Békásmegyer () is a

neighbourhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, 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 and ...

. It belongs administratively to the 3rd District. Békásmegyer consists of two different parts, a huge high-rise housing estate and the traditional ''Ófalu'' ("Old Village") with older houses. Békásmegyer is divided into two by Suburban railway line H5. Békásmegyer left-side or mountain side and Békásmegyer right-side or

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

side. The left side was an independent village until 1 January 1950, when it was merged into Budapest, while the right side was a water reservoir of the

Danube river The Danube ( ; see also other names) is the second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest south into the Black Sea. A large and historically important riv ...

. Today 41,000 people live in Békásmegyer

Microdistrict A microdistrict or microraion is a residential complex—a primary structural element of the residential area construction in the Soviet Union and in some post-Soviet and former socialist states. Residential districts in most of the cities a ...

(13,394 panel flats) and a few thousand in the former village building.

Important buildings and institutions

Education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

* Czucor Gergely Elementary School and Gymnasium * Veres Péter Secondary School of Békásmegyer * Bárczi Géza Elementary School * Medgyesi Ferenc street Elementary School * Pais Ferenc Elementary School * Milton Fridman University * Zipernowsky Károly Elementary School

Religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

* Beatified Özséb Parish church * Saint Joseph church * Lutheran Congregation of Békásmegyer * Békásmegyer

Calvary Calvary ( or ) or Golgotha () was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where, according to Christianity's four canonical gospels, Jesus was crucified. Since at least the early medieval period, it has been a destination for pilgrimage. ...

Other

Community Center A community centre, community center, or community hall is a public location where members of a community gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may be open for the whole community or for a sp ...

Marketplace A marketplace, market place, or just market, is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a ''souk'' (from ...

of Békásmegyer

Location

Békásmegyer is located in the northwestern part of Budapest's 3rd district. The area is near the

Danube River The Danube ( ; see also other names) is the second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest south into the Black Sea. A large and historically important riv ...

and lies at the foot of the Pilis Mountains to the north. Neighboring areas include

Óbuda Óbuda (, ) is, together with Buda and Pest, one of the three cities that were unified to form the Hungarian capital city of Budapest in 1873. Today, together with Békásmegyer, Óbuda forms a part of the city's third district, although the to ...

and, to the north,

Szentendre Szentendre, also known as Saint Andrew is a riverside town in Pest County, Hungary, between the capital city Budapest and Pilis Mountains, Pilis-Visegrád Mountains. The town is known for its museums (most notably the :hu: Szentendrei Szabadtéri ...

. Békásmegyer is primarily composed of residential neighborhoods, including panel buildings and smaller residential complexes. The area also features green spaces, parks, and promenades, providing a pleasant environment for residents.It is situated on the edge of

next to

Budakalász Budakalász is a town in the Budapest metropolitan area, Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, R ...

, and the edge of the Danube river. Békásmegyer has the last train station within the capital district of Budapest, which is the H5 HÉV suburban railway line.

Around of Békásmegyer

Békásmegyer is located in the 3rd district of Budapest, and the following towns and neighborhoods are located nearby: * 1.

– Directly adjacent to Békásmegyer, also part of the 3rd district.

is one of the oldest districts in

and lies southwest of Békásmegyer. * 2.

– Located to the north of Békásmegyer, in the direction of the Pilis Mountains.

is a well-known artistic town situated north of Budapest, in the Danube Bend. * 3.Péterhalom – A smaller area, but still located near the 3rd district, to the northwest of Békásmegyer. * 4. Hévízgyörk – This town is located outside Budapest's administrative boundaries, but it is in close proximity to the area. * 5. Üröm – A town located to the northwest of Békásmegyer, near the Pilis Mountains, just outside the capital.

Public transportation

There are many modes of transportation in Békásmegyer. It is easy to get here, and from here, it's also easy to reach the city center or even go outside of

. Here are the main public transportation options available in the area: * Bus lines: 34, 134, 143, 160, 204, 243, 296 * Long distance bus lines: 869 * Night bus lines: 923, 934, 943, 960 * Suburban railway ( HÉV) lines: H5

History of Békásmegyer

* First Mentions and Early History: ** 1368: First mention, the area was owned by the nuns of

. ** 1477: The land becomes the property of the Pilis Abbey. ** Early decades of Ottoman rule: The village prospered, with 35 taxpaying houses in 1580-81. ** By the second half of the

17th century The 17th century lasted from January 1, 1601 (represented by the Roman numerals MDCI), to December 31, 1700 (MDCC). It falls into the early modern period of Europe and in that continent (whose impact on the world was increasing) was characterized ...

, the village was completely destroyed, and it was not mentioned between 1690-95. By 1727, it was deserted. * Settlers' Arrival and Development (1740s): ** German

settlers A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a Human settlement, settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among ...

arrived, creating a flourishing community. ** In the first half of the 18th century: Krottendorf became a 1054-hectare German-speaking community. ** In 1950, Ófalu joined

. * Deportation – 1946: ** After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, German-speaking families were deported, with 575 families (2281 people) being transported to

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. ** After the

deportation Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people by a state from its sovereign territory. The actual definition changes depending on the place and context, and it also changes over time. A person who has been deported or is under sen ...

, the village became depopulated, and new residents moved into the empty houses, mostly from

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

and

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

. * Economic and Social Changes After the Deportation: ** After the deportation, agriculture ceased to play a significant role, and local industry became dominant. ** With the arrival of the new residents, the Swabian traditions gradually faded into the background. * The Socialist Era: ** Panel buildings began to be constructed between 1975-76, leading to a rapid increase in the population. ** The village's infrastructure developed, with new schools and transportation options (suburban train, BKV buses).

Name

The first recorded name of the village was '' Megyer'', which refers to the fact that people from the Megyer tribe (who gave their name to

Magyars Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common culture, language and history. They also have a notable presence in former parts of the Kingdom of Hungary. The Hungarian language belongs to the ...

) settled here after the migration of Hungarians into

Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, on the west by Noricum and upper Roman Italy, Italy, and on the southward by Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia and upper Moesia. It ...

in the early

10th century The 10th century was the period from 901 (represented by the Roman numerals CMI) through 1000 (M) in accordance with the Julian calendar, and the last century of the 1st millennium. In China, the Song dynasty was established, with most of C ...

. Megyer belongs to the oldest strata of Hungarian

toponymy Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' ( proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for a proper na ...

. In the second half of the

Megyer was destroyed by the wars with

Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks () were a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group in Anatolia. Originally from Central Asia, they migrated to Anatolia in the 13th century and founded the Ottoman Empire, in which they remained socio-politically dominant for the e ...

. The village was resettled by German or Swabian colonist from the

1740s File:1740s montage.jpg, 335x335px, From top left, clockwise: The War of Jenkins' Ear, a conflict between the British and Spanish Empires lasting from 1739 to 1748. The War of the Austrian Succession from 1740 to 1748, caused by the death of Empero ...

onwards. They called the village ''Krottendorf'' (literally "Frogbury" or "Frogvillage") because of the

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...

-populated marshes of the

meadows. Hungarians called the village ''Békás-Megyer'', meaning "Froggy Megyer", since the beginning of the

19th century The 19th century began on 1 January 1801 (represented by the Roman numerals MDCCCI), and ended on 31 December 1900 (MCM). It was the 9th century of the 2nd millennium. It was characterized by vast social upheaval. Slavery was Abolitionism, ...

. Now District III. is officially called

Óbuda-Békásmegyer Óbuda-Békásmegyer is the List of districts in Budapest, 3rd district of Budapest, Hungary. Landmarks * Aquincum, ruins of the Roman city * Óbuda Jewish Cemetery * Római Part (Roman Beach) History The military camp, then city of Aquincum, l ...

Population

1890 Events January * January 1 – The Kingdom of Italy establishes Eritrea as its colony in the Horn of Africa. * January 2 – Alice Sanger becomes the first female staffer in the White House. * January 11 – 1890 British Ultimatum: The Uni ...

Békásmegyer had a population of 1340, 95% of Swabian ( German) origin. A steady influx of

resulted in a ten-fold increase in the total population by the

, and dilution of the

Swabians Swabians ( , singular ''Schwabe'') are a Germans, German ethnographic group native to the region of Swabia, which is mostly divided between the modern states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria, in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately de ...

to less than 25%. In

1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

three-quarters of the

were expropriated and expelled to war ravaged

. During the 1970s and

1980s File:1980s replacement montage02.PNG, 335px, From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, ''Space Shuttle Columbia, Columbia'', lifts off in 1981; US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet Union, Soviet General Secretary of the Communist Party of ...

Békásmegyer's population increased rapidly because the construction of the new

microdistrict A microdistrict or microraion is a residential complex—a primary structural element of the residential area construction in the Soviet Union and in some post-Soviet and former socialist states. Residential districts in most of the cities a ...

(about from a few thousand to 50,000-55,000).

References

* https://bekasmegyer-ofalu.hu/a-telepules/a-mult/telepulestortenet/ (''Óbudai Helytörténeti Füzetek'', 1996; ''Szülőfalunk Békásmegyer'', 1997) * https://bkv-jaratok.altalanos.info/kerulet/3

External links

The official website of Budapest's Third District
Óbuda-Békásmegyer Neighbourhoods of Budapest Former municipalities of Hungary {{Budapest-geo-stub