The former market square A brief history of the tobacco factory
The former market square The area bordered by the streets Vörösmarty Mihály utca and Törvényház utca, where Agria Park stands today, was originally donated to the city of Eger by the Bishop Károly Eszterházy, for the purpose of holding national markets on what was, at the time, a larger site.
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The birth of Hungary's tobacco industry |
The birth of Hungary’s tobacco industry
The Hungarian tobacco industry was privately owned until 1850, when it came under the authority of the Central Tobacco Excise Directorate in Vienna. In 1846, the first treasury-owned cigar factory was built in Temesvár (now Timisoara, Romania). |
The years of change
The year 1912 brought many changes to the lives of the tobacco factory workers. By national decree, working hours in the factory were regulated, and pension rules were established for employees of the royal treasury. This meant that a job at the tobacco factory was now a passport to a secure future. Production was not even halted by the outbreak of the First World War. In fact, the steady stream of military orders enabled the factory to finance construction of a children’s home, which was a ground-breaking initiative in Hungary at that time. |
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A new generation of cigarettes |
A new generation of cigarettesIn 1973 the tobacco factory in Eger became a flagship manufacturing facility, standing out among the provincial tobacco factories. However, it only achieved true national fame in 1976 with the launch of the “Helikon” brand, a low-nicotine cigarette, 85 mm in length, which retailed at ten Hungarian forints per pack. |
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A new lease of life for the old building |
A new lease of life for the old buildingWallis Ingatlan purchased the site of Philip Morris’s tobacco factory in Eger in 2005. Taking care not to compromise the integrity of Eger’s historic cityscape, the investor has seamlessly incorporated the factory building, which is an important landmark, into the modern structure of the shopping centre. |
Local specialities – from a remarkable water tower to the latest architectural solutionsThe construction work on the tobacco factory was carried out by Staub and Sons, under the watchful eye of factory director Román Boltizár. The fruit of their cooperation – the water tower that has also been incorporated into the Agria Park building – is not only spectacular in appearance, but was made truly special by the fact that it was fed with water from the natural springs of the Barát mountain, some 10 kilometres away. |
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