Gyöngyös
Town
Orczy palace of Orczy family
Orczy palace of Orczy family
Flag of Gyöngyös
Flag
Coat of arms of Gyöngyös
Coat of arms
Gyöngyös is located in Hungary
Gyöngyös
Gyöngyös
Location of Gyöngyös
Gyöngyös is located in Europe
Gyöngyös
Gyöngyös
Gyöngyös (Europe)
Coordinates: 47°47′00″N 19°56′00″E / 47.7833°N 19.9333°E / 47.7833; 19.9333
Country Hungary
CountyHeves
DistrictGyöngyös
Area
 • Total54.1 km2 (20.9 sq mi)
Population
 (2001)
 • Total33,553
 • Density620/km2 (1,600/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
3200
Area code(+36) 37
Websitewww.gyongyos.hu

Gyöngyös (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈɟøɲɟøʃ]) is a town in Heves county in Hungary, 80 km (50 mi) east of Budapest. Situated at the foot of the Sár-hegy and Mátra mountains, it is the home of numerous food production plants, including milk production and sausage factories. It is also the home of many vineyards on the slopes of the Sárhegy.

The Art-Nouveau and Baroque buildings around the main square were reconstructed after a disastrous fire started in the local hospital in 1917,[1] destroying a number of buildings housing important Jewish institutions and leaving in all around 8,000 homeless.[2]

Name

Baroque Church of Saint Bernard of Gyöngyös
Gyöngyös 1938

The meaning of the town's name is "Made of Pearls"; Croats from Hungary call this city Đunđuš Serbo-Croatian pronunciation: [ˈdʑûndʑuʃ]. The 16/17th-century historian Miklós Istvánffy wrote that the name of the town comes from the Hungarian word for mistletoe (fagyöngy literally "wood-pearl"), which is abundant in the local woods.

History

Gyöngyös was home to a large Jewish community before World War II. In 1942, anti-Jewish laws were adopted in the province, affecting the Jews of the town.[3] Following the occupation of Hungary by the German army in March 1944, 1800 Jews were locked in a ghetto. Some were saved by Hungarian Righteous Among the Nations personnel but most of them were deported to Auschwitz where they were murdered.[4]

Sights to visit

There are many monuments and places of interest in the town, such as the Orczy mansion, home of the Mátra Museum, Saint Bartholomew's Church (Saint Bartholomew Church, Gyöngyös, Hungary) in the center of town, and its Treasury.

Notable residents

Politics

  • Gábor Vona (born 1978), politician, leader of the political party Jobbik
  • Gábor Fodor (born 1962), jurist, politician, leader of the Hungarian Liberal Party
  • Pál Almásy (1818–1882), lawyer, politician, Speaker of the House of Representatives (1849)
  • Károly Kamermayer (1829–1897), jurist, councillor, the first mayor of Budapest (1873–1896)
  • József Balázs (born 1965), politician
  • Gabor Horváth, (born 1963) brigadier general, army carrier officer, promoter of NATO and EU membership, commander

Sports

Twin towns – sister cities

Gyöngyös is twinned with:[5]

References

  1. ↑ Charles Hebbert; Norm Longley; Dan Richardson (2002). Hungary (Rough Guide Travel Guides). Rough Guides Ltd. p. 323. ISBN 1-85828-917-3.
  2. ↑ Adrian Phillips, Jo Scotchmer (2010). Bradt Travel Guides. Hungary. p. 222. ISBN 978-1-84162-285-9.
  3. ↑ "Horváth Kálmán". The Righteous Among the Nations Database. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  4. ↑ "המכון הבין-לאומי לחקר השואה – יד ושם". www.yadvashem.org (in Hebrew).
  5. ↑ "Gyöngyös testvérvárosai" (in Hungarian). Gyöngyös. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
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47°47′N 19°56′E / 47.783°N 19.933°E / 47.783; 19.933

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