The main theme of my essay is discussing the matter of “forgotten” ports - ports that were deemed useful in the past (mostly for economic and communication purposes) but have lost their importance in the present times. I picked this theme because I found it interesting how the “status” of a port that was of significant use can “overnight” become quite insignificant. Hence, I wanted to showcase a number of reasons that could explain this phenomena while simultaneously making a comparison by using two ports that we have discussed during the Spring School as examples - Komárno and Zemun.
First I am going to focus on the port of Komárno. Thanks to its geographical position, Komárno has been a realm that was under the influence of a handful of different nations - starting from the Roman Empire, through the Avar and later the Habsburg Empire, the Kingdom of Hungary all the way to becoming part of Czechoslovakia after World War I and eventually becoming part of Slovakia as it is today. Throughout its history Komárno has established itself as a multi practical place. It was used for military, especially defensive purposes - the amount of times this port became part of a different country or region proves this point - mainly because of its very advanced fortification system that could be found on the left bank of the Danube. As important as it was, at one point Fort Komárno got into the hands of the town and ever since then it has been a struggle to adjust it to fulfill the needs that this important historical landmark requires. As Barnabás Vajda explains: “On the one hand there has been a firm will to handle it as an object of international significance and pride, but on the other, it seems to be too big (and costly) to find the most appropriate ways of utilization” (Vajda, 2019). The other big role that Komárom took on was that of trade. For a long time, especially during the 19th century, it operated as one of the most important ports (other than Pest) when it came to trade and transport, while simultaneously contributing to the income of the communities that resided along the riverside and therefore also creating a relatively stable and temporary workforce in the trade and transport sector (Bojtár et al, 1991). Unfortunately, things took a turn in the second half of the same century when the trade between Vienna and Pest seemed to rely less on intermediate stations like Komárno, thus this port slowly but surely started to lose the importance it previously possessed (Tamáska, 2016).
Similar to Komárno, the port of Zemun had the advantage of a great geographical location and for most of its existence it served as a border town, often finding itself as a pawn in the hands of war - it served as a Roman border until being conquered by the Huns. Throughout its history it also played a major role in transportation and trading with regions all across the Danube. Zemun held a special place in terms of transportation mainly because of the use of various ferry-boats in a time where there.
Were no bridges available on the southern Hungarian part of the Danube, so these boats seemed to be the only solution on how to get from one side to the other as fast as possible (Marković, 1896). The transportation aspect of Zemun’s role really came to shine while it was in the hands of the Austrian Monarchy in the 18th century, mainly as it was used for transporting goods from Central to Southeast Europe. Besides the obvious goods that are cloth, fabric, wool, silk, and jewelry, there was also a vast import of weapons (even though it was deemed de jure illegal) (Marković, 1896). Unfortunately, by the end of the 20th century Zemun got stripped of all its previous strengths - its economic and military importance came to an end when the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovens was established and Zemun got attached to Belgrade (Rukavina, 2004).
When making a comparison between Komärno and Zemun, there are a few quite visible traits that both of these old ports share - their importance for trade, transport and military purposes. They both share a history of conquering and ruining, of gain and loss. When I use the word “forgotten” when I refer to these ports, I don’t mean to undermine their historical importance or impact, it’s quite the contrary - what is mostly alike in these two ports is the loss of their relevance when being overpowered by a bigger force. In the case of Komärno, that was Pest, while in the case of Zemun, that was Belgrade. The term forgotten ports thereby indicates ports that have a rich history where they were of great significance which have unfortunately lost their important role as of the present times.
Bojtär E., Böhm O., Csäky M., Dömötör Á. (1991). A magyar nyelv és kultúra a Duna völgyében. Budapest: Nemzetközi Magyar Filológiai Tärsasäg. https://mek.oszk.hu/06300/063822008-10-27
Marković, P. (2004). Zemun od najstarijih vremena pa do danas. Zemun: MostArt.
Rukavina V. (2004). Hrvatska strana Zemuna. Hrvatska revija 4 (4). Preuzeto datuma 26.04.2024.
Tamäska, M. (2016). Komärom Duna-partjänak värostörténete a kezdetektől 1945-ig. Építés Építészettudomány 44, no. 1-2: 107-128. DOI: 10.1556/096.2016.44.1-2.6.
Vajda, Barnabäs. “Fort Komärno: Vast, Closed and Abandoned.” Eruditio - Educatio 14, no. 3: 5-20.