CONTENT

VILMOS BRENNER: "HE WAS ONLY A FAITHFUL SERVANTOF HIS CROWNED MASTER"
(The Life and Activity at Szombathely of Colonel Antal Lehár)

------------------------------------Colonel Antal Lehár (the younger brother of the world-famous composer) was a brave soldier in the First World War, remaining faithful to his principles even in the chaos after the finish of the War. During the Hungarian Soviet Republic, he commanded the officer corps lying at Feldbach in Austria and he marched in to Budapest together with Horthy. The two return attempts of Károly the IV took place during his command at Szombathely (1919-1921) After these, Lehár had to escape and he never returned to Hungary.

LÁSZLÓ GÖNCZ: MURA REGION, 1919
(The Period of Proletariat Dictatorship Along the Mura River and the Detachment of the Region)

---------------------The study deals with the parts along Mura River in Vas and Zala Counties. This strip of area has been connected to the South Slavonian state according to the Trianon Peace Treaty. During the Hungarian Soviet Republic, in 1919, the area was characterised by chaos. At Alsólendva, an anticommunist movement commenced and terminated. At Muraszombat, the so-called Mura Republic has been "established" which reflects the absurdity of the situation. The study uncovers according to original researches some events unknown yet.
The second part deals with the details of the Mura region's detachment. A significant majority of the non-Hungarian population wanted to remain within the borders of Hungary. The detachment of the about 30 settlements with pure Hungarian population could have been avoided in more favourable conditions. According to the author's opinion, the detachment of the Mura Region from Hungary has been decided on the Peace Conference without any proper argument.

PÉTER TÓTH: A FORGOTTEN ACADEMICIAN IN THE WESTERN TRANSDANUBIA
Contribution to the Career Picture of László Vass (1780-1842)

---------------------László Vass, coming from Zala County is tied with many threads to the school affairs of Szombathely and to the city's cultural history. He continued his studies at Szombathely then he became a teacher of the seminary. He maintained a vivid relation with his colleagues and students even when he was called to the University of Pest. He provided assistance for several friends of him as a fellow-worker and editor of the paper "Tudományos Gyűjtemény" (Scientific Collection).
He also undertook the work within the "Magyar Tudós Társaság" (Hungarian Scientific Association). During his trips to Western Europe he visited the significant private collections and public libraries and searched for Hungarianrelated books and manuscripts.
The resource publication - after a short historical overview - informs about the autograph career picture of László Vass, his publication list, some of his letters and his academic manuscript.

LAJOS SYLVESTER: IS JÁNOS SYLVESTER OUR "ADOPTED" OR REAL ANCESTOR?

---------------------The author lives at Sepsiszentgyörgy, in Transylvania and is an intellectual descendant of an ancient noble Székely family. In his family is a living tradition to reckon among the ancestors János Sylvester Erdősi, the great Hungarian preacher. (Sylvester, who lived in the first part of the 16^th century at Sárvár, was a scientist of the Hungarian language, the first translator of the New Testament and the publisher of the same). Lajos Sylvester relates about the genealogy of the Sylvester family at Alsócsernáton which does not certify with full confidence the descendence from János Sylvester. However, the consciousness regarding this ancestry means for a long time the pretension of the high intellectual standard within the family.

JUDIT MOLNÁR: THE PETŐFI-CULT AT OSTFFYASSZONYFA

---------------------The cults in literature can be determined as secularised religious phenomena, which - just like the worship of the saints - manifest themselves in the face of respect and admiration of prominent writers and poets. Sándor Petőfi is one of the most prominent and most renowned personalities of the Hungarian literature. His cult is alive at several localities, for example at Ostffyasszonyfa, in Vas County. The poet spent the summer of 1839 there. The village folk still remembers the stories and legends related to him and is still guarding some souvenirs attributed to him. The presence of the cult is unanimously demonstrable, the present paper presents the manifestation forms.

ISTVÁN SZILÁGYI: THE CHRISTIANITY OF THE GOOD FRIDAY WASHING

---------------------The Good Friday early morning washing is a well-known popular custom in the Carpathian basin. This is explained mainly by practical reasons, however, the reasons also include that the Good Friday early morning washing has been introduced because when Jesus was brought to Jerusalem - before its capture - Jesus was thrown into the river Cedron or he was dragged through it.
The Eastern European adaptation of the story - and its widespread - has been carried out on the areas influenced by the German culture by the means of devoutness of the so-called Seven Falls. This also was included into the Way of Arrest and the Way of Galilee. Therefore, several Ways of the Cross take it as a station the Cedron scene abroad. The remembrances can be found in Hungary after the freeing from the Turk Conquest. Later, this station disappears. The popular custom already separated from the Way of the Cross, knows the water as Gold Water, Raven Water, Wordless Water. Regarding the washing custom, the people are preying in the open air for the memory of those happened on the Mount of Olives and the first station after the Arrest.

ISTVÁN HERÉNYI: BULCSU HORKA

---------------------Bulcsu - the Hungarian leader possessing the "horka" rank was perhaps the greatest commander and eminent diplomat in the 10^th-century Europe. The study relates about his origin, name, relatives, estates as well as his - predominantly successful - campaigns during which he reached Hispania and his diplomatic activity and death. The summer residence of the Bulcsu clan has been found by Istvány Herényi, near the ancient ruin city, Savaria (today: Szombathely). Among others, the name of Bucsu settlement is still keeping the memory of this.
After the paper of István Herényi, the commentary by József Dénes follows in which the author acknowledging the values of the picture of Bucsu drafted by Herényi, still questions several conclusions.

KÁLMÁN SZÉLL: HISTORICAL STATIONS, MILESTONES

---------------------The head physician, teacher, locality historian author is a prominent actor of the public life. This time he publishes two of his speeches. The speeches deserve the attention of the reader because of their locality history and moral content. The first one has been addressed after the system changeover (1990), at the establishment of the Szombathely Local Government while the second one at the decennial anniversary of the same. At this second speech he fulfilled the senior presidency of the first representative body.