Hódmezővásárhely (ˈhoːdmɛzøːvaːʃaːrhɛj;
CroatianCroatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...
:
Vašarhelj),
RomanianRomanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
:
Ioneşti) is a city in south-east
HungaryHungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, on the Great Hungarian Plain, at the meeting point of the Békés-Csanádi Ridge and the
clayClay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
grasslandGrasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...
surrounding the
river TiszaThe Tisza or Tisa is one of the main rivers of Central Europe. It rises in Ukraine, and is formed near Rakhiv by the junction of headwaters White Tisa, whose source is in the Chornohora mountains and Black Tisa, which springs in the Gorgany range...
. The name of the town means "beaver field market place."
Prehistory
There is evidence of human habitation close to the modern town dating back 6000 years, and
archaeologicalArchaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
evidence suggests that the area has been continuously inhabited since then by a variety of different cultures.
NeolithicThe Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
dwellings recessed into the ground stored domestic items such as plates, as well as the
Kökénydombi Vénusz fertility symbol. Remains have also been found from the
Copper AgeThe Chalcolithic |stone]]") period or Copper Age, also known as the Eneolithic/Æneolithic , is a phase of the Bronze Age in which the addition of tin to copper to form bronze during smelting remained yet unknown by the metallurgists of the times...
,
Bronze AgeThe Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
,
Iron AgeThe Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
and the great migrations period. The town's archaeological treasures can now be seen at the permanent archaeological exhibition of the Tornyai János Museum.
Medieval period
At the end of the 8th century, the settling Hungarians found mostly remnants of the nomadic population and of the agrarian and animal-breeding
SlavsThe Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
who were escaping from the
BulgariansThe Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
.
Before the
MongolMongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
invasion of Hungary, at least seven villages with churches existed in the area. After the devastation caused by the Mongols, more villages were established, but these later became victims of the
TurkishThe Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
invasion. The territories of these villages were later absorbed by Hódmezővásárhely as the town grew. Evidence of more than twenty villages and churches from the
Middle AgesThe Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
have been found.
The present town of Hódmezővásárhely developed in the 15th century when
HódHod or HOD may refer to:*Brick hod, a long-handled box for carrying bricks or mortar*Hod, term for a Coal scuttle, bucket-like container for carrying coalPlaces*Hod Hill, an archaeological site in Dorset, England...
, Vásárhely,
Tarján, and Ábrány, once small villages, became joined and the market town was established. The town is known to have been called Hódvásárhely in 1437. The town’s location next to the road leading from
CsongrádCsongrád is a town in Csongrád County in southern Hungary. Formerly, the city also had the alternate Slavic name of Černigrad, which, like the Hungarian version, means "Black Castle" or "Black Town".-History:...
to
CsanádCenad is a commune in Timiş County, Banat, Romania. It is composed of a single village, Cenad.-Demography:...
was advantageous for the development of trade. In the Middle Ages markets, and particularly the trade in livestock, fuelled its growth.
Hódmezővásárhely was part of
CsongrádThis article is about the county. For the town see Csongrád. For the historical comitatus see Csongrád .Csongrád is the name of an administrative county in southern Hungary, on the both sides of the river Tisza, on the border with Serbia and Romania. It shares borders with the Hungarian counties...
comitatusA county is the name of a type of administrative units in the Kingdom of Hungary and in Hungary from the 10th century until the present day....
. Part of that county was under Turkish control after 1542. The region between the Tisza and the
DanubeThe Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
belonged to the
Ottoman EmpireThe Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, while the area to the east of the
TiszaThe Tisza or Tisa is one of the main rivers of Central Europe. It rises in Ukraine, and is formed near Rakhiv by the junction of headwaters White Tisa, whose source is in the Chornohora mountains and Black Tisa, which springs in the Gorgany range...
, including Hódmezővásárhely, belonged to
TransylvaniaTransylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
. After the military expedition of 1552, the whole of Csongrád county was taken by the Turks. The entire area was devastated by the Turkish offensive in 1566. The region was occupied by the Turks for the next 150 years.
Independence
At the time of the
RákócziFrancis II Rákóczi Hungarian aristocrat, he was the leader of the Hungarian uprising against the Habsburgs in 1703-11 as the prince of the Estates Confederated for Liberty of the Kingdom of Hungary. He was also Prince of Transylvania, an Imperial Prince, and a member of the Order of the Golden...
war of independence (1703–1711), the town was under the control of Count Miklós Bercsényi. The royal court confiscated the estate and gave it to imperial general Leopold Schlick. During the war of independence, Miklós Bercsényi seized the town back and gave it to the Kuruts general Sándor Károlyi for leasehold. The royal court in
ViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
did not accept Károlyi's claim to the territory after the peace of
SzatmárSzatmár is the name of a historic administrative county of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is presently in north-western Romania and north-eastern Hungary, south of the river Tisza...
and he was only able to retrieve it by buying it back years later. From 1722 to 1818, when landowner jurisdiction was abolished, the Károlyi family possessed the town.
In the 1848–49 fights for freedom, Hódmezővásárhely played a significant part in national events.
Lajos KossuthLajos Kossuth de Udvard et Kossuthfalva was a Hungarian lawyer, journalist, politician and Regent-President of Hungary in 1849. He was widely honored during his lifetime, including in the United Kingdom and the United States, as a freedom fighter and bellwether of democracy in Europe.-Family:Lajos...
reached the town on 3 October 1848 on his second recruiting trip. While there, he received the news that the Hungarian Army had been engaged in battle at
PákozdPákozd is a village in Fejér county, Hungary.In 1848, the Hungarian army defeated the Croatian army of Josip Jelačić here, in the Battle of Pákozd.- External links :*...
, and patriotic fervour gripped the town. Troops from Hódmezővásárhely took part in beating off the southern
SerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n attacks.
After the control of the Theiss in the 1860s, the surrounding lakes and brooks dried up. The inner areas were progressively filled and the town’s population increased.
Hódmezővásárhely seceded from the county in 1873 and received the independent municipals rights. The first signs of industrialisation were apparent from that time. In 1890 Hódmezővásárhely was the fourth largest Hungarian town with 55,475 inhabitants.
20th century
The modern picture of the town was established at the turn of the century. These decades were characterised by the construction of wells, dynamic building operations, and the construction of
canalCanals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
s. 70 per cent of the population, however, was engaged in farming and animal breeding.
A typical system of settlement was established with a huge system of detached farms. Animal breeding still dominated the livelihood of the inhabitants. Rural animal breeding was characterised by economic efficiency. Quality
horseThe horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
breeding, which was partly an export product and partly demanded by the needs of agriculture, was profitable.
PoultryPoultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of producing eggs, meat, and/or feathers. These most typically are members of the superorder Galloanserae , especially the order Galliformes and the family Anatidae , commonly known as "waterfowl"...
and
eggEggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...
production for the markets also flourished. Animal breeding was gradually replaced by extensive growing of corn, which became the basis of the town’s economy and employed large numbers of workers.
The
First World WarWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
hindered the development of the town and its people suffered losses. The human costs of the war contributed to the
social tensionCivil disorder, also known as civil unrest or civil strife, is a broad term that is typically used by law enforcement to describe one or more forms of disturbance caused by a group of people. Civil disturbance is typically a symptom of, and a form of protest against, major socio-political problems;...
around this time which led to demonstrations in Vásárhely.
In the first decade of the
HorthyMiklós Horthy de Nagybánya was the Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary during the interwar years and throughout most of World War II, serving from 1 March 1920 to 15 October 1944. Horthy was styled "His Serene Highness the Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary" .Admiral Horthy was an officer of the...
era, there was a fairly good market for the town’s agricultural products. Although the war and the occupation debilitated the economy of the town, the possibilities for the sale of the high-quality corn increased.
PorkPork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
breeding grew, as did the export of poultry. Dozens of medium-scale factories sprung up, but the great
world economic crisisThe Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
demolished this new-found prosperity. Unemployment increased, until a new economic boom in the late 1930s.
The Second World War interrupted the development again.
SovietThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
troops reached the town on 25 September 1944. Most of the powerful and well-off citizens escaped from Vásárhely. The war surged through the town on 8 October. The damage in human lives and buildings was not so huge as the damage to industrial equipment and infrastructure.
At the end of the 1960s giant factories were established.
Full employmentIn macroeconomics, full employment is a condition of the national economy, where all or nearly all persons willing and able to work at the prevailing wages and working conditions are able to do so....
was realised but the town’s industry proved inefficient. Political and economic bankruptcy, however, only emerged at the end of the 1980s.
After the transition in 1990, Hódmezővásárhely became a municipal town of county rank. After the municipal elections, its government was established. Hódmezővásárhely became an outward-looking town, aspiring to the ideals of
European integrationThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
and making efforts develop infrastructure and protect the environment of the town. The
European CouncilThe European Council is an institution of the European Union. It comprises the heads of state or government of the EU member states, along with the President of the European Commission and the President of the European Council, currently Herman Van Rompuy...
recognised the town’s achievements with an award.
The town is now a destination for foreign and domestic
tourismTourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
. Museums, churches, triumphal wells, statues, parks, and a thermal swimming hall are notable attractions.
People
- Lucien Hervé
Lucien Hervé was a Jewish Hungarian-French photographer well known for his black-and-white photos of architecture, especially that of Le Corbusier, with whom he had a nearly 20-year collaboration....
, photographer
- Robert Ilosfalvy
Róbert Ilosfalvy was a Hungarian operatic tenor; he possessed a voice of lyric grace and dramatic power enabling him to sing a wide range of roles in the Italian, German, and French repertories.- Life :...
, operatic tenor
- Ede Kallós
Ede Kallós was a Hungarian sculptor. His sculptural style integrated elements of realism and academism style mainly engaged in creating art for tombs....
, sculptor
- Ladislaus IV of Hungary
- Emil Lindenfeld
Emil Lindenfeld was a Hungarian-American oil-painter. He is best known for his vibrant choice of colors painting working people, idyllic pastoral landscapes, sensuous nudes, peasants on the field but, perhaps his most dramatic theme, the life of the miner.-Early years:Emil Lindenfeld was born in...
, painter
- János Pásztor
János Pásztor was a renowned Hungarian academic sculptor in the first decades of the 20th century.-Early life:...
- János Tornyai
János Tornyai was a renowned Hungarian painter born and dead in Hódmezővásárhely.-Early life:Tornyai, the son of day labourers, studied at the School of Decorative Art in 1886-88, then a guest pupil of Bertalan Székely, Károly Lotz and János Gregus in 1888-89...
, painter
- Franz Wittmann
Twin towns — Sister cities
Hódmezővásárhely is
twinnedTwin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with:
BajaBaja is a city in , southern Hungary. It is the second largest city in the county, after the county seat at Kecskemét, and is home to around 37,000 people....
, Bács-KiskunBács-Kiskun is a county located in southern Hungary. It was created as a result of World War II, merging the pre war Bács-Bodrog and the southern parts of Pest-Pilis-Solt-Kiskun counties. With an area of 8,445 km2, Bács-Kiskun is the largest county in the country. The terrain is mostly flat...
VidinVidin is a port town on the southern bank of the Danube in northwestern Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Serbia and Romania, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as of the Metropolitan of Vidin...
, BulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
AradArad is the capital city of Arad County, in western Romania, in the Crişana region, on the river Mureş.An important industrial center and transportation hub, Arad is also the seat of a Romanian Orthodox archbishop and features two universities, a Romanian Orthodox theological seminary, a training...
, RomaniaRomania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
Baia MareBaia Mare is a municipality in northwestern Romania and the capital of Maramureş County. The city is situated about 600 kilometres from Bucharest, the capital of Romania, 70 kilometres from the border with Hungary and 50 kilometres from the border with Ukraine...
, RomaniaRomania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
HaarlemmermeerHaarlemmermeer is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is a polder, consisting of land reclaimed from water, and the name Haarlemmermeer means Haarlem's Lake, still referring to the body of water from which the region was reclaimed in the 19th century.Its main...
, NetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
HechingenHechingen is a town in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated about south of the state capital of Stuttgart and north of Lake Constance and the Swiss border.- City districts :...
, GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
KelmėKelmė is a city in central Lithuania. It has a population of around 11,000 and is the administrative center of the Kelmė district municipality.-History:Prior to World War II, Kelmė was home to a famous Rabbinical College, the Kelm Talmud Torah....
, LithuaniaLithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
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SentaSenta is a town and municipality on the bank of the Tisa river in the Vojvodina province, Serbia. Although geographically located in Bačka, it is part of the North Banat District...
, SerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
SokobanjaSokobanja is a well-known spa town and municipality situated in eastern Serbia.-Population:In 2011 the population of the Sokobanja town is 7,972, while population of the whole municipality is 15,981...
, SerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
SolotvynoSolotvyno is a village in the Tiachiv Raion in the Zakarpattia Oblast of Ukraine, located close to the border with Romania, on the right bank of the Tisza River . The village's name comes from the nearby salt mine.Solotvyno was first mentioned ca. 1360...
, UkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
TamarThe Tamar Regional Council is a regional council in Israel's South District, on the south and western edges of the Dead Sea along the Arava valley. The council was established in 1955 with the opening of lodging at Sodom near the Dead Sea Works, and its jurisdiction covers an area of 1,650 km2.The...
, IsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
VallaurisVallauris is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. It is located in the metropolitan area of Sophia-Antipolis, and is today effectively an extension of the town of Antibes, bordering it on its west side.-Population:-Culture:In...
, FranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
ZgierzZgierz is a town in central Poland, located just to the north of Łódź and part of the metropolitan area centered on that city. As of 2007, it had a population of 58,164....
, PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
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External links