Kisvárda (; german: Kleinwardein, yi, קליינווארדיין, Kleynvardeyn) is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than city, cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares ...

Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg ( hu, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg megye, ) is an administrative county (Hungarian: ''megye'') in north-eastern Hungary, bordering Slovakia (Košice Region), Ukraine (Zakarpattia Oblast), and Romania ( Bihor and Satu Mare coun ...

, in the

Northern Great Plain The Northern Great Plain ( hu, Észak-Alföld) is a statistical (NUTS 2) region of Hungary. It is part of the Great Plain and North (NUTS 1) region. The Northern Great Plain includes the counties of Hajdú-Bihar, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok, and Sza ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

of eastern

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...

near the border of

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

. It is the 3rd largest town in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg after

Nyíregyháza Nyíregyháza (, sk, Níreďháza) is a City with county rights, city with county rights in northeastern Hungary and the county capital of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg. With a population of 118,001, it is the Cities of Hungary#Largest cities in ...

and Mátészalka with a population of 16 669 people. The

Subregion of Kisvárda A subregion is a part of a larger region or continent and is usually based on location. Cardinal directions, such as south are commonly used to define a subregion. United Nations subregions The Statistics Division of the United Nations ( ...

lies between two large landscapes, the Nyírség and the Rétköz. Kisvárda is just from the border of

, from

, from Ungvár ( Uzhorod), from Beregszász (

Berehove Berehove ( uk, Берегове; hu, Beregszász) is a city located in Zakarpattia Oblast (province) in western Ukraine, near the border with Hungary. It is the cultural centre of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine. Serving as the administrativ ...

), from

Sátoraljaújhely Sátoraljaújhely (; archaic german: Neustadt am Zeltberg ; sk, Nové Mesto pod Šiatrom; yi, איהעל, Ihel, or ) is a town located in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county in northern Hungary along the Slovak border. It is east from the county ...

and from Dorolţ, Romania.

Etymology

The name of the town, which means "little castle" in Hungarian, dates back to the Conquest of Hungary. The conquering

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Ural ...

named the town for its earthwork. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, it occurred like ''Warda'' and ''Warada'' in documents. The "kis" (meaning ''little'') word part was added to differentiate the town from Nagyvárad (now

Oradea Oradea (, , ; german: Großwardein ; hu, Nagyvárad ) is a city in Romania, located in Crișana, a sub-region of Transylvania. The seat of Bihor County, Oradea is one of the most important economic, social and cultural centers in the western par ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

), "nagy" meaning ''great'' or ''large''.

Coat of arms

The red and white stripes on the shield symbolize the

Árpád Dynasty The Árpád dynasty, consisted of the members of the royal House of Árpád (), also known as Árpáds ( hu, Árpádok, hr, Arpadovići). They were the ruling dynasty of the Principality of Hungary in the 9th and 10th centuries and of the Kingd ...

, the medieval kings of

. The sword with the Sun and green background shows the heroic knights of Kisvárda. The scales represents the town's trade and markets. In the middle of the shield there is the Castle of Kisvárda in gold. There is a dark green, winged dragon around the shield, choking itself with its tail wrapped around its neck. This is the insignia of the

Order of the Dragon The Order of the Dragon ( la, Societas Draconistarum, literally "Society of the Dragonists") was a monarchical chivalric order only for selected higher aristocracy and monarchs,Florescu and McNally, ''Dracula, Prince of Many Faces''. pp. 40–2. ...

which derives from the Várday family's coat of arms.

History

The conquering

found a hill fort here in 895 which then they used for their border protection system.

St. Ladislaus Ladislaus I ( hu, László, hr, Ladislav, sk, Ladislav, pl, Władysław; 1040 – 29 July 1095), also known as Saint Ladislas, was King of Hungary from 1077 and King of Croatia from 1091. He was the second son of King Béla I of Hungary a ...

defeated the Kuntesk

Cuman The Cumans (or Kumans), also known as Polovtsians or Polovtsy (plural only, from the Russian exonym ), were a Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confederation. After the Mongol invasion (1237), many sou ...

prince in 1085 in a great fight. In memory of the glorious battle, he had a church established. He dedicated it to

St Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupati ...

and

St Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

Apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

. In the 12th century, the settlement's importance declined. The castle became the possession of the Swabian-

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

Gutkeled family. The settlement was the denominator of one branch of the family, the Várdays. The Várday family worked a lot to revive Kisvárda. Shortly the place got their fair housing law. Pelbárt Várady got permission from the king to build the Castle of Kisvárda in 1415. In 1421, it became a town. István Várday, the

Archbishop of Kalocsa In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus, also called Matthias I ( hu, Hunyadi Mátyás, ro, Matia/Matei Corvin, hr, Matija/Matijaš Korvin, sk, Matej Korvín, cz, Matyáš Korvín; ), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. After conducting several mi ...

's chancellor expended the town's autonomy in 1468. At that time, the population of Kisvárda was more than a thousand people. It became the centre of Szabolcs. The first guild was formed in 1591. Because of the

Turkish conquest of Hungary Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities ...

and the economic changes, the town's importance diminished. Prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Kisvárda had a large

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

community that represented about 30 percent of the town's

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using ...

. They were confined to a

ghetto A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished ...

in 1944, and then deported to Auschwitz. The majority perished there. A small community was re-established after the war, but almost no Jews are left in Kisvárda today. The former synagogue, which remains one of the most imposing structures in Kisvárda, is now a local

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and th ...

known as the Rétközi Múzeum.

Economy

Historically, Kisvárda has been a market town for the surrounding agricultural district, and is also has some light industry such as distilling, electrics, and brake pad production. It is on the main railway line from the Hungarian capital of

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

. Kisvárda also attracts tourists to its

thermal springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by c ...

, and the ruins of a medieval castle.

Notable people

* Bertalan Farkas, astronaut * Krisztina Nyáry (1604-1641) * ByeAlex, Hungarian singer, songwriter *

Sándor Radó Sandor Rado ( hu, Radó Sándor; 8 January 1890, Kisvárda – 14 May 1972, New York City) was a Hungarian psychoanalyst of the second generation, who moved to the United States of America in the 1930s. According to Peter Gay, "Budapest produc ...

, Hungarian psychoanalyst *

Victor Varconi Victor Varconi (born Mihály Várkonyi; March 31, 1891 – June 6, 1976) was a Hungarian actor who initially found success in his native country, as well as in Germany and Austria, in silent films, before relocating to the United States, where ...

, Hungarian filmstar who rose to fame in the

silent era A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

* Arnost Zvi Ehrman (1914-1976), Israeli jurist

Rabbis

* Moshe Grunwald (1853–1910), progenitor of the Pupa Hasidic dynasty through his five sons * Shimon Sofer (1850–1944), Rav of the Hungarian city of

Eger Eger ( , ; ; also known by other alternative names) is the county seat of Heves County, and the second largest city in Northern Hungary (after Miskolc). A city with county rights. Eger is best known for its castle, thermal baths, baroque bu ...

* Tibor Rosenbaum (1923–1980), rabbi and businessman

Politics

* Attila Tilki (1967-), politician * Péter Kozma (1959-2017), politician * Dr. Miklós Seszták (1968-), jurist, politician, Minister of National Development(2014-), vice president of KDNP * József Tóbiás (1970-), politician, former leader of the MSZP (2014-2016) *

Dov Gruner Dov Béla Gruner ( he, דב בלה גרונר; 1912–1947) was a Hungarian-born Zionist activist in Mandatory Palestine and a member of the pre-state Jewish underground Irgun. On April 16, 1947, Gruner was executed by the British Mandatory ...

, Hungarian-born

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in J ...

activist, member of the

Irgun Irgun • Etzel , image = Irgun.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = Irgun emblem. The map shows both Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan, which the Irgun claimed in its entirety for a future Jewish state. The acronym "Etzel" i ...

Sports

Football

Volodymyr Kornutyak Volodymyr Kornutyak ( uk, Володимир Петрович Корнутяк; born 24 July 1983 in Ukrainian SSR) is a Ukrainian former football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to s ...

(1983-), footballer *

Dušan Pavlov Dušan Pavlov (, born 19 July 1989) is a Serbian football player who currently plays for Várda SE. Born in Kikinda (SFR Yugoslavia), he started playing in a local club FK Kikinda In 2011 he signed to Egri FC. He made his Nemzeti Bajnokság II ...

(1989-), footballer *

Yves Mboussi Yves Simplice Mboussi (born 30 May 1987 in Bafia, Cameroon) is Cameroonian footballer who plays for Vietnamese football club Hà Nội playing in V-League. He plays in defender. From 2009 to 2010, he played for Hungarian club Nyíregyháza Spar ...

(1987-), footballer *

Robert Molnar The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

(1991-), footballer * Zoltan Silvashi (1993-), footballer *

László Miskolczi László Miskolczi (born 12 March 1986, in Nyíregyháza) is a Hungarian football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means ...

(1986-), footballer * Dávid Oláh (1988-), footballer * Ignác Irhás (1985-), footballer * Valér Kapacina (1993-), footballer * Tamás Csilus (1995-), footballer * Norbert Heffler (1990-), footballer *

Miroslav Grumić Miroslav Grumić (; born 29 June 1984) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Hungarian club Szentlőrinc. Career After starting out at Mladost Apatin, Grumić was transferred to Vojvodina in the 2004 winter transfer ...

(1984-), footballer * Zsolt Bognár (1979-), footballer * Zoltán Molnár (1971-), footballer * Gábor Bardi (1982-), footballer * Gábor Jánvári (1990-), footballer * Zoltán Horváth (1989-), footballer *

András Burics András () is a Hungarian masculine given name, the Hungarian form of ''Andrew''. Notable people with the name include: * András Ádám-Stolpa (born 1921), Hungarian tennis player * András Adorján (born 1950), Hungarian writer * András Ágosto ...

(1991-), footballer *

Raymond Lukacs Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ ( ...

(1988-), footballer *

Patrik Bacsa Patrik Bacsa (born 3 June 1992) is a Hungarian football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that i ...

(1992-), footballer * Sergiu Oltean (1987-), footballer *

András Gosztonyi András Gosztonyi (born 7 November 1990 in Kaposvár) is a Hungarian football player who plays for Kisvárda in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I. Career He spent a week at Newcastle United F.C. on trial. Joe Kinnear claimed he would have a massi ...

(1990-), footballer * Péter Baráth (2002-), footballer

Handball

Ivett Nagy Ivett Nagy (born 28 June 1982 in Kisvárda) is a Hungarian handballer who most recently played for Nantes Loire Atlantique Handball and also has been selected to the Hungarian national team. She made her international debut on 27 March 2003 ag ...

(1982-), handballer * Gabriella Juhász, Hungarian handballer *

, Hungarian handballer * Gabriella Juhász (1985-), handballer * Ágnes Hornyák (1982-), handballer

Other

* Éva Kaptur (1987-), athlete * Gyula Halasy (1891-1970), sport shooter *

Ervin Acel Ervin may refer to: * Ervin (given name) * Ervin (surname) * Ervin Township, Howard County, Indiana, one of eleven townships in Howard County, Indiana, USA See also * Justice Ervin (disambiguation) * Earvin * Ervine * Erving (disambiguation) * ...

(1888-1858), American fencer

Twin towns – sister cities

Kisvárda is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: *

Hildburghausen Hildburghausen (IPA adapted from: ) is a town in Thuringia in central Germany, capital of the district Hildburghausen. Geography It is situated in the Franconian part of Thuringia south of the Thuringian Forest, in the valley of the Werra rive ...

, Germany *

Karmiel Karmiel ( he, כַּרְמִיאֵל) is a city in northern Israel. Established in 1964 as a development town, Karmiel is located in the Beit HaKerem Valley which divides upper and lower Galilee. The city is located south of the Acre-Safed road, ...

, Israel *

Kráľovský Chlmec Kráľovský Chlmec (; until 1948 ''Kráľovský Chlumec'', hu, Királyhelmec) is a town in the Trebišov District in the Košice Region of south-eastern Slovakia. It has a population of around 8,000. Etymology The name means "Royal Hill". S ...

, Slovakia *

Mukachevo Mukachevo ( uk, Мукачево, ; hu, Munkács; see name section) is a city in the valley of the Latorica river in Zakarpattia Oblast (province), in Western Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of Mukachevo Raion (district), the cit ...

, Ukraine * Strzyżów, Poland * Târgu Secuiesc, Romania

Sport

* Kisvárda FC, association football club * Kisvárdai KC, handball team

References

External links

* in Hungarian
Memorial Book of the Jews of Kisvarda and its Vicinity
Ed: Rabbi Dr. Karoly Jolesz, et al., Tel Aviv, Kleinwardein Society, 1980 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kisvarda Populated places in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County