Mezőkövesd is a town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, Northern

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 ...

. It lies from

Miskolc Miskolc ( , , ; Czech language, Czech and sk, Miškovec; german: Mischkolz; yi, script=Latn, Mishkoltz; ro, Mișcolț) is a city in northeastern Hungary, known for its heavy industry. With a population of 161,265 (1 Jan 2014) Miskolc is the ...

and from

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 build ...

History

The area has been inhabited since the Great Migration. It is likely that the first Hungarian settlement was formed here shortly after the

conquest of Hungary Hungary in its modern (post-1946) borders roughly corresponds to the Great Hungarian Plain (the Pannonian Basin). During the Iron Age, it was located at the crossroads between the cultural spheres of the Celtic tribes (such as the Scordisci, Boi ...

, but in 1275 in a church document it was mentioned as a deserted place. It is likely that the village was destroyed during the

Mongol The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...

invasion of Hungary. In the 13th century, Mezőkövesd was the southernmost town belonging to the Diósgyőr estate. In 1464 the town got a seal and privileges from

King Matthias 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 ...

. The name of the ''

Matyó The Matyó are a subgroup of Hungarians. The Matyó people populate an ethnographic region in Northern Hungary, called " Matyó Land (''Matyóföld'')". Matyó Land consists of the town of Mezőkövesd and its vicinity. The Matyó have retained ...

'' people, who inhabited the town and the area, is likely to have come from his name. In 1544 the town was occupied by the Turks. In 1552 – in the year when the Castle of Eger was under siege by the Turks – Mezőkövesd was completely destroyed. Though it was rebuilt, after the battle in the nearby village of

Mezőkeresztes Mezőkeresztes is a town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, Northern Hungary near Mezőkövesd and Eger. Location south from county seat Miskolc. Can be reached by car on highway M3. The train station ''Mezőkeresztes–Mezőnyárád'' is away ...

, it was destroyed again in 1596 and wasn't rebuilt for almost 100 years. Until 1784 Mezőkövesd was royal estate. In that year the town freed itself from its

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a wa ...

obligations. The following years brought prosperity. In 1860 the railway line reached the town. In 1938 a thermal spring was found in the estate of Lajos Zsóry. A

thermal bath A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneothe ...

was built and now it is one of the main tourist attractions of the town. In 1941 the town had 21,000 residents, the highest population ever recorded. Before

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 ...

, there was a Jewish community in Mezőkövesd. At its height, there were 862 Jews in the community most of them were murdered by the Nazis in the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

Tourist sights

* Matyó Museum * Museum of Agriculture * Zsóry Thermal Baths, with indoor and outdoor swimming and medicinal pools. The sulphur-rich waters of the medicinal pools have curative properties. * Matyó homes, streets with the atmosphere of 19th-century country towns - also called "Hadas" district, meaning that people who used to live here inhabited the area in big family groups. In the ancient cottages local folk artists offer a view of what it is like to be "Matyó". The houses give home to embroiderers,
furniture painter
a glass cutter, a potter and for the children: a gingerbread maker, among other craftsmen.

Twin towns – sister cities

Mezőkövesd is twinned with: *

Bad Salzungen Bad Salzungen () is a town in Thuringia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wartburgkreis district. Geography Location Bad Salzungen is situated on the river Werra, east of Tiefenort and south of Eisenach. Divisions In July 2018 the former m ...

, Germany *

Petriolo Petriolo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Macerata in the Italy, Italian region Marche, located about south of Ancona and about south of Macerata. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,063 and an area of .All demograph ...

, Italy *

Rüdesheim am Rhein Rüdesheim am Rhein is a German winemaking town in the Rhine Gorge, and part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site in this region. It lies in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt, Hessen. Known as Rüdesheim, it ...

, Germany *

Târgu Secuiesc Târgu Secuiesc (; hu, Kézdivásárhely, ; german: Szekler Neumarkt; la, Neoforum Siculorum) is a municipiu, city in Covasna County, Transylvania, Romania. It administers one village, Lunga (''Nyujtód''). History The town was first mentione ...

, Romania *

Żory Żory (; german: Sohrau, szl, Żory) is a town and city county in Silesian Voivodeship, Poland with 62,462 inhabitants (2019). Previously it was in Katowice Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is located in the historic Upper Silesia region about sout ...

, Poland

Gallery

File:Mezőkövesd légifotó1.jpg File:Mezőkövesd légifotó2.jpg File:Mezőkövesd légifotó3.jpg File:Mezőkövesd légifotó4.jpg

Notable people

Csézy Csézy, real name Erzsébet Csézi (born 9 October 1979 in Mezőkövesd), is a Hungarian pop singer. On 8 February 2008 she was chosen to represent Hungary at the Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrade with the song " Candlelight". She finished la ...

(born 1979), singer * Funktasztikus, rapper * József Jacsó (born 1962), weightlifter *

Szabolcs Zubai Szabolcs Zubai (born 31 March 1984) is a Hungarian handballer for Orosházi FKSE-LINAMAR. He made his full international debut on 27 December 2004 against Slovakia. He participated in his first major international tournament two year later, fi ...

(born 1984), handballer

References

External links

* in Hungarian, English, German and Polish
Informational web site

��traditionally made only in Mezőkövesd and two neighbouring villages, it is one of the finest examples of Hungarian folk art
Zsóry Spa webpage
- Mezőkövesd thermal bath site
''A rose by any other name''
– article from the ''Budapest Sun''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mezokovesd Populated places in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County