Limited Company for electricity and transportation companies
The first electric lighting in Hungary dates back to 1878, when the iron foundry of Ganz and Company and Ganz Street were lit by electricity for the first time. However, it was not until 1893 that public lighting began to be used in the capital: the reason for this was that in 1879 Budapest signed a contract with the Allgemeine Österreichische Gasgesellschaft, the only company to have won a concession to provide electric lighting. This contract was only cancelled in 1891, which also gave the capital back the right to establish its own supervision of the city's electricity supply through contractors. By the 1890s, the solution to this problem had become a matter of real urgency, given the significant increase in demand for electricity.
The company was founded in 1895 by the Hungarian General Credit Bank and the Gesellschaft für elektrische Unternehmungen of Berlin in cooperation with several banks in Budapest and Germany. By the turn of the century, the company was able to expand its foundations and its range of interests. It had its own electrical plants in Gyulafehérvár, Hódmezővásárhely, Mako and Zimony. By 1908, he had expanded this to include Novi Sad and Galgoc. He was the founder and owner of the Arad Electricity Joint Stock Company, the Budafok Electric Railway Joint Stock Company, the Kolozsvár Road Railway Joint Stock Company, the Miskolc Electricity Joint Stock Company, the Nagykikinda Electricity Joint Stock Company, the Nyíregyháza Electricity Joint Stock Company, the Pécs Electricity Joint Stock Company, the Bratislava Electricity Joint Stock Company. Later on, this list was extended by the Losonci Electricity Company "Clara", the Devai Electricity Company, the Arad-Hegyalja h. é. motor railway company and the Vasvármegyei Elektromos Művek. He was also involved in the creation of the Societá per la Loiluppo della Imprese Elettriche in Italia and in the consortium formed to take over the railway and lighting companies of Constantinople, acquiring shares in Société des Tramways de Constantinople and Société Anonyme Ottomane du Chemin de Fer Metropolitani de Constantinople entre Galata et Pera. In addition, it leased for 30 years the Nyíregyháza provincial railways and the Bodrog interregional economic railway.
In 1910, the company participated in the international tender for the electric lighting of Constantinople, together with the Ganz Electricity Company, and won a 50-year concession from the Turkish government to supply the city with electricity. For this purpose, a syndicate was formed under the leadership of the Hungarian General Credit Bank, which acquired all the shares of the Istanbul Gas Company. In exchange for the shares, the company took over the management of the technical and operational affairs of the syndicate. The aim of the consortium is to design an underground tramway and to convert the already self-managed railways in Constantinople to electric power.
In line with its objective, the company played a significant role in the construction of electrified local railways in Hungary in the early years of its operation. In 1897-1898, it built the Budapest-Budafok and Budapest-Szentlőrincz tramways, which were sold a few years later to the Budapest Road Railway Company and the Budapest Municipal Electric Railway Joint Stock Company, respectively. In 1905 he helped to build the Miskolc-Diósgyőr tramway and in 1915 the Pozsony-Orzachárárszéli tramway. In 1909 he converted the Arad-Hegyalja tramway into an electric tramway. In the same year, he took over the management of the Nyiregyházavde provincial railway and in 1913 the Bodrog interregional railway for a longer period. In 1899, the company participated in a syndicate formed to take over the shares of the Società per lo Sviluppo delle Imprese Elettriche in Italia, a Milanese company which operated electricity generating stations in major Italian cities.
In 1911, the company sold its electric plant in Gyulafehervár to Gyulafehervár. In the same year, the Nyíregyháza Electricity Company started the construction of the electric lighting of the village of Nagykálló and the supply of electricity to the Sostó line of the Nyíregyházháza Railway. In September 1911, the electric railway was inaugurated in Novi Sad. The company also concluded a 50-year contract with the town of Mitrovica for the construction of an electric lighting and power transmission station, the construction of which began in 1911. The company also concluded a contract with the Bodrogközi local interest railway licensees for the business management of the planned railway from Sárospatak to Királyhelmec. In 1911, all the shares of the Pécs Electricity Joint Stock Company were sold to the City of Pécs. In 1912, electricity was supplied to the villages of Kaméca, Kamenica and Lediice near Novi Sad, and a substation was installed in Mitrovica, so that the following year electricity was available in the first large village of Ruma, which was close to the village.
The outbreak of World War I had a significant impact on the company's operations, as electricity consumption was significantly reduced. Although the Mitrovica and Zemun power stations on the southern border of the country were spared the damage of the war, they closed with losses. In addition, the shortage and price increases of certain raw materials (diesel, coal, gas oil, etc.) and the conscription of employees and their families caused a significant drop in income. Employees who lost their jobs often had to be replaced by inexperienced and unskilled labour. Floods were a further source of losses, as the possibility of transporting agricultural goods was sometimes lost due to damage to the railways. Of course, the closer links between companies and the army through the wartime war economy also allowed some factories to develop, such as the electricity supply plant of the Iron County Electricity Works Corporation.
After the war, the company had lighting plants in Felsődobsza, Hódmezővásárhely and Makó, and operated the Bodrogközi railway, the Nyíregyháza provincial railway and the Szeged road railway. In addition, it held interests in Aktiengesellschaft für elektrische Unternehmungen (Zagreb), Balatonvidéki villamosművek Részvénytársaság, Budafok elektramossági Részvénytársaság, Creditul pentru intreprindei electrice S.-A. Romana, Duna vízerő Részvénytársaság, Evag. Holding A.-G. (Zurich), Fischer Ceramics Factory Joint Stock Company, Gibárt Electric Works Joint Stock Company, Miskolc Electricity Joint Stock Company, Nyíregyháza Electricity Joint Stock Company, Probléma Inventions Joint Stock Company, Vasvármegyei Electric Works Joint Stock Company (Szombathely). The company's profile has been extended to include the application of electricity in agriculture. In 1920, the company took a stake in and took over the management of the Vasvörösvár Count Erdődy Industrial Works Limited Company. This company supplied the electricity needs of several municipalities in western Hungary and also operated agricultural, milling and sawmill plants. Also in the same year he took over the management of the Szeged road railway and the Balatonvidéki electric works.
At the same time, the Treaty of Trianon meant that some of the companies were transferred to neighbouring countries. Because of the difficulties that arose, other interests had to be sold to foreign companies or at least a share in their management bodies had to be secured, while Hungarian staff remained present. In the 1920s the company further expanded its interests. On 17 April 1926 it merged with Phöbus villamos Vállalatok Részvénytársaság, so that it now had its own electricity generating plant in Újpest (near Felsődobsza and Makó). After it had also absorbed the Miskolc Electricity Joint Stock Company on 18 December 1930, its plants were further expanded with the Miskolc plant. On 27 April 1935, it absorbed the Kistarcsa and Surrounding Area Electricity Joint Stock Company.
The company was nationalised after the Second World War, and in 1950 it was renamed the State Electricity Service Company of Szombathely.
Sources
János Bertalan:The first century of electric lighting. Budapest, 1978. XVI(6), 30-32.
Lilly Kozma: The first 25 years of Budapest's electricity service. The first 25 years of Budapest's first electricity supply in Budapest. July 1968. 5-6.
Great Hungarian Compass 1895-1944.
Press material 1895-1944.
Founded in 1895
Termination time not set
Founders are not set
Securities issued:
| Limited Company for electricity and transportation companies |
Decisive leaders:
1895-1896 | Antal Lukács |
1896-1905 | Sándor Ribáry |
1906-1912 | Major Ede Pallavicini |
1913-1916 | Károly Barcza |
1917-1946 | Count Lajos Batthyány |
Main activity: construction and operation of electric and other railways and electric power stations
Main products:
electricity, electric railway, light railway |
Seats are not configured
Locations are not set
Main milestones are not set
Author: Róbert Szabó
Founded in 1895
Founders are not set
Decisive leaders:
1895-1896 | Antal Lukács |
1896-1905 | Sándor Ribáry |
1906-1912 | Major Ede Pallavicini |
1913-1916 | Károly Barcza |
1917-1946 | Count Lajos Batthyány |
Main activity: construction and operation of electric and other railways and electric power stations
Main products:
electricity, electric railway, light railway |
Seats are not configured
Locations are not set
Main milestones are not set
Author: Róbert Szabó
Limited Company for electricity and transportation companies
The first electric lighting in Hungary dates back to 1878, when the iron foundry of Ganz and Company and Ganz Street were lit by electricity for the first time. However, it was not until 1893 that public lighting began to be used in the capital: the reason for this was that in 1879 Budapest signed a contract with the Allgemeine Österreichische Gasgesellschaft, the only company to have won a concession to provide electric lighting. This contract was only cancelled in 1891, which also gave the capital back the right to establish its own supervision of the city's electricity supply through contractors. By the 1890s, the solution to this problem had become a matter of real urgency, given the significant increase in demand for electricity.
The company was founded in 1895 by the Hungarian General Credit Bank and the Gesellschaft für elektrische Unternehmungen of Berlin in cooperation with several banks in Budapest and Germany. By the turn of the century, the company was able to expand its foundations and its range of interests. It had its own electrical plants in Gyulafehérvár, Hódmezővásárhely, Mako and Zimony. By 1908, he had expanded this to include Novi Sad and Galgoc. He was the founder and owner of the Arad Electricity Joint Stock Company, the Budafok Electric Railway Joint Stock Company, the Kolozsvár Road Railway Joint Stock Company, the Miskolc Electricity Joint Stock Company, the Nagykikinda Electricity Joint Stock Company, the Nyíregyháza Electricity Joint Stock Company, the Pécs Electricity Joint Stock Company, the Bratislava Electricity Joint Stock Company. Later on, this list was extended by the Losonci Electricity Company "Clara", the Devai Electricity Company, the Arad-Hegyalja h. é. motor railway company and the Vasvármegyei Elektromos Művek. He was also involved in the creation of the Societá per la Loiluppo della Imprese Elettriche in Italia and in the consortium formed to take over the railway and lighting companies of Constantinople, acquiring shares in Société des Tramways de Constantinople and Société Anonyme Ottomane du Chemin de Fer Metropolitani de Constantinople entre Galata et Pera. In addition, it leased for 30 years the Nyíregyháza provincial railways and the Bodrog interregional economic railway.
In 1910, the company participated in the international tender for the electric lighting of Constantinople, together with the Ganz Electricity Company, and won a 50-year concession from the Turkish government to supply the city with electricity. For this purpose, a syndicate was formed under the leadership of the Hungarian General Credit Bank, which acquired all the shares of the Istanbul Gas Company. In exchange for the shares, the company took over the management of the technical and operational affairs of the syndicate. The aim of the consortium is to design an underground tramway and to convert the already self-managed railways in Constantinople to electric power.
In line with its objective, the company played a significant role in the construction of electrified local railways in Hungary in the early years of its operation. In 1897-1898, it built the Budapest-Budafok and Budapest-Szentlőrincz tramways, which were sold a few years later to the Budapest Road Railway Company and the Budapest Municipal Electric Railway Joint Stock Company, respectively. In 1905 he helped to build the Miskolc-Diósgyőr tramway and in 1915 the Pozsony-Orzachárárszéli tramway. In 1909 he converted the Arad-Hegyalja tramway into an electric tramway. In the same year, he took over the management of the Nyiregyházavde provincial railway and in 1913 the Bodrog interregional railway for a longer period. In 1899, the company participated in a syndicate formed to take over the shares of the Società per lo Sviluppo delle Imprese Elettriche in Italia, a Milanese company which operated electricity generating stations in major Italian cities.
In 1911, the company sold its electric plant in Gyulafehervár to Gyulafehervár. In the same year, the Nyíregyháza Electricity Company started the construction of the electric lighting of the village of Nagykálló and the supply of electricity to the Sostó line of the Nyíregyházháza Railway. In September 1911, the electric railway was inaugurated in Novi Sad. The company also concluded a 50-year contract with the town of Mitrovica for the construction of an electric lighting and power transmission station, the construction of which began in 1911. The company also concluded a contract with the Bodrogközi local interest railway licensees for the business management of the planned railway from Sárospatak to Királyhelmec. In 1911, all the shares of the Pécs Electricity Joint Stock Company were sold to the City of Pécs. In 1912, electricity was supplied to the villages of Kaméca, Kamenica and Lediice near Novi Sad, and a substation was installed in Mitrovica, so that the following year electricity was available in the first large village of Ruma, which was close to the village.
The outbreak of World War I had a significant impact on the company's operations, as electricity consumption was significantly reduced. Although the Mitrovica and Zemun power stations on the southern border of the country were spared the damage of the war, they closed with losses. In addition, the shortage and price increases of certain raw materials (diesel, coal, gas oil, etc.) and the conscription of employees and their families caused a significant drop in income. Employees who lost their jobs often had to be replaced by inexperienced and unskilled labour. Floods were a further source of losses, as the possibility of transporting agricultural goods was sometimes lost due to damage to the railways. Of course, the closer links between companies and the army through the wartime war economy also allowed some factories to develop, such as the electricity supply plant of the Iron County Electricity Works Corporation.
After the war, the company had lighting plants in Felsődobsza, Hódmezővásárhely and Makó, and operated the Bodrogközi railway, the Nyíregyháza provincial railway and the Szeged road railway. In addition, it held interests in Aktiengesellschaft für elektrische Unternehmungen (Zagreb), Balatonvidéki villamosművek Részvénytársaság, Budafok elektramossági Részvénytársaság, Creditul pentru intreprindei electrice S.-A. Romana, Duna vízerő Részvénytársaság, Evag. Holding A.-G. (Zurich), Fischer Ceramics Factory Joint Stock Company, Gibárt Electric Works Joint Stock Company, Miskolc Electricity Joint Stock Company, Nyíregyháza Electricity Joint Stock Company, Probléma Inventions Joint Stock Company, Vasvármegyei Electric Works Joint Stock Company (Szombathely). The company's profile has been extended to include the application of electricity in agriculture. In 1920, the company took a stake in and took over the management of the Vasvörösvár Count Erdődy Industrial Works Limited Company. This company supplied the electricity needs of several municipalities in western Hungary and also operated agricultural, milling and sawmill plants. Also in the same year he took over the management of the Szeged road railway and the Balatonvidéki electric works.
At the same time, the Treaty of Trianon meant that some of the companies were transferred to neighbouring countries. Because of the difficulties that arose, other interests had to be sold to foreign companies or at least a share in their management bodies had to be secured, while Hungarian staff remained present. In the 1920s the company further expanded its interests. On 17 April 1926 it merged with Phöbus villamos Vállalatok Részvénytársaság, so that it now had its own electricity generating plant in Újpest (near Felsődobsza and Makó). After it had also absorbed the Miskolc Electricity Joint Stock Company on 18 December 1930, its plants were further expanded with the Miskolc plant. On 27 April 1935, it absorbed the Kistarcsa and Surrounding Area Electricity Joint Stock Company.
The company was nationalised after the Second World War, and in 1950 it was renamed the State Electricity Service Company of Szombathely.
Sources
János Bertalan:The first century of electric lighting. Budapest, 1978. XVI(6), 30-32.
Lilly Kozma: The first 25 years of Budapest's electricity service. The first 25 years of Budapest's first electricity supply in Budapest. July 1968. 5-6.
Great Hungarian Compass 1895-1944.
Press material 1895-1944.