A fekete város

infobox Book |
name = A fekete város
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author = Kálmán Mikszáth
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country = Hungary
language = Magyar
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release_date = 1910
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"A fekete város" ("The Black City", or "The Black Town") is a Hungarian novel of Kálmán Mikszáth set in the town of Löcse, today Levoča. It based on a real historical event but the story and the dialogue are fictional.

tory

The murder

In the time before Rákóczi's war of liberty, on a hunting expedition, Pál Görgey, the arrogant but noble leader of the Hungarian county of Szepes, murders Károly Kramler, Saxon magistrate of Lőcse, for having killed Görgey’s favourite dog.

When their magistrate is fatally injured, his company, on the advice of one of their members, Nustkorb, takes the still-living body and marks with its blood the boundaries of a large field owned by Görgey. This was because during the conflict between king Róbert Károly and Máté Csák, the ruler gave a special and bizarre privilege for the magistrate of Lőcse for his service in combat - “Let the magistrate of Lőcse have land-claiming-blood.” Thus the field marked out by the magistrate's blood became a possession of the town [ _la. "Effusio sangvinis judicis Lewchoviae terae acquisitones vigorem obtineat." Contract of Róbert Károly. See also: "A Görgey-nemzetség története" by István Görgey, quoted in Fekete Város (1988) ISBN 963 15 3723 4]

The revenge

Thirsting for revenge the city embalms one of the dead magistrate's hands, and orders all citizens to wear black until Kramler's death is revenged. To protect his daughter, Rozália Görgey, her father hides her in Lőcse in secret under the name of “Rozália Otrokócsy”, hoping that she will not be sought for so close to home. Rozália falls in love with Antal Fabricius, the youngest senator of Lőcse.

The next magistrate is Nustkorb, who tries to catch Görgey but his all plans fail. He dies when the statue of the dead magistrate falls and kills him. The traumatized citizens mow believe that Nustkorb was the true murderer, and that the murdered magistrate has made his own revenge.

Antal Fabricius then becomes the magistrate. Fabricius makes a trap for Görgey, catches and executes him - but realises too late that he was Rozália’s father. He is shocked by this discovery; but on the streets all the folk of Lőcse are glad, singing, dancing and burning their black clothes now that the revenge has been completed.

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