, when they were not absurd. Generally, the inter-human relations and the respect given to the city prevented the population from seeking extreme ideologies."" THE EUROPEAN IMAGE OF THE CITY The development of all types of associations had been a convincing sign that the society was interested in the technical, scientific, cultural and sporting areas, without being attracted to ephemeral political ideas. An instinct for emancipation and openness allowed for the existence of 1,469 cultural institutions in Temeswar in the year 1891. The liberal professions of lawyers and doctors were very sought after and appreciated. For example, in the year 1900, there were 60 lawyers and 41 medical doctors. Most of them were graduates from the Universities of Budapest, Vienna and Graz. The number of scientific, cultural and sporting associations was 41, with 4,183 members; in the city there were also 31 humanitarian associations, having 6,806 members, small associations of craftsmen and agricultural associations with 5,286 members, cultural foundations with a budget of a quarter million guldens, and institutions that promoted the theatrical arts. The History and Archeology Museum Association was founded in the year 1885 by merging two other associations, having 172 members, among who were five honorary members and 67 founding members.’ An exceptional role in the mentioned association was played by Zsigmond Ormos, a first rank personality of the city, prefect of Temes County. He laid the foundations of the Temeswar and Banat Museum with his historical, archaeological, local and universal art collections. An example of an association reflecting important political and civic matters was the South Hungarian Association of Natural Sciences, led by Professor Franz Rieß. At its 25 year anniversary, Temeswarer Zeitung mentioned its virtues. The association was founded on 25th of March, 1874, from an idea of the public high school. Among its founders there were some notorious figures of the time: Julius Szalkay, Ludwig Buko, Michael Kriesch, 16 Ethno-nationalism was present within the region, especially among very poor social segments, which benefited later and too little from emancipation and modernization. A type of ethno-nationalism was manifested by certain Banatian intellectuals, who had entered recently into contact with the urban environment. See in this sense, Victor Neumann: Federalism and Nationalism in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy: Aurel C. Popovici’s Theory in East European Politics and Societies, 16, 2002, 864—898; Victor Neumann: Ecoul pogromului de la Iasi in presa din Banat, in G. Voicu (ed.): Pogromul de la Iasi 28-30 iunie 1941, and Prologul Holocaustului din Romänia, lasi, Polirom Publishing House, 2006, 205213. # Josef Geml: Kulturelle Verhältnisse Temesvars, Temeswarer Zeitung, No. 35, 1900, 6-7. * 166
