Újrahasznosítható múlt. Az ipari örökség hasznosításának lehetőségei Salgótarjánban
Authors: Nickel Réka Vira 
Published: January 2024

Though the title of my study may sound provocative, it intends to shed light on the phenomenon of empty factory buildings and rust zones – a legacy of the industrial past – that are a burden yet hold many opportunities, as well as the cultural heritage-making role of the industrial past in determining local identity. Industrial heritage most often refers to the industrial landscape, former factory buildings, machinery, and vehicles, which, although invaluable to a romantically inclined researcher, are often presented in online media only as the problematic brownfield investment, recultivation, and waste management issues of towns dotted with rust zones. A closer look reveals, however, that industrial heritage is not only the industrial landscape, buildings, and objects, but also the extremely complex and unique cultural heritage created by the industrial society, a significant portion of Hungarian and European cultural heritage. Through my research to date, I have found that the former industrial towns of Central and Eastern Europe have kept minimal memories of their early capitalist industrial past, and their socialist heritage is mostly seen as an unwanted and unpleasant burden. This kind of attitude is not conducive to successful and progressive utilization strategies for towns and counties. In the era of early capitalism, there were vast differences in the working conditions, housing conditions, wages, and sustenance of workers, and although we know of several large companies that employed Fordist principles, there are not many stories of industrialists rewarding honest, accurate skilled labor with high wages and a social welfare system. One of the reasons for this is that negative propaganda against the capitalist industrial past was an integral part of “socialist modernization.” It is exciting to compare this strategy of treating the past with the post-socialist identity building processes after the regime change, which were initially dominated by efforts to suppress and rewrite the socialist past. By now this process has been halted, but a new strategy for tackling the past is only just taking shape. Former industrial settlements and centers of heavy industry must confront their past, their history, their heritage, and the foundations of their identity. But this confrontation cannot be exhausted by nostalgia-laden, at times distortingly positive commemorations and waves of emigration in response to the sometimes lethargic reality of everyday life. Industrial centers need basic sociological research, interdisciplinary approaches, and creative debates in order to use what is already theirs – their past – to their advantage. My research is intended to contribute to this enormous endeavor as an auxiliary gear, since the former industrial society represents an extremely important cultural heritage for Hungarian society in sports, lifestyle, culture, and public catering. They are rightly proud of their past, power, endurance, creativity, and solidarity. All of these are absolutely important in a modern, functional society facing the problems of the 21st century. In this study, I analyze the Collection of Values of the city of Salgótarján, its publicly available development plans, strategies, and concepts, and compare them with my research on workers’ way of life.