Elek (, ) 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 ...

, in the

Southern Great Plain The Southern Great Plain ( ) is a statistical ( NUTS 2) region of Hungary. It is part of Great Plain and North (NUTS 1) region. The Southern Great Plain includes the counties of Bács-Kiskun, Békés, and Csongrád-Csanád. The region is in the ...

region of south-east

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 ...

. Until the

Second World War 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 ...

, the town was home to the largest concentration of

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 ...

in the county, with its population consisting almost entirely of

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 ...

. Jews lived in the city as early as the 19th century and in 1944 many of them were murdered by the Nazis in the Holocaust.Hungarian Jewish census
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Geography

The town covers an area of and had a population of 5,567 in 2002.

History

* 1232 : First mentioned * 1566-1696 : Ottoman rule (

Ottoman wars in Europe A series of military conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and various European states took place from the Late Middle Ages up through the early 20th century. The earliest conflicts began during the Byzantine–Ottoman wars, waged in Anatolia in ...

) * 1724 : settling of German colonists (predominantly from

Franconia Franconia ( ; ; ) is a geographical region of Germany, characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect (). Franconia is made up of the three (governmental districts) of Lower Franconia, Lower, Middle Franconia, Middle and Upper Franco ...

) * 1739 :

Bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of Plague (disease), plague caused by the Bacteria, bacterium ''Yersinia pestis''. One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and ...

* 1894 :

Artesian aquifer An artesian well is a well that brings groundwater to the surface without pumping because it is under pressure within a body of rock or sediment known as an aquifer. When trapped water in an aquifer is surrounded by layers of Permeability (ea ...

* 1920 : Elek becomes border town (

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 ...

) * 1946 : Expulsion of German inhabitants * 1996 : Elek gains town status

Twin towns

Elek is twinned with: *

Gerolzhofen Gerolzhofen () is a town in the district of Schweinfurt, Bavaria, Germany. The town is the former center of the district of Gerolzhofen and has about 7,000 inhabitants. The mayor of Gerolzhofen is Thorsten Wozniak (CSU). GerolzhofenStadtpfarrkirc ...

, Germany (1990) *

Alerheim Alerheim is a municipality in the district of Donau-Ries in Bavaria in Germany. Mayor In January 2022 Alexander Joas was elected mayor. He succeeded Christoph Schmid, who had been in office since 2008. Sons and daughters of the community * ...

, Germany (1992) * Leimen, Germany (1992) *

Sebiș Sebiș () is a town in Arad County, western Transylvania, Romania. Situated from the county capital, Sebiș is one of the most important urban centres in the Crișul Alb valley. It administers three villages: Donceni (''Dancsfalva''), Prunișor ...

(Borossebes), Romania (1992) *

Gerlingen Gerlingen (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Gaerlenge'') is a town in the Ludwigsburg (district), district of Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 9 km west of Stuttgart, and 15 km southwest of Ludwigsburg. Gerlingen is ...

, Germany * Laudenbach, Germany (1994) *

Veľké Kapušany Veľké Kapušany (; ) is a small town on the eastern plains of Slovakia, not far from the Ukrainian border. Name The name "Kapušany" is probably derived from the Hungarian word ''kapu'', meaning "gate". History The territory of the town has ...

(Nagykapocs), Slovakia (1996) *

Grăniceri Grăniceri (, ) is a commune in Arad County, 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, Se ...

(Ottlaka), Romania (1997) * Dumbrava (Igazfalva), Romania (2019)

References

External links

* in Hungarian Populated places in Békés County Romanian communities in Hungary {{Bekes-geo-stub tr:Elek