ACTA CARSOLOGICA XXVI/2 22 249-255 LJUBLJANA 1997 PUBLISHED IN 1796.. IZŠLO V LETU 1796. KINGA SZEKELY Izvleček UDK 551.44(439)(091) Kinga Szekely: Izšlo v letu 1796... 1796 so izšle tri knjige v madžarskem jeziku, s pomembnimi podatki o jamah. Pred tem je bilo omenjenih le nekaj jam v latinsko ah nemško pisanih dokumentih. 1796 je Valyi izdal prvi del "Opisa Madžarske" in prevod Korabinskijeve "Geografske enciklopedije" (1786). Istega leta je izšel Telekijev popotni dnevnik, s prvo upodobitvijo 2 jam na Madžarskem. Tudi Szallerjeva "Geografija Madžarske" vsebuje opise jam. Ključne besede: zgodovina speleologije, Madžarska, Slovaška, Romunija, Korabinsky, Szaller, Teleki, Valyi. Abstract UDC 551.44(439)(091) Kinga Szekely: Published in 1796... Three books containing information on caves, written in Hungarian language, were published in 1796. Before that only the existence of certain caves had been recorded in Latin or German. Valyi published the first volume of "Description of Hungary" and the translation of Korabinszky's (Korabinsky) Enciklopedia. Teleki produced travel book containing the earliest engraved views of two caves. Szaller's "Geography of Hungary" appeared in 1796 too, with descriptions of caves. Key words: history of speleology, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Korabinsky, Szaller, Teleki, Valyi. 1 Institut for Speleology, Költö u. 21, H - 1121 BUDAPEST, HUNGARY Felolvasta Takacsne Bolner Katalin az ALCADI 96 on Postojnan 1996. majus 24-en. Fordftotta Szekely Zsolt es Szabolcs, javitotta Takacsne. From the earliest times until 1796 there are approximately 90 historical publications relating to the caves of Hungary. The first documents are charters in the Latin language, in which we can find geographical names referring to caves {Odvasko 1037, Ravaszlik, wkalyuk 1055. Likaskö, 1355). The first cave name (Demenyfalva Cave/Demänovskä jaskyha, Slovakia) can be found in a document of the Archiepiscopal Archives of Esztergom, which was written in Latin in 1299. From the middle of the 1500s, more and more cave descriptions were published in Latin or German in scientific publications. Most of the earliest publications in Hungarian are references only to the existence of caves (Pozsonyi Mag}'ar Hmnondo 1781; Benko Jözsef, 1784, 1786; Losontzi Istvcm 1788; Zay Sämuel, 1791; Gvadänyi Jözsef, 1792) . Outstanding events in the early period of Hungarian speleology were the publication of some books in 1796 - exactly 200 years ago - which became the fundamentals in the Hungarian language speleological literature. The "Description of Hungary" (Magyarorszagnak leirdsa) by VÄLYI K. An-dras, Volume 1 (Fig. 1), was published in Buda and it was followed in 1799 by MAGYAR. ORSZ, AGN AK L E I R A s A. MeUyben minien hazinkb^i Firmegy^k, Virosoh, Fa, bikj Fusztdk; uradalnutk, fdärikäM, hutdk, hämcrok, tCJElj.yi MACY4E UNIVEKSiTASBELJ ra0FE5?SZ0B, m.T.Sb KÖTS.T, B a D J iV, a' KIEÄJ.YI UNIVEKSITABNAK EETfllVEI.. X y 9 6. ££ ft J ^tdh II t ttn e n f 0 n Ungarn, if! JC {f $ f m bif DDtjijii^IlM bež fiöttbes in alp|a6rttf#rt £)tfcnunä «flgEjebtn, ^tt Soge kftifflmt, unb mft turjeii ; tic im gefcüfc^nfH'cf^cti Umgänge atigeöS^Ht üiJini^ nnE), Botgqlellet icfi-bta. s ; « ^ gcSan« Slattlias ÄotabineE». Stt fintt «Doftfatte Hxdj Seren Jbc^fiilfe itiösj fd} eiuca tolIiloiibigeR ^beal« biifjS ffSf! tnttöecfsü laün. ¥ t t f 6 « t ä, SU ftifeftj inj SScSer Hiitt Äeca&tügh^fifcm SScrEüäf. I 7 8 fi. Fig 1 Fig 2 Volumes 2 and 3. As mentioned in its subtitle, one can find in alphabetical order the descriptions of all the counties, cities, villages, hamlets, mines, factories, smelting works, hot springs, bath houses, important mountains, rivers, lakes, islands and forests, as well as of some caves. Valyi Andras was born on the 30th of November, 1764 in Miskolc. He was the inspector of schools in the Kassa (Koške, Slovakia) educational district. Later, in 1792, he became the first professor of the Department of Hungarian Language and Literature at the University of Pest. His death was recorded in Pest on December 2nd, 1801. Due to the public interest, Valyi translated from German to Hungarian the Encyclopaedia of Geography published by Korabinszky Janos (Johan Matthias Korabinsky) in 1786 (Fig. 2), which he supplemented with data collected by himself. With his work, he laid the foundation for the detailed Hungarian dictionary of geography, where the well-known Hungarian caves are described under individual entries. Under the entry of Agtelek, Korabinszky described both the village and the cave (Baradla), but Valyi discusses them in two separate entries. The two cave descriptions are almost identical, except for the last sentence. Valyi does not include the information on utiUsation of finely ground dripstones as a paint substitute; instead of that he provides an important fact in the history of the cave, namely, that it was discovered by Janos Parkas in 1794. If the historians had paid attention to this new information, we might know the original of the first map of the cave, as well as the first Hungarian language description of the cave by Parkas, which were lost without a trace. Valyi's one-column description of the Cave of Benikova (Jaskyha Bemkovä, Slovakia) gives the general location and size of the cave as well as mentioning the dripstones therein. He also goes into details regarding "the dragon bones", the healing power of the cave springs, and the fact that the cave had been surveyed by Buchholtz and its map published by Bel Matyas (1723). In a much shorter description of Demenyfalva Cave (Demänovskä jaskyha, Slovakia), the most important information revealed is that the cave was explored and surveyed by Buchholtz at the request of Bel's. This map also was published in Prodromus. Under the entry for Ponatza or Funatzai Cave (Peftera de la Finale, Romania), the only information was that it was surveyed for 4 hours by Nedeczky Elek in 1772. His observations were published in the same year in Vienna and a summary was published in Hungarian Geography by Windisch (1780). The detailed description of the cave can be found under the entry of Bihar County, together with the description of Esküllö Cave (Romania). On numerous occasions when Valyi described counties, mountains, rivers, hamlets or forts; he also mentioned caves. In Borsod County, one can find three caves. First, he writes about Felete-lyuk (cave), which is one hundred steps long and sixteen steps wide - an ideal hiding place for the local popula- tion during the Rakoczi revolution. This cave's name is unknown now, and most likely is a misspelhng, but due to the to the given sizes it can be assumed to be Szeleta Cave. The other two caves, Kecske-lyuk Cave and Diösgyör Cave, are still called by the same names today. At the Gerets Mountains, he describes a cave without a name. According to the location, size and historical data, this cave can be identified as Szehm Cave. From among the settlement entries, at Borzova (Silickä Brezova, Slovakia) the ice cave and at Csobanka the Kis-Kevely Cave are mentioned. At the Boi stream (Romania) the entrance to the Cave of Boh is described. At the Castle of CseSznek three caves are mentioned: the first is under the fort, the second one is on the opposite side, and the third one is further away and has water which smells like snake and tastes bad but is healthy for bathers. It is interesting that some of the caves known at the time are not mentioned in the Encyclopaedia, namely the Abaliget Cave, Detrekö Cave (Plaveska jaskyna, Slovakia), and Veterani Cave (Pe^tera de la Pinza Curii, Romania). The second important hterary work is TELEKI Domokos, travel book published in Vienna and describing four visits to Hungary between 1793 and 1795 (Fig. 3). Teleki Domokos, the son of Teleki Samuel the Transylvanian Chancellor, was born in Transylvania on September 5, 1773. He was brought up in Marosväsärhely (Tirgu Mure?, Romania) and Nagyszeben (Sibiu, Romania) and he later studied at the universities of Pest and Vienna. Due to his poor health, he sought relief through travels. He became acquainted with Hungary from north to south, and with Transylvania and Saxony. During his stay in Jena he was elected a member of the Scientific Society, and in 1798 he became the first chairman of the Mineralogical Society. He died at the age of 25 on September 16, 1798 in the town of Marosväsärhely. During his Hungarian and Transylvanian travels he visited many caves such as Baradla Cave, Szilice Ice Cave (Silickä ladnica, Slovakia) Szkleno Cave (Jaskyna Parenica, Slovakia) and the Tor-ja cavities (Pe^tera Pucioasade la Turia, Fig. 3 Romania). Besides the detailed descrip- BGYNEflAMY H Ä Z A I UTAZASOK' LB-IRASA TOT ES HORVÄTH ORSZÄGOKNAK ' MÖTID ESMERTBtfasfeVBJb . EarOTOTTi G. T. Di itt(li futism, iibt&ratSi cus fsffis, mihi fisetes ^ i^mt mmTATTATOTT ISTSBO. MDCCXCVt Fig. tions of his visits to these caves, he also mentions the cave origin of the Golumbacs fly (Romania) in his book. In Teleki's 333-page book, we can find, beside maps, two engravings of Szilice Ice Cave (Silickä ladnica, Slovakia) and one of the entrance to Baradla Cave (Fig. 4-5). These engravings are the first pictures of the entrances of these caves. The book was also published in 1805 in Pest in German and it was used as a basis for the books of Sartori (Vienna, 1807-1810) and Engelhart (Vienna, 1816). In addition, in 1796 SZALLER György published the Geography of Hungary. The date and place of his birth is unknown; he died on October 30, 1807. The only other information about his life is found on the title page of his book. He was a surveyor in Pest and the Hungarian Language Instructor at the Pozsony College (Bratislava, Slovakia). Hungarian geographers honour him as the one of first persons to describe Hungary's geography in Hungarian, in which work he provided a map of the country, too. His work is a dry database listing of the counties and urban areas; it also reflects the country's people and economy. The first part of the 250-page book describes the natural environment of the country, where the ninth section discusses waterways and caves. The caves are mentioned by names such as the Okno Cave (Demänovskä jaskyna Okno, Slovakia), Szentivany Cave (Staniš-ovskä jaskyna, Slovakia), and the caves of Demenyfalva (Demäno-va, Slovakia), the perennial icy cave of Szilice (Silickä ladnica. Fig. 5 Slovakia) and Fonacza Cave (Pestem de la Finate, Romania) are discussed, and the presence of caves in Türöcz and Gömör Counties is mentioned. Under the counties one can read about the dragon bones of Demenyfalva Cave in Liptov county; the Mazarna and Dupna caves in Türöcz county (Mažarna a Diipna jaskyna v Turd, Slovakia)-, the cave on the hill at Dobsina and the bottomless Csörgölyuk (Zvonivä diera, Slovakia) at Pelsöc in Gömör county; the Szädelö (Zädielskä jaskyna, Slovakia), and SziHce and Borzova caves (Silicka ladnica a Brezovska jaskyna, Slovakia) in Torna county. It is interesting that Szaller does not mention Baradla, even though it was known to exist then. It is also interesting that the description of Dobsina rather fits that of Baradla. Here we can read the same as in the later Baradla descriptions: the water dripping down the walls and changing into stones, which were used for their clean white colour as paint and also as medicine for bovine. In 1796 Hungarian language geographic studies and publications began to replace the previously prevaiUng Latin and German publications. This development provided new, previously unknown facts and information regarding caves in Hungary. These Hungarian pubhcations were based not only on translations but also on new data and personal experiences. REFERENCES BENKÖ, F. (1784): Werner Abraham Urnak a köveknek es fotzeknek külsö megesmertetö jegyeikröl. - Kolosvär BENKÖ, F. (1786): Magyar mineralögia az az a kövek s ertzek Tudomänya. -Kolozsvär BEL, M. (1723): Hungariae antiquae et novae Prodromus... - Nürnberg ENGELHART, A. (1816): Prachtwerke der Unterwelt. - Vienna GVADÄNYI, J. (1792): Tizenkettödik Käroly Svetzia orszäg kirällyänak elete, es älmelkodäst felmulö vitezsegenek es több csudälkodäst okozö nagy dolgainak leiräsa, melyeken hazänk anyanyelven az olvasäsban gyönyörködök kedvekert irt. - Pozsony es Komärom KORABINSKY, J. M. (1786): Geographisch - Historisches und Producten Lexikon von Ungarn... - Pressburg LOSONTZI, I. (1788): Härmas kis tükör. - Vätz SARTORI, F (1807-1810): Naturwunder des Oesterreichischen Kaiserthumes. -Wien SZALLER, GY. (1796): Magyarorszäg földlei'räsänak rövid foglalattya. - Pozsony TELEKI, D. (1796): Egynehany hazai utazäsok le-iräsa Töt es horväth orszägoknak rövid esmertetesevel egygyütt. - Bets VÄLYI, A. (1796-1799): Magyar orszägnak lei'räsa. I-III. - Buda WINDISCH, K. (1780): Geographie des Königreichs Ungarn. - Pressburg ZAY, S. (1791): Magyar Mineralögia avagy az Asvänyokröl valö Tudomäny. -Komärom IZSLO V LETU 1796... Povzetek 1796 so izšle tri knjige v madžarskem jeziku, z zelo pomembnimi podatki o jamah na Madžarskem, Slovaškem in v Romuniji. Pred tem je bilo vsega skupaj omenjenih le nekaj jam v 90 rokopisih in knjigah, pisanih v latinskem ali nemškem jeziku, s prvo jamo, omenjeno leta 1037. 1796 je K. A. Valyi izdal prvega od treh delov svoje knjige "Opis Madžarske" ter prevod Korabinskyjeve "Geografske enciklopedije" (1786), dopolnjen z novimi podatki, kjer so tudi jamam namenjena posebna gesla. Istega leta je izdal D. Teleki svoj popotni dnevnik, kjer sta poleg opisov tudi gravuri dveh jam, to sta prvi upodobitvi znanih jam Baradle in SiHcke ledenice. Tudi "Geografija Madžarske" G. Szallerja, na 250 straneh, ki je izšla 1796, vsebuje opise številnih jam, ki so danes na Slovaškem in v Romuniji.