Room VI

The cultural and social role of the mining companies in Nógrád

The start of coal mining brought about a decisive change in the lives of the people who settled in Salgótarján and its surroundings. Companies recruited workers abroad and deployed the necessary workforce to the brown coal basin from there. Those who arrived here struggled with a severe housing shortage. At the mining sites in Salgótarján and its surroundings, the recruited mine workers were initially housed in cave dwellings dug into the ground and in wooden barracks. The first colonies of the three large companies (SKB Rt., RMSV Rt., ÉKI Rt.) were established by the end of the 19th century. After the First World War, new colonies in the coal basin were built one after another (Mátranovák, Kazár, Kisterenye, Nagybátony, Zagyvapálfalva, Baglyasalja, etc.). The development of housing estates by companies also aimed to create a core group.

After nationalization, a new mining town was built in Nagybátony. The Miner's Own House campaign was launched in 1952. Favorable and long-term loans helped miners build their own houses.

The health situation of the miners was bad from the beginning. Among the diseases, general physical deterioration, worms, tuberculosis and disability resulting from accidents were the most common. The first health institution, called a hospital, was established in 1870 at the central mine site. Health stations with medical supervision for patients were also established at external mine sites. The central mine site hospital of SKB Rt. and the gradually modernized association hospitals of RMSV Rt. also provided health care for other residents of the coal basin until 1946.

SKB Rt. maintained a sanitary, purity bath and in 1940 also established a swimming pool at its central mine site.

The first miner settlement school opened in Salgótarján in 1871. Initially, the majority of those required to attend school spoke foreign languages. In the 20th century, elementary schools became widespread, operated in every settlements of the different mining companies. The teaching and support staff of the mining company’s schools were mining employees. The company only provided the school with space; the tuition, textbooks, notebooks and stationery were deducted from the miners’ wages.

The mining companies played a crucial role in the founding of the Salgótarján secondary school in 1923 and in its maintenance until its nationalization in 1940.

They tried to manage the workers' free time and entertainment by establishing mining casinos. Casinos were built in Salgótarján, Baglyasalja, Salgóbánya, Zagyvapálfalva, Kazár, Mizserfa, Jánosakna, Mátranovák and Szorospatak, in which reading circle-clubs and libraries operated. Amateur drama groups were also housed here. In Salgótarján, the miners' choir and drama group were founded in the spring of 1918, and the miners' orchestra, which had been operating for decades, was given a permanent place.

After 1945, the nationalized mining company also paid great attention to the after-work culture of its employees. The previous voluntary cultural groups continued to exist.

The cult of patron saints has been a symbolic part of the common cultural heritage of European miners for thousands of years. In the Nógrád Coal Basin, celebrations were held in honor of the Bohemian Saint Prokop, Saint Barbara, and later King Saint Stephen.

Salgótarján's two largest sports clubs were established by RMSV Rt. (SSE) and SKB Rt. (Salgótarjáni Bányász Torna Club (SBTC) / Salgótarján Miner's Gymnastics Club) in 1901 and 1920, respectively. Local sports clubs were established one after another in the smaller mining areas from the 1920s onwards. The most popular sport was football, in which SBTC was the most successful. In 1935 it first appeared in the first division, and after 1945 it was the Best of the Region several times. In 1972 it was a bronze medalist in the NB 1.

The other two most successful divisions of the SBTC were boxing and hiking.

In the socialist era, instead of the previous miners' holidays based on the cult of the patron saint, Miners' Day was introduced on the first Sunday of every September from 1951. This day was about the social appreciation of mining work: rewards were distributed, the miners' work performance was recognized, and then a miners' folk festival was held. In Salgótarján, the most common venue for the folk festival was Gyurtyános .

During the socialist era, it became common for workers to go on vacation. Trade unions in various sectors, including the mining industry, maintained separate vacation hotels for their workers. The miners from Nógrád usually vacationed in Hévíz, Keszthely, Orfű, and Bükkszék.