1848‒1849 traumájának felidézése az 1852-es császári utazás során
Re-acting the Trauma of 1848‒1849 during the Imperial Visit of 1852

Summary/Abstract: The evocation of the Hungarian revolution and fight for independence of 1848–1849 was given great emphasis when Austrian emperor (and Hungarian king) Francis Joseph visited Hungary in 1852. The erections of memorials – such as the inauguration of the Heinzi statue –, as well as the visits made to battlefields and fortresses, were a clear indication of the fact that the emperor and the government could not easily liberate themselves from the memory of what had happened a few years before. On the other side of the events emphasized by the imperial program there were as a matter of fact Hungarian successes and losses, to which memorial places and commemorations were likewise connected. The ambivalence caused by the contrasting emotions evoked by the revolution and the consequent events could hardly be dissolved. Indeed, this ambivalence remained a constant trait of the long reign of Francis Joseph. Apparently, the journey of 1852 proved that the new administrative system was a success, as no atrocities took place during the imperial visit. Although the public feeling was far from ideal, it was hoped that this would also change with the passing of time, and the Bach regime would be consolidated in Hungary as well. Yet a successful policy in Hungary was conditional upon at least some gestures of reconciliation. The course of policy advocated by prime minister Felix Schwarzenberg, based on the idea of the greater German unity, counted with the keeping of Hungary within the Empire, and thus aimed at the pacification of the Hungarians as soon as possible. However, no trace of this intention can be found in the imperial representation and propaganda which manifested themselves in the emperor’s journey of 1852.

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