Petofibánya
Encyclopedia
Petőfibánya is a village in Hungary
, Heves county
, near Hatvan
. It has a population of 3118 (2002).
, in the Mátraalja microregion, among the foothills of the Mátra
mountain range. The town was built by the Lőrinci
-Rózsaszentmárton highway, not far from the River Zagyva
.
reserves began in October 1945. The settlement was renamed to Pernyebánya that year, and Petőfibánya in 1948 (bánya means "mine" in Hungarian).
The mine was operated by the Petőfi Mining Company that built a power plant in nearby Lőrinci
. Petőfibánya was part of Lőrinci
until 1989 when it became an independent municipality. The mining company also established a mining machine plant in Petőfibánya. Other industrial activities appeared later. The town was given its present name after the state owned company which bore the name of Sándor Petőfi
, the national poet of Hungarians.
In the 1950s and 1960s block houses and public buildings were erected in the typical Socialist realist style of the era. Petőfibánya never became an important industrial city because lignite mining halted in the middle of the 1960s. The development of the town came to an abrupt end.
The economic consequences of the 1989 change hit hard Petőfibánya. In the 1990s unemployment was more than 30 percent and many people left the town. Today Petőfibánya is a quiet backwater and a strange "open-air museum" of the 1950s urban planning
policies.
Hungary
Hungary , 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...
, Heves county
Heves (county)
Heves county lies in northern Hungary. It lies between the right bank of the river Tisza and the Mátra and Bükk mountains. It shares borders with the Hungarian counties Pest, Nógrád, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén and Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok...
, near Hatvan
Hatvan
Hatvan is a town in Heves county, Hungary. Hatvan is the Hungarian word for "sixty". Hatvan is located at around ....
. It has a population of 3118 (2002).
Geography
Petőfibánya is situated 15 km from HatvanHatvan
Hatvan is a town in Heves county, Hungary. Hatvan is the Hungarian word for "sixty". Hatvan is located at around ....
, in the Mátraalja microregion, among the foothills of the Mátra
Mátra
Mátra is a mountain range in northern Hungary, between the towns Gyöngyös and Eger. The country's highest peak, Kékestető , belongs to this mountain range....
mountain range. The town was built by the Lőrinci
Lorinci
Lőrinci is a town in Heves county, Hungary....
-Rózsaszentmárton highway, not far from the River Zagyva
Zagyva
The Zagyva is a river in Hungary. Its length is 160 km, and drains an area of about 5,677 km². The source is near Salgótarján in Nógrád county. It flows through the towns of Bátonyterenye, Pásztó, Hatvan and Jászberény and flows into the Tisza River at Szolnok. Average discharge at Szolnok is 9 m³/s....
.
History
Petőfibánya is a small planned city established between 1945 and 1965. Originally there was a small settlement on the site called Pernyepuszta. A coal mine was established in 1942 and exploitation of the local ligniteLignite
Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, or Rosebud coal by Northern Pacific Railroad,is a soft brown fuel with characteristics that put it somewhere between coal and peat...
reserves began in October 1945. The settlement was renamed to Pernyebánya that year, and Petőfibánya in 1948 (bánya means "mine" in Hungarian).
The mine was operated by the Petőfi Mining Company that built a power plant in nearby Lőrinci
Lorinci
Lőrinci is a town in Heves county, Hungary....
. Petőfibánya was part of Lőrinci
Lorinci
Lőrinci is a town in Heves county, Hungary....
until 1989 when it became an independent municipality. The mining company also established a mining machine plant in Petőfibánya. Other industrial activities appeared later. The town was given its present name after the state owned company which bore the name of Sándor Petőfi
Sándor Petofi
Sándor Petőfi , was a Hungarian poet and liberal revolutionary. He is considered as Hungary's national poet and he was one of the key figures of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848...
, the national poet of Hungarians.
In the 1950s and 1960s block houses and public buildings were erected in the typical Socialist realist style of the era. Petőfibánya never became an important industrial city because lignite mining halted in the middle of the 1960s. The development of the town came to an abrupt end.
The economic consequences of the 1989 change hit hard Petőfibánya. In the 1990s unemployment was more than 30 percent and many people left the town. Today Petőfibánya is a quiet backwater and a strange "open-air museum" of the 1950s urban planning
Urban planning
Urban planning incorporates areas such as economics, design, ecology, sociology, geography, law, political science, and statistics to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities....
policies.