By virtue of their peculiar historical development, a local German-speaking people with their own distinct national and political consciousness had already called Transylvania home for some 700 years by the time of the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867. This consciousness was supported by their advanced and structured society, strong economic base, advanced cultural life, own educational system, network of patriotic and traditionalist organizations, high quality political, scientific and literary works, vibrant media and diverse associational and communal life. Prior to the regime change that occurred in 1918, these support institutions prospered. Even so, the Transylvanian Saxons were not satisfied; they regarded the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 and their subsequent loss of feudal privilege in exchange for meeting the requirements of the Bourgeois Age as national grievances, which led to a fundamental reconsideration of how best to advocate for their interests. As a result, their attitude towards the framework of Dualist Hungary significantly changed. All this led to major fault lines within the Transylvanian Saxon community even as a lively political life emerged at the same time. We would be scarcely wrong to claim that the coexistence of both proand anti-Hungarian sentiments, having arisen from the experiences and advocacy strategies of the „Hungarian Times”, would make their presence felt even after the regime change in 1918
