Az esztergomi főszolgabíró az 1852-es császári utazás viharában
The noble judge of Esztergom in the storms of the 1852 imperial journey

Summary/Abstract: In line with the reorganization of the Hapsburg Empire, Franz Joseph paid a visit to the Crown Lands during the firs years of his reign. The imperial visit of 1850–1852 permitted him to introduce himself, to build his “imperial image” and at the same time to survey the state of the territories under his rule and the moods of his nations. He came to Hungary – to be more precise, to Hungary, to the Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temesvár and to Transylvania – in 1852. Both the emperor and his subjects still had vivid memories about the events of the 1848–1849 revolution and war of independence, which affected both the way the imperial journey was organized and received. The Vienna Court intended to avoid at all costs that the reception festivities organized for the emperor seem forced, however, in many cases it was suspected that it was only due to the pressure exerted by local civil servants and the gendarmerie that residents showed up in large numbers to greet the emperor. A file surviving in archival sources testifies that the county prefect and the noble judge of Esztergom were proceeded against on the suspicion of aggressive and despotic measures. The proceedings outlined during the inquiry, the measures taken, the other causes discovered by the commission and the conflicts between the members show the difficulties in the civil servants’ tasks and the clashes between civil and law enforcement servants resulting from the unclear boundaries between their competencies. On the whole, the imperial visit did not reach the desired result. Despite the zeal of loyal civil servants the consolidation of absolutist monarchy was unsuccesful.

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