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

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

in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County, 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, Croatia a ...

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 s ...

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 inv ...

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

Mátészalka Mátészalka is a town in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary. It is on the Kraszna River, 52 kilometers from the city of Nyiregyhaza. Geography It covers an area of and has a population of 17,01 ...

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 (U ...

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

, from

, from Nyíregyháza, from

Ungvár Uzhhorod ( uk, У́жгород, , ; ) is a city and municipality on the river Uzh in western Ukraine, at the border with Slovakia and near the border with Hungary. The city is approximately equidistant from the Baltic, the Adriatic and the B ...

(

Uzhorod Uzhhorod ( uk, У́жгород, , ; ) is a city and municipality on the river Uzh in western Ukraine, at the border with Slovakia and near the border with Hungary. The city is approximately equidistant from the Baltic, the Adriatic and the B ...

), from

Beregszász 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 ...

( Berehove), from Sátoraljaújhely 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 Urali ...

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 a ...

, 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 county seat, seat of Bihor County, Oradea is one of the most important economic, social and cultural centers in the ...

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

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

Coat of arms

The red and white stripes on the shield symbolize the Árpád Dynasty, 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 A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

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 defeated the Kuntesk

Cuman The Cumans (or Kumans), also known as Polovtsians or Polovtsy (plural only, from the Russian language, Russian Exonym and endonym, exonym ), were a Turkic people, Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confede ...

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) , occupation ...

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

Swabia Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...

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

in 1415. In 1421, it became a town.

István Várday István () is a Hungarian language equivalent of the name Stephen or Stefan. It may refer to: People with the given name Nobles, palatines and judges royal * Stephen I of Hungary (c. 975–1038), last grand prince of the Hungarians and first ki ...

, the Archbishop of Kalocsa,

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 Szabolcs may refer to: * Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, current administrative unit (county) of Hungary *Szabolcs (village) in Hungary's Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county *Szabolcs (county), the historical administrative unit of the Kingdom of Hungary *Szabo ...

. The first guild was formed in 1591. Because of the Turkish conquest of Hungary 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, 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 a ...

. 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 t ...

in 1944, and then deported to

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

. 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 A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

, 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, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

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 circ ...

, and the ruins of a medieval castle.

Notable people

* Bertalan Farkas, astronaut *

Krisztina Nyáry Baroness Krisztina Nyáry de Bedegh (31 October 1604 – 17 February 1641) was the daughter of Baron Pál Nyáry and Katalin Várday de Kisvárda. She was the second wife of Palatine Nikolaus, Count Esterházy. Her son, among others, was Paul I, P ...

(1604-1641) * ByeAlex, Hungarian singer, songwriter * Sándor Radó, Hungarian psychoanalyst * Victor Varconi, Hungarian filmstar who rose to fame in the

silent era A silent film is a film with no synchronized 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) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...

Arnost Zvi Ehrman Rabbi Dr Arnost Zvi Ehrman (1914–1976) is best known for his work as editor of the ''Talmud El Am'' (cf below). In addition, his contribution on Jewish law is evident in a number of learned articles and conference papers on the subject. Professor ...

(1914-1976), Israeli jurist

Rabbis

Moshe Grunwald Moshe Greenwald (1853–1910), also spelled Grunwald, a rabbi in Hungary at the end of the 19th century. He was the rabbi of Chust, Hungary and progenitor of the Pupa Hasidic dynasty through his son Yaakov Yechezkiya. He was also the author of ...

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

Rav ''Rav'' (or ''Rab,'' Modern Hebrew: ) is the Hebrew generic term for a person who teaches Torah; a Jewish spiritual guide; or a rabbi. For example, Pirkei Avot (1:6) states that: The term ''rav'' is also Hebrew for ''rabbi''. (For a more nuan ...

of the Hungarian city of Eger * Tibor Rosenbaum (1923–1980), rabbi and businessman

Politics

Attila Tilki Dr. Attila Tilki (born 9 May 1967) is a Hungarian jurist and politician, member of the National Assembly (MP) for Fehérgyarmat (Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County Constituency X) from 2006 to 2014, and for Vásárosnamény (Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg ...

(1967-), politician *

Péter Kozma Péter Kozma (5 September 1959 – 4 March 2017) was a Hungarian politician, member of the National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both hous ...

(1959-2017), politician * Dr. Miklós Seszták (1968-), jurist, politician, Minister of National Development(2014-), vice president of

KDNP The Christian Democratic People's Party ( hu, Kereszténydemokrata Néppárt, KDNP) is a right-wing Christian democratic political party in Hungary. It is officially a coalition partner of the ruling party, Fidesz, but is mostly considered a sat ...

József Tóbiás József Tóbiás (born 15 July 1970) is a Hungarian politician, who served as the leader of the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) from 19 July 2014 to 25 June 2016. He was also a Member of Parliament from 1998 to 2019. Career Tóbiás was born ...

(1970-), politician, former leader of the

MSZP The Hungarian Socialist Party ( hu, Magyar Szocialista Párt), commonly known by its acronym MSZP, is a centre-left social-democratic and pro-European political party in Hungary. It was founded on 7 October, 1989 as a post-communist evolution a ...

(2014-2016) * Dov Gruner, 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 Je ...

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 (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 (1991-), footballer *

Zoltan Silvashi Zoltan Silvashi ( uk, Золтан Золтанович Сільваші; hu, Zoltán Szilvási; or Zoltán Szilvási; born 20 June 1993 in Velyka Dobron, Zakarpattia Oblast, Ukraine) is a Ukrainian football defender who plays for Szentlőri ...

(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 Dávid Oláh (born 17 September 1988 in Nyíregyháza) is a Hungarian football player who currently plays for Várda SE Várda is a village in Somogy county, Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central E ...

(1988-), footballer * Ignác Irhás (1985-), footballer *

Valér Kapacina Valér Kapacina (born 14 July 1993 in Nyíregyháza) is a Hungarian football player who currently plays for Sényő FC. Club career He made his debut for Budapest Honvéd of 19 March 2011 against Szolnoki MÁV FC in a match that ended 0–0. ...

(1993-), footballer *

Tamás Csilus Tamás Csilus (born 8 May 1995) is a Hungarian football player. He plays for Nyíregyháza Spartacus FC in the Hungarian NB II. He played his first league match in 2013. He is the twin brother of Ádám Csilus, who is also a footballer. Clu ...

(1995-), footballer * Norbert Heffler (1990-), footballer *

Miroslav Grumić Miroslav Grumić (; born 29 June 1984) is a Serbian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Hungarian club Szentlőrinci SE, Szentlőrinc. Career After starting out at FK Mladost Ap ...

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

Gábor Jánvári Gábor Jánvári (born 25 April 1990) is a Hungarian football player who plays for Nyíregyháza Nyíregyháza (, sk, Níreďháza) is a city with county rights in northeastern Hungary and the county capital of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Ber ...

(1990-), footballer * Zoltán Horváth (1989-), footballer * András Burics (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 player. Club career Bacsa moved to Újpest in January 2020. On 22 July 2021, Bacsa signed a two-year contract with Győri ETO. On 2 February 2023, he moved to Kazincbarcika. Club stat ...

(1992-), footballer *

Sergiu Oltean Sergiu Adrian Oltean (born 24 July 1987) is a Romanian footballer who plays as a centre-back for Liga III club Lotus Băile Felix.

(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 massive fu ...

(1990-), footballer *

Péter Baráth Péter Baráth (born 21 February 2002) is a Hungarian professional footballer who plays for Ekstraklasa club Raków Częstochowa, on loan from Ferencváros. Club career Ferencváros On 14 February 2023, Baráth joined Hungarian champions Feren ...

(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 Ágnes Hornyák (formerly Ágnes Boczkó-Hornyák; born 2 September 1982 in Mátészalka) is a retired Hungarian team handball player. She mader her international debut against Norway on 2 March 2005. She participated on the World Championship ...

(1982-), handballer

Other

Éva Kaptur Éva Kaptur (born 15 November 1987) is a Hungarian athlete competing in sprinting events. International competitions Personal bests Outdoor *100 metres – 11.47 (+1.2 m/s, Budapest 2013) *200 metres – 23.53 (+1.0 m/s, Budapest 20 ...

(1987-), athlete *

Gyula Halasy Gyula Halasy (19 July 1891 – 20 December 1970) was a Hungarian sport shooter who competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1924), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad (french: ...

(1891-1970), sport shooter * Ervin Acel (1888-1858), American fencer

Twin towns – sister cities

Kisvárda is twinned with: * Hildburghausen, 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, f ...

, 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". Slov ...

, Slovakia * Mukachevo, Ukraine * Strzyżów, Poland * Târgu Secuiesc, Romania

Sport

Kisvárda FC Kisvárda Football Club is a Hungarian football club located in Kisvárda. It currently plays in Nemzeti Bajnokság I. The team's colors are red and white. History Kisvárda FC, later known as Várda SE, was founded in 1911 as ''Kisvárdai Spo ...

, association football club *

Kisvárdai KC Kisvárdai KC is a Hungarian handball club from Kisvárda. Since the season 2017/18 it plays in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I. Kits Team Current squad :''Squad for the 2022–23 season'' * Head coach: Valéria Bányász-Szabó * As ...

, 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