The Kozics photo studio was the most famous in Upper Hungary. He worked in Prešpork between 1851 and 1929 and reported on the image of the city on the Danube, which combined a higher cultural standard with a relatively peaceful lifestyle. During this period, the city managed to go through various changes, which the Kozics photo studio managed to capture. They related not only to its name, but mainly to its political significance within Austria-Hungary, events during the First World War or the mentioned fire in 1913. We talk about the operation of the studio and historical realities with the curator of the collections of modern and contemporary art at SNG, Lucia Almášiová.
Let’s briefly try to say something about the political importance of the city of Prešporok at the time when the founder Ede Kozics opened the studio, and let’s try to compare it with the period when his work ends.
In the 1850s, when the Kozics studio was opened, Prešporok had already passed its best years. Just to remind you, in 1563 the first coronation took place here and since then Prešporok functioned as the capital of Hungary. Important offices, crown jewels were located here, and politically the city had a very strong status. This gradually changed when in 1783 the offices and the crown jewels were moved to Buda and Vienna. The last coronation took place in 1830. This caused the city to lose its capital status and overall lose its political importance, but began to recover economically. It began to be oriented towards industry, which was significantly helped by steamship transport along the Danube, which also had stops in Prešpork. The gas plant flourished, but also several factories for the production of various products, which were exported to the whole of Hungary and further to the world. So, at the time when Kozics Sr. founded his studio, Prešporok was rather on the borderline. Even though the atelier gradually witnessed its economic and social growth, Prešporok never caught up with the growing position of Pest and Buda in Hungary.
What nationalities lived here then?
Prešporok was known for being a city of several