Csongrád (; , archaically also ''Црноград/Crnograd,'' ) is a town in

Csongrád County Csongrád (; , archaically also ''Црноград/Crnograd,'' ) is a town in Csongrád County in southern Hungary. History At the time of the Hungarian Conquest (the end of 9th century) the Maros Valley was under Bulgarian control. The fortre ...

in southern

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 ...

History

At the time of the Hungarian Conquest (the end of 9th century) the Maros Valley was under Bulgarian control. The fortress was known as Chorniy Grad (

Slavic Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to: Peoples * Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia ** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples ** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples ** West Slav ...

term for 'black castle') and served as a Bulgarian-Slavic guard outpost. Later King

Stephen Stephen or Steven is an English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is w ...

(1000–1038) made the town a state administration center, giving its name to a county. It remained a county seat till the

Mongol invasion The Mongol invasions and conquests took place during the 13th and 14th centuries, creating history's largest contiguous empire, the Mongol Empire (1206–1368), which by 1260 covered large parts of Eurasia. Historians regard the Mongol devastati ...

of Hungary (1240–42). The town and fortress were badly damaged by the Mongols; king

Béla IV Béla may refer to: * Béla (crater), an elongated lunar crater * Béla (given name), a common Hungarian male given name See also * Bela (disambiguation) * Belá (disambiguation) * Bělá (disambiguation) Bělá may refer to: Places in the Cze ...

subsequently transferred the county seat to

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...

in 1247. The move significantly affected Csongrád's recovery. It did not become a town again until 1920.

Main sights

The Main Square obtained its definitive shape in the first half of the 10th century, its streets are wide with many trees. The Main Street is lined by old plane trees. The road running along the grammar school in

Secessionist Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...

style leads to the old town. This part of the settlement, called Öregvár (meaning Old Castle), preserves the structure of a Hungarian fishing-village of the 18th century. The adobes and houses with puddle wall have thatched roofs, many of them are equipped inside with modern furniture. One building can be seen with original furniture (at Gyökér utca 1). The

Tisza The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa (see below) is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. It was once called "the most Hungarian river" because it used to flow entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national bo ...

has a sand-bank which looks like a seashore. Another attraction of Csongrád is the

backwater Backwater or Backwaters may refer to: Music * ''Backwaters'' (album), a 1982 album by American guitarist Tony Rice * Backwater (band), a jazz fusion band from Mobile, Alabama, or this band's 1976 debut album * "Backwater", a song by Brian Eno fr ...

generated by the river control works (Holt-Tisza), which houses several water-birds. In the wood strip on the left bank of the Tisza are the uncovered ruins of a

Benedictine monastery The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, they ...

founded in the 11th century.

Tourism

The greatest attraction in Csongrád is the

river bank. The river has a sandy beach and during summer hundreds of people come to bathe in the water. Csongrád has spas and some swimming pools as well, both indoor and outdoor. Csongrád's museums include: * Csongrád's traditional style house * László Tari Museum * István Széchenyi Elementary School's collection of the region * Gallery of Csongrád * Művésztelep (Artists' park) The permanent exhibition of the museum located in the center of the city awaits the visitors by presenting a material of town history. Less than hundred meters away from here the City Gallery can be found, where from time to time periodical exhibition of the Gallery the aquarelles of the painter-artist of Csongrád, János Piroska representing the brilliant technique of color-runout as light as air are shown. There are several churches in Csongrád: * The Nagyboldogasszony (Holy Virgin) Church - situated in the main town square and built between 1762–69 * Saint Rókus-church * Piroskavárosi Saint Joseph Church Franciscan Abbey There are two main festivals in the summer time: * Csongrád Wine Festival, which is usually last for 3–4 days * Körös-Toroki DaysKörös-Torok
/ref> which lasts for a week

Notable people

Miloš Crnjanski Miloš Crnjanski ( sr-Cyrl, Милош Црњански, ; 26 October 1893 – 30 November 1977) was a Serbian writer and poet of the expressionist wing of Serbian modernism, author, journalist and a diplomat. Biography Crnjanski was born in Cso ...

, Serbian writer *

Geca Kon Geca Kon also spelled Gaetz Kohn (; 2 August 1873 – 1941) was a Hungarian-Serbian bookstore owner and publisher. He established a bookstore in Belgrade, Serbia in 1901, and in 1905 he started his publishing business there under the name "Geca K ...

, Serbian publisher *

Pál Maléter Pál Maléter (4 September 1917 – 16 June 1958) was the military leader of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution who served as minister of defence in the third government of Imre Nagy. Maléter was born to Hungarian parents in Eperjes, a city in ...

, military leader *

Károly Csemegi Károly Csemegi (1826–1899) was a Hungarian judge who was instrumental in the creation of the first criminal code of Hungary. Though born Jewish, he later converted to Christianity. After serving as a major and commanding troops in the unsuc ...

, judge

Twin towns – sister cities

Csongrád is twinned with: *

Bečej Bečej (, ; , ) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town has a population of 19,492, while the municipality has 30,681 inhabitants. History Bečej was mentioned f ...

, Serbia *

Bełchatów Bełchatów () is a city in central Poland with a population of 55,583, as of December 2021. It is located in Łódź Voivodeship, southwest of Warsaw. The Bełchatów Power Station, Elektrownia Bełchatów, located in Bełchatów, is the largest ...

, Poland *

Breuilaufa Breuilaufa (; ) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France. Inhabitants are known as ''Breuilaufais'' in French. See also *Communes of the Haute-Vienne department The following is a list of ...

, France *

Le Buis Le Buis (; ) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France. Inhabitants are known as ''Buinauds''. See also *Communes of the Haute-Vienne department The following is a list of the 195 commune ...

, France *

Chamboret Chamboret (; ) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions a ...

, France * Chaptelat, France *

Nantiat Nantiat (, ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regions of France, region in west-central France. Inhabitants are known as ''Nantiauds''. See also * Communes of the ...

, France *

Nieul Nieul (; ) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in west-central France. Inhabitants are known as ''Nieulois'' in French. Communication At Nieul, there was a medium wave broadcasting station, which transm ...

, France *

Raisio Raisio (; ) is a town in Finland, located in the Southwest Finland region. It lies north of the regional capital, Turku. The population of Raisio is approximately , while the sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the most populou ...

, Finland * Saint-Jouvent, France * Thouron, France * Vaulry, France Csongrád also cooperates with

Berehove Berehove (, ; , ) is a city in Zakarpattia Oblast, western Ukraine. It is situated near the border with Hungary. It is the cultural centre of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine, and Hungarians constitute roughly half (a plurality) of its popula ...

, Ukraine.

Gallery

Pontonbridge csongrad.jpg, Pontoon bridge between Csongrád and Csépa Csongrad city limit sign rovas script.jpg, Rovas city limit sign near the pontoon bridge, featuring

Hungarian runes The Old Hungarian script or Hungarian runes (, 'székely-magyar runiform', or ) is an alphabetic writing system used for writing the Hungarian language. Modern Hungarian is written using the Latin-based Hungarian alphabet. The term "old" refer ...

Sandbank Csongrad.JPG, Sandbank of the Tisza river near Csongrád

History

Main sights

Tourism

Notable people

Twin towns – sister cities

Gallery

References

Further reading

External links