"Our beautiful Carpathians are coming back!" Transcarpathia, the first great test of Hungarian tourist life, 1939–1944

Abstract

In November 1938, with the first Vienna decision, parts of the Uplands, including the predominantly Hungarian-populated part of Transcarpathia, were returned to Hungary. A few months later, the whole of Transcarpathia was again under Hungarian rule. After the re-annexation of Transcarpathia, the Hungarian tourist press reported with great enthusiasm on the “rediscovery” of the area. The title of the study – the opening sentence of Jenő Cholnoky’s speech at the general meeting of the Hungarian Tourist Association, held on April 12, 1939 – also refers to this heightened expectation. For the Hungarian state and tourist organizations, the area represented not only a natural value, but also a symbolic national space. In tourist writings of the era, we often encounter the idea that nature tourism was a task of “country knowledge” and national politics. The emphasis was therefore primarily on exploring the area and developing tourism to Transcarpathia. In addition to state bodies, nature-hiking organizations such as the Hungarian Tourist Association and the Hungarian Carpathian Association were given a key role. The development ideas were ambitious. State and tourism experts thought about the long-term development of modern resort areas, winter sports centers, and modern transport infrastructure, while treating tourism as one of a means of economic upliftment of Transcarpathia. Some of the plans were implemented: the transport network was developed, new maps and travel guides were published, shelters were renovated, and organizational frameworks were created that served the operation of tourist life . Although the war prevented the full implementation of most ideas, the era still left a lasting mark on tourism in Transcarpathia: it was then that the organizational, infrastructural, and conceptual foundations were created, on which a significant mountain tourism could have been built under more peaceful circumstances.