Békés (; ; ) is a town in

Békés County Békés (, , ) is an administrative division (county or ''vármegye'') in south-eastern Hungary, on the border with Romania. It shares borders with the Hungarian counties Csongrád-Csanád, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok, and Hajdú-Bihar. The capital ...

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 lies about north of Békéscsaba and east of

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 ...

History

The area of the present town has been inhabited since ancient times, due to its good soil and proximity to rivers. After the Hungarians conquered the area, Békés and its surroundings were the property of the '' Csolt'' clan. Békés (the name means 'peaceful') was originally the name of the castle which gave its name to the comitatus, and, like many castles, was possibly named after its first steward. Many documents from the 13th century prove that Békés was the county seat. After 1403, when the area became the estate of the Maróthi family, Békés slowly lost its importance and the role of the centre of the comitatus was gradually taken over by Gyula. In 1566, the castle of Gyula was occupied by the Ottoman army, and Békés fell under Ottoman rule too. The Ottomans built a motte castle in the town, but it was destroyed in 1595 when the Ottomans had to defend Gyula against the Hungarians who tried to reclaim it. The area became deserted. It was only exactly 100 years later, in 1695, that Békés was freed from Ottoman rule. During the freedom fight led by Prince Francis II Rákóczi in the early 18th century the area of Békés was deserted again, for the last time. In 1720 John George Harruckern was granted Békés county via Royal Deed. He gave privileges to the serfs of the area, and gradually the population grew. By the end of the 18th century, the town already had its present five districts and the

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

and

Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...

churches and the

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

. The buildings of the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches and the Jewish Synagogue are all located within close proximity of each other. The annual floods of the Körös river meant a significant problem until the 1850s when the river was controlled. In 1872, Békés was re-classified as a village. It was not until a hundred years later that it got its town status back. Around the start of the 20th century, Békés was rapidly developing and several new buildings were built. During the World Wars, there were no significant battles in the area. Békés was freed from the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

on October 6, 1944. After the war, industrialization quickened. On April 15, 1973, Békés was granted town status. Today, Békés is made of several ethnic groups, including Hungarians, Roma, and with its near proximity to the Romanian border, Romanians who constitute approximately 5% of the population.

Sights

*Széchenyi Square (main square) with several historical buildings *Town hall *Protestant church ( Zopf style) *Roman Catholic church (1795) *Greek Orthodox church (one of the northernmost ones) *Jewish

(partially restored, interior and woman's gallery preserve its original form, now a pálinka center) *School museum *Several bridges on the backwaters of the regulated Körös river; Békés is called the "town of bridges" because of them *Small- boat harbour

Twin towns – sister cities

Békés is twinned with: * Gheorgheni, Romania * Myszków, Poland * Novi Itebej (Žitiště), Serbia

References

External links

* in Hungarian, English and German *
Official news website of Békés
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bekes Populated places in Békés County Romanian communities in Hungary Jewish communities in Hungary