The impacts of lost military functions on garrison villages in Hungary after 1990

Abstract

One of the most important problems of Hungarian rural settlements is the continual degradation of their functions. Villages which have been dominated mostly by one single function during their development are in a particularly difficult situation. A special type of those settlements is the group of garrison villages which began to sprout in the 1950s in connection with the extensive development of the Hungarian People’s Army. Before 1945 military functions were usually connected to larger cities. However there were a few smaller settlements with military complexes before such as Hajmáskér, which was one of the most important artillery schools of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After military reforms had begun in the late 1980s, garrison villages lost their significant, in some cases even dominant function, and at the same time they were strongly affected by the economic downturn caused by the geopolitical changes in the early 1990s.

This study examines the impact of the loss of military functions on settlement development, using Hungarian garrison villages as examples. The aim of this article is on the one hand to categorise the Hungarian garrison towns based on the 1990 census, and, on the other hand, to show the local impact of demilitarisation and transition on demography and purchasing power.

Based on the 1990 data, the defence sector’s share of employment was close to 3% in Hungary at that time. However, in many settlements this rate was above 10%. There were 17 settlements where the rate was four times higher than the national average. 15 of them were connected to military functions. The categories of garrison towns and garrison villages both included 15 settlements, and 3 further communities formed an intermediate group. The location of these settlements perfectly reflected the strategic orientation of the Hungarian Army at that time, with garrison towns of the best equipped troops in Transdanubia (Western Hungary) and garrison villages of smaller units (air defence artillery units, supply and service units, etc.) around Budapest and in the hinterland. Earlier, both Hungarian and foreign studies usually focused on garrison towns. This is why we decided to examine the case of garrison villages.

Based on statistics of population numbers, net migration, aging index and personal income tax per capita it can be demonstrated that military functions played an important role in the development of these settlements, especially where the defence sector’s share of employment was significantly above average. We found the strongest correlation between personal income tax per capita and military functions. However, the relative geographical position of these communities could reduce the negative effects of transition, for example in the Budapest agglomeration area.

Considering other indicators, there was not always a strong correlation with the military role. However, the positive impact of new military functions on population numbers was evident in Taszár and Jobbágyi in the 1950s (when an air-base and an ammunition plant were built), as was the negative impact on the aging index in Taszár after the closure of the local military sites. Besides these results, we can state in conclusion that the impact of other socio-economic processes (suburbanisation, aging, economic transition, etc.) were usually stronger than the loss of military functions.

As a result, Taszár was the only settlement in Hungary in 1990 where the military presence played an absolutely dominant role in the local economy and demographics. The aging index was far below the national average and based on personal income tax per capita, it was the 20th wealthiest settlement of the country. Following the loss of these military functions after the military reform, purchasing power dropped significantly, and the aging index increased drastically from 35% in 1990 to 136% in 2011, while the national average was 96% and 160%, respectively.