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 o ...

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 Sz ...

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 an ...

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, Cr ...

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 inva ...

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

Nyíregyháza Nyíregyháza (, sk, Níreďháza) is a city with county rights in northeastern Hungary and the county capital of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg. With a population of 118,001, it is the seventh-largest city in Hungary and the second largest in ...

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

, from

, from Ungvár (

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 ...

), 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 administrat ...

( 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 ...

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 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 ...

(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 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 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 King ...

, the medieval kings of

. The sword with the

Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

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 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 sough ...

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 ...

n- Swedish 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,

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 m ...

'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 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 usi ...

. 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 Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed int ...

. 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 wor ...

, 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 invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

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 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 o ...

. Kisvárda also attracts tourists to its thermal springs, and the ruins of a medieval castle.

Notable people

Bertalan Farkas Bertalan Farkas (born August 2, 1949) is the first Hungarian Astronaut#Cosmonaut, cosmonaut, space exploration, space explorer and fighter pilot. Hungary became Timeline of space travel by nationality, the seventh nation to be represented in spac ...

, astronaut * Krisztina Nyáry (1604-1641) *

ByeAlex Alex Márta (born 6 June 1984), better known by his stage name ByeAlex, is a Hungarian indie pop singer, songwriter, journalist, and novelist. He represented Hungary in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö, Sweden, with the song "Kedvesem ...

, Hungarian singer, songwriter * Sándor Radó, 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 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, when ...

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

Shimon Sofer Shimon Sofer (1820–1883) (german: Simon Schreiber) was a prominent Austrian Orthodox Jewish rabbi in the 19th century. He was Chief Rabbi of Kraków, Poland after serving as Chief Rabbi of Mattersdorf. He was the second son of Rabbi Moshe Sof ...

(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 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 bui ...

Tibor Rosenbaum Pinchas Tibor Rosenbaum ( yi, פנחס סג"ל ליטש ראזענבוים; 1923–1980) was a Hungarian-born Swiss Jewish rabbi and businessman and one of the heads of the Jewish community in Switzerland who saved hundreds of Jews during The Ho ...

(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 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 sate ...

* 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 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 (1989-), footballer * Yves Mboussi (1987-), footballer * Robert Molnar (1991-), footballer * Zoltan Silvashi (1993-), footballer * László Miskolczi (1986-), footballer * Dávid Oláh (1988-), footballer * Ignác Irhás (1985-), footballer * Valér Kapacina (1993-), footballer * Tamás Csilus (1995-), footballer *

Norbert Heffler Norbert Heffler (born 24 May 1990) is a Hungarian football player who plays for Gyirmót FC Győr. His brother, Tibor Heffler plays for Paksi SE Paksi FC (''Paks'') () is a Hungarian football club based in Paks. Since its founding in 1952, ...

(1990-), footballer * Miroslav Grumić (1984-), footballer * Zsolt Bognár (1979-), footballer * Zoltán Molnár (1971-), footballer * Gábor Bardi (1982-), footballer * Gábor Jánvári (1990-), footballer * Zoltán Horváth (1989-), footballer * András Burics (1991-), footballer * Raymond Lukacs (1988-), footballer * Patrik Bacsa (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 massive fu ...

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

Handball

* Ivett Nagy (1982-), handballer *

Gabriella Juhász Gabriella Juhász (born 19 March 1985 in Kisvárda) is a retired Hungarian handballer. Juhász made her international debut on 3 March 2007 against Norway, and participated on the 2009 World Championship. Achievements * Nemzeti Bajnokság ...

, Hungarian handballer * Ivett Nagy, Hungarian handballer *

(1985-), handballer * Ágnes Hornyák (1982-), handballer

Other

* Éva Kaptur (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 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 riv ...

, 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 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 city ...

, Ukraine *

Strzyżów Strzyżów is a town in Strzyżów County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland, along the Wisłok river valley. Strzyżów is one of the towns within the Strzyżowsko-Dynowskie Foothill, located south-east of Kraków and 30 km from Rzesz ...

, 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 S ...

, 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