From the University Pulpit of Cluj to the Opening Ceremony of the Academic Year in Szeged The Journey of Two Professors at the Beginning of the 1920s in the Light of Newspapers and Memoirs

Abstract

The study follows the life path of the two professors, László Erdélyi OSB and Sándor Márki from Cluj‐Napoca, who started their journey of academic exile on June 26, 1921 through mid‐October 1921 from their home university in Cluj to Szeged. The article is also presenting the context of the city of Szeged, which was preparing for the opening ceremony of the local university after the treaty of Trianon. The article’s main sources include the Pannonhalma correspondence of Erdélyi and the diary of Márki, written in Gyula, along the national and Szegedbased local press outlets and university documents of the period. Furthermore, the research coveres issues of the city’s management, the foundation of the university and the work of the government, together with the organization of the academic year’s opening ceremony. It also discusses topics related to the professorsʹ new homes, the renovation of the city’s buildings designated for the university units, and the governorʹs visit to Szeged on 8th and 9th October, 1921. Overall, the article is focusing on the professorial legacy of Erdélyi and Márki, which complements the history of the university transposed from Cluj to Szeged in October 1921.