History of the Piarist estate between 1806 and 1848

Abstract

At the beginning of the 19th century, Francis I donated the Piarist order, which was experiencing serious financial difficulties, one of the historically most significant estates in Hungary, the 50,000 acres of land that was owned by the Custodiatus of the Diocese of Székesfehérvár, established by King St. Stephen. Under the supervision of the friars, the estate provided the monastery with a steady income, which they could use to maintain the schools. However, the friars, who were slowly getting used to agricultural activity under the feudal system, had to face several difficulties until 1848: the Reform Diets were challenging the framework of the old economic order, and tried to re-regulate the relationship between landlords and serfs. In the meantime, a complex social, economic and political program was emerging among the reformist opposition, calling for the creation of a bourgeois Hungary. Although the Piarists kept up with the changes, the new situation created by the April Laws caught them unawares, which – for the order – raised uncertainties and several problems regarding the estate that seemed unsolvable.