Dorog () is a small town in

Komárom-Esztergom County Komárom-Esztergom (, ; ; ) is an administrative Hungarian county in Central Transdanubia Region; its shares its northern border the Danube with Slovakia. It shares borders with the Hungarian counties of , , and and the Slovakian Nitra Regio ...

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 north-west from the center 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 ...

Etymology

The name comes from

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 ...

''drugъ'' (drug) - a partner, comrade, "brother".

History

The valley between the

Pilis Pilis () is a town in Pest County, Hungary. History The town was inhabited in Prehistory, prehistoric times, but was abandoned at the end of the Pannonia, Roman rule. Pilis was then first mentioned in 1326. It was destroyed during Ottoman Hungar ...

and Gerecse mountains has been inhabited since the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

. A

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

military road westwards from

Aquincum Aquincum (, ) was an ancient city, situated on the northeastern borders of the province of Pannonia within the Roman Empire. The ruins of the city can be found in Budapest, the capital city of Hungary. It is believed that Marcus Aurelius wrote ...

passed by the present-day town of Dorog, where Roman dwellings with floor heating have been found, along with conduits, graves and milestones. When Hungary's kings resided at Esztergom in the 11th and 12th centuries, Dorog was where the cooks of the castle lodged. Roads from all directions met here in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, and the Chapter of

Esztergom Esztergom (; ; or ; , known by Names of European cities in different languages: E–H#E, alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the righ ...

had the right to levy custom duties. The name, which appears in the form ''Durug'', ''Drug'' and ''Durugd'', is first mentioned in an extant document in 1181. The medieval settlement, destroyed in the Ottoman invasion, remained uninhabited from 1542 until 1649.

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

settlers then arrived in three waves, followed by

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

again. Dorog in the 18th century became a centre of communications again. Regular 19th-century visitors to the posting inn on the

Buda Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...

–

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

road included philologist

Ferenc Kazinczy Ferenc Kazinczy (), (in older English: Francis Kazinczy, October 27, 1759 – August 23, 1831) was a Hungarian author, poet, translator, neologist, an agent in the regeneration of the Hungarian language and literature at the turn of the 19th c ...

, statesman

István Széchenyi Count István Széchenyi de Sárvár-Felsővidék (, ; archaically English: Stephen Széchenyi; 21 September 1791 – 8 April 1860) was a Hungarian politician, political theorist, and writer. Widely considered one of the greatest statesme ...

and magnate Ferenc Wesselényi. New houses and streets sprang up round the

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

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 ...

church built in 1767–1775. The first written contract on mining coal at Dorog, dating from 1845, was drawn up between the Capter of

and the colliery managers Ferenc Wasshuber and József János Jülke. Thereafter, many great engineers became involved in developing the Dorog mines, including Vilmos Zsigmondy, the

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...

Miksa Hantken, and the

mining engineer Mining engineering is the extraction of minerals from the ground. It is associated with many other disciplines, such as mineral processing, exploration, excavation, geology, metallurgy, geotechnical engineering and surveying. A mining engineer m ...

s Henrik Drasche and Sándor Schmidt, who opened up and directed exploitation of richer and richer seams. Dorog, around the start of the 20th century, was a major mining centre, connected by

rail Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters *Railway track or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' (1967 fil ...

(originally HÉV) with

and by canal with the

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 ...

. In 1906, Dorog's

power plant A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...

was constructed (which was rebuilt in the 1980's with a high chimney). In 1900 Dorog had 1966 inhabitants (1369

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

, 477

, 55

Slovaks The Slovaks ( (historical Sloveni ), singular: ''Slovák'' (historical: ''Sloven'' ), feminine: ''Slovenka'' , plural: ''Slovenky'') are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation native to Slovakia who share a common ancestry, culture, history ...

). Budapest's factories and population needed more and more coal in the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

, so Dorog developed rapidly. Several housing colonies for the immigrant miners were built in the 1920's and 1930's. So were a large worker's hostel, a new

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

church, a

Reformed Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine Places * Reform, Al ...

church in Transylvanian style (which was constructed by

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

n coalminers who moved there after the

Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (; ; ; ), often referred to in Hungary as the Peace Dictate of Trianon or Dictate of Trianon, was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace Conference. It was signed on the one side by Hungary ...

), two new schools, a kindergarten, a modern hospital, a mine manager's club, mine manager's residences, a

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

, a World War I memorial and a recreation ground. Most of these were designed by the engineer Zoltán Gáthy. Some 300 men of Dorog lost their lives in the Second World War. A few years after the war, many Germans were expelled. During the socialist era, Dorog became a typical socialist town with prefabricated

blocks of flats A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building, as opposed to a low-rise building and is defined differently in terms of height depending on the jurisdiction. ...

. The mines gradually closed, so the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

planted several factories ( Gedeon Richter company,

Hungaroton Hungaroton is the oldest record and music publisher company in Hungary. Hungaroton was founded in 1951, when its only competitors in the Hungarian music market were record labels like Melodiya, Supraphon and from other socialist countries. P ...

record plant, a machine factory). Dorog became a town in 1984, the

industrial park An industrial park, also known as industrial estate or trading estate, is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more heavyweight version of a business park or office par ...

was established in 1999.

Economy

There are several factories in Dorog, including: *

Panasonic is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturer, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Kadoma, Japan. It was founded in 1918 as in Fukushima-ku, Osaka, Fukushima by Kōnosuke Matsushita. The company was incorporated in 1935 and renamed and c ...

Corp. (

solar cell A solar cell, also known as a photovoltaic cell (PV cell), is an electronic device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by means of the photovoltaic effect.

manufacturing) (closed down) * Gedeon Richter Plc. (medicine) * Novoprint Corp. (printing complex) * Dorog-Esztergom Hőerőmű Ltd. (power plant)

Population

Ethnic groups (2001 census): *

— 95.3% *

— 4.2% *Other — 0.5% Religions (2001 census): *

— 57.4% *

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

— 8.9% *

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

— 0.8% *Other Christian — 2% *

Atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

— 19.1% *No answer, unknown — 11.8%

Traffic and transport

Roads 10, 111 and 117 and the

–

suburban railway Commuter rail or suburban rail is a passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Commuter rail systems can use locomotive-hauled tr ...

line (with

Siemens Desiro The Siemens Desiro (, , ) is a family of Diesel multiple unit, diesel or electric multiple unit passenger trains developed by Siemens Mobility, a division of the German Siemens, Siemens AG conglomerate. The main variants are the Desiro Classic, ...

trains), all cross the town. The main street was rebuilt in 2006.

Commuter bus A transit bus (also big bus, commuter bus, city bus, town bus, urban bus, stage bus, public bus, public transit bus, or simply bus) is a type of bus used in public transport bus services. Several configurations are used, including low-floo ...

no. 800 (with Volvo 7700A buses) connects the town with

Árpád híd metro station Árpád (; 845 – 907) was the head of the confederation of the Magyar tribes at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries. He might have been either the sacred ruler or ''kende'' of the Hungarians, or their military leader or '' gy ...

. It runs every 20 or 30 minutes on a typical weekday.

Notable residents

* Jenő Buzánszky, footballer *

Gyula Grosics Gyula Grosics (; 4 February 1926 – 13 June 2014) was a Hungarian football goalkeeper who played 86 times for the Hungary national football team and was part of the "Golden Team" of the 1950s. Regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all ...

(1926-2014), footballer *

Imre Kozma Imre Kozma (4 June 1940 – 17 October 2024) was a Hungarian Roman Catholic priest, the founder of the Hungarian Charity Service of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, patron of East German refugees arriving to Hungary in 1988–89. Biograph ...

(1940-), Roman Catholic priest, founder of the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta, patron of East German refugees arriving to Hungary in 1988-89 * Nándor Hargitai (1919-2006), footballer * Péter Bacsa (1970-), wrestler *

Márta Megyeri Márta Megyeri (née Pacsai, born August 29, 1952, in Dorog) is a former Hungarian handball player who competed in the 1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and offi ...

(1952-), handball player * Lajos Szűcs (1943-), footballer * József Szabó (1956-), footballer

Twin towns – sister cities

Dorog is twinned with: *

Feliceni Feliceni (, , meaning "Upper Village of the Blessed", referring to the Virgin Mary) is a commune in Harghita County, Romania, in the vicinity of Odorheiu Secuiesc. It forms part of the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylva ...

, Romania *

Marienberg Marienberg is a town in Germany. It was the district capital of the Mittlerer Erzgebirgskreis (Central Ore Mountains district) in the southern part of Saxony, and since August 2008 it has been part of the new district of Erzgebirgskreis. As of ...

, Germany * Wendlingen, Germany * Žirany, Slovakia *

Tetovo Tetovo (, ; , sq-definite, Tetova) is a city in the northwestern part of North Macedonia, built on the foothills of Šar Mountain and divided by the Pena (river), Pena River. The municipality of Tetovo covers an area of at above sea level, wit ...

, North Macedonia

References

*''Dorog'', free publication,

External links

* in Hungarian
Dorog on map
{{Authority control Populated places in Komárom-Esztergom County Socialist planned cities Planned communities in Hungary Hungarian German communities