ABSTRACT
In the scope of the forty years this book examines, the landscape of the cities underwent radical changes. Not only did the cities expand and absorb nearby territory, but they also transformed their inner features. Fortifications were demolished and suburbs were unified with the city. Roads had to be laid out to link the center to the new periphery; later these were to become the routes of the tramway lines generally leading to the train station. The arrival of the railway in town necessitated the building of a station and meant the opening of the city to a larger horizon. The sanitary conditions of the city also had to be improved to clean the landscape. Asphalt was not yet a dominant feature in the city except on main roads, and smaller streets were sometimes not even paved. Mud and dust were still the characteristics of many streets. The physical changes to the city landscape were described as an “embellishment,” the need for which was first expressed in the asphalting of roads, improvement of older buildings, and construction of transportation. Then came the transformation of the town’s image by creating larger avenues, parks, and prestigious buildings. Many towns established their “embellishing” commission on the model of what had been invented in the Hungarian capital in 1808 following the joint initiative of Palatine Joseph and Pest’s city council. 1 The Viennese model on the contrary was based on the decision and generosity of the dynasty; the main incentive in this respect came after the destruction of the bastions and the planning of the Ring.
