Education and vocational training of girls and women in Vác – The possibilities of catholic vocational training in the 20th century

Abstract

In Vác, the education of girls began in the mid-18th century. From the 1810s, girls attended separate schools and classes. Their teacher was the cantor, also known as the conductor at the time. From the mid-19th century onwards, novice teachers were the tutors for girls. In the second half of the century there were several private girls’ schools in town. The Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul order was active in Vác from 1880, first caring for the poor, then running a kindergarten from 1881 and a school from 1882, teaching needlework to girls. In 1886, Bertalan Virter’s bequest was used to raise a new building on Miklós Square for a girls’ secondary school, and from 1894 they also started a girls’ higher elementary school. A new girls’ school building was erected in 1905 from the foundation of Count Károly Csáky, bishop of Vác, and named Karolina in memory of the bishop’s mother. During the First World War, in 1916, the first women’s trade course was started in Vác in the Karolina building, but it was organized by Piarist teachers until 1919. In 1924, the Vác Israelite Higher Elementary School started a one-year course for women on commerce. In 1925, the one-year Catholic trade course was also resumed at the Karolina until 1932. In 1933, the Daughters of Charity also organized their first women’s commercial training course. We can read about the course in the school bulletins too, and we know that there were members of the Daughters of Charity as well among the teachers. From the academic year 1934–35, a two-year course was introduced, which evolved into a four-year commercial secondary school for women in 1937. In 1938, it moved to the old building of the Karolina on Miklós Square. Between 1936 and 1942, the Daughters of Charity also ran a women’s industrial school in Vác, which was closed due to lack of interest. The development of girls’ education also contributed to the development of boys’ education. The schools of the Daughters of Charity also contributed to the cultural and social life of the town. In addition, these schools helped Vác to become a school town, because they had students not only from Vác and its surroundings, but also from other counties.