Hódmezővásárhely
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Hódmezővásárhely (; also known by other alternative names) is a
city with county rights A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
in southeast
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 ...
, on the Great Hungarian Plain, at the meeting point of the Békés-Csanádi Ridge and the
clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...
grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...
surrounding the river
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 ...
. In 2017, it had a population of 44,009.


Etymology and names

The city's name, which literally translates as ''Beavers' Field Marketplace'', was first mentioned after the unification of two Árpád-era villages, Hód and Vásárhely, the former getting its name from
Beaver Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...
's lake, an
apocope In phonology, apocope () is the omission (elision) or loss of a sound or sounds at the end of a word. While it most commonly refers to the loss of a final vowel, it can also describe the deletion of final consonants or even entire syllables. ...
of ''Hód-tó'' (now one of the city's districts and the canal ''Hód-tavi-csatorna)'' and the latter coming from the mediaeval legal term marking settlements with the right of hosting markets and literally meaning
market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...
. The middle term ''mező'', which also refers to the city's state as an ''oppidum'', a city with certain rights that are given by its feudal ruler, was later added to the town and to its name. The city is also known by alternative names in other languages: ; ; and .


History


Prehistory

There is evidence of human habitation close to the modern town dating back 6,000 years, and
archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
evidence suggests that the area has been continuously inhabited since then by a variety of different cultures.
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 ...
dwellings recessed into the ground stored domestic items such as plates, as well as the ''Kökénydombi Vénusz'' fertility symbol. Remains have also been found from the
Copper Age The Chalcolithic ( ) (also called the Copper Age and Eneolithic) was an archaeological period characterized by the increasing use of smelted copper. It followed the Neolithic and preceded the Bronze Age. It occurred at different periods in dif ...
,
Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
,
Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
and the great migrations period. The town's archaeological treasures can now be seen at the permanent archaeological exhibition of the Tornyai János Museum.


Medieval period

At the end of the 8th century, the Avars found mostly remnants of the
nomadic Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...
population and of the agrarian and animal-breeding
Slavs The Slavs or Slavic people are groups of people who speak Slavic languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout the northern parts of Eurasia; they predominantly inhabit Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, and ...
. Before the
Mongol Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China (Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family of M ...
invasion of Hungary, at least seven villages with churches existed in the area. After the devastation caused by the Mongols, more villages were established, but these later became victims of the Turkish invasion. The territories of these villages were later absorbed by Hódmezővásárhely as the town grew. Evidence of more than twenty villages and churches from 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 ...
have been found. The present town of Hódmezővásárhely developed in the 15th century when Hód, Vásárhely, Tarján, and Ábrány, once small villages, became joined and the market town was established. The town is known to have been called Hódvásárhely in 1437. The town's location next to the road leading from Csongrád to Csanád was advantageous for the development of trade. In the Middle Ages markets, and particularly the trade in livestock, fuelled its growth. Hódmezővásárhely was part of Csongrád comitatus. Part of that county was under Turkish control after 1542. The region between the Tisza and 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 ...
belonged to the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
, while the area to the east of 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 ...
, including Hódmezővásárhely, belonged to
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 ...
. After the military expedition of 1552, the whole of Csongrád county was taken by the Turks. The entire area was devastated by the Turkish offensive in 1566. The region was occupied by the Turks for the next 150 years.


Independence

At the time of the Rákóczi war of independence (1703–1711), the town was under the control of Count Miklós Bercsényi. The royal court confiscated the estate and gave it to imperial general Leopold Schlick. During the war of independence, Miklós Bercsényi seized the town back and gave it to the Kuruts general Sándor Károlyi for leasehold. The royal court in
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. ...
did not accept Károlyi's claim to the territory after the peace of Szatmár and he was only able to retrieve it by buying it back years later. From 1722 to 1818, when landowner jurisdiction was abolished, the Károlyi family possessed the town. In the 1848–49 fights for freedom, Hódmezővásárhely played a significant part in national events.
Lajos Kossuth Lajos Kossuth de Udvard et Kossuthfalva (; ; ; ; 19 September 1802 – 20 March 1894) was a Hungarian nobleman, lawyer, journalist, politician, statesman and governor-president of the Kingdom of Hungary during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, r ...
reached the town on 3 October 1848 on his second recruiting trip. While there, he received the news that the Hungarian Army had been engaged in battle at Pákozd, and patriotic fervour gripped the town. Troops from Hódmezővásárhely took part in beating off the southern Serbian attacks. After the control of the Theiss in the 1860s, the surrounding lakes and brooks dried up. The inner areas were progressively filled and the town's population increased. Hódmezővásárhely seceded from the county in 1873 and received independent municipal rights. The first signs of industrialisation were apparent from that time. In 1890 Hódmezővásárhely was the fourth largest Hungarian town with 55,475 inhabitants.


20th century

The modern picture of the town was established at the turn of the century. These decades were characterised by the construction of wells, dynamic building operations, and the construction of
canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...
s. 70 per cent of the population, however, was engaged in farming and animal breeding. A typical system of settlement was established with a large system of detached farms. Animal breeding still dominated the livelihood of the inhabitants. Rural animal breeding was characterised by economic efficiency. Quality horse breeding, which was partly an export product and partly demanded by the needs of agriculture, was profitable. Poultry and
egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the ...
production for the markets also flourished. Animal breeding was gradually replaced by extensive growing of corn, which became the basis of the town's economy and employed large numbers of workers. The
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
hindered the development of the town and its people suffered losses. The human costs of the war contributed to the social tension around this time which led to demonstrations in Vásárhely. In the first decade of the Horthy era, there was a fairly good market for the town's agricultural products. Although the war and the occupation debilitated the economy of the town, the possibilities for the sale of the high-quality corn increased. Pork breeding grew, as did the export of poultry. Dozens of medium-scale factories sprung up, but the great world economic crisis demolished this new-found prosperity. Unemployment increased, until a new economic boom in the late 1930s. 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 ...
interrupted the development again.
Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
troops reached the town on 25 September 1944. Most of the powerful and well-off citizens escaped from Vásárhely. The war surged through the town on 8 October. The damage in human lives and buildings was not so huge as the damage to industrial equipment and infrastructure. At the end of the 1960s giant factories were established. Full employment was realised but the town's industry proved inefficient. Political and economic bankruptcy, however, only emerged at the end of the 1980s. After the transition in 1990, Hódmezővásárhely became a municipal town of county rank. After the municipal elections, its government was established. The town is now a destination for foreign and domestic tourism. Museums, churches, triumphal wells, statues, parks, and a thermal swimming hall are notable attractions.


Demographics


Politics

The mayor of Hódmezővásárhely István Almási (Fidesz-KDNP) died on 20 November 2017, leaving the position vacant. The independent candidate Péter Márki-Zay won the mayoral by-election on 25 February 2018. His unexpected victory against the Fidesz candidate received international attention and was seen as a possible indicator for a change in the Hungarian parliamentary election on 8 April 2018. The swing was not replicated in the parliamentary election. The current mayor of Hódmezővásárhely is Péter Márki-Zay ( Mindenki Magyarországa). The local Municipal Assembly, elected at the 2019 local government elections, is made up of 15 members (1 Mayor, 10 Individual constituencies MEPs and 4 Compensation List MEPs) divided into this political parties and alliances:


List of mayors

List of City Mayors from 1990:


People


Sport

The association football club, Hódmezővásárhelyi FC, is based in Hódmezővásárhely.


Twin towns – sister cities

Hódmezővásárhely is twinned with: * Arad, Romania * Baia Mare, Romania * Baja, Hungary * Brețcu, Romania * Bruckneudorf, Austria * Aksaray, Turkey * Debeljača (Kovačica), Serbia * Hechingen, Germany * Kelmė, Lithuania * Kiskunhalas, Hungary * Senta, Serbia *
Sokobanja Sokobanja ( sr-cyr, Сокобања, ) is a spa town and municipality located in the Zaječar District of the eastern Serbia. As of 2022, the population of the town is 7,188, while population of the municipality is 13,199. Geography Sokobanja ...
, Serbia * Solotvyno, Ukraine * Tamar, Israel *
Turda Turda (; , ; ; ) is a Municipiu, city in Cluj County, Transylvania, Romania. It is located in the southeastern part of the county, from the county seat, Cluj-Napoca, to which it is connected by the European route E81, and from nearby Câmpia ...
, Romania * Vallauris, France * Vidin, Bulgaria * Zgierz, Poland


Gallery

File:Hódmezővásárhely látképe.jpg, File:Hódmezővásárhely légi.jpg, Aerial photography of Hódmezővásárhely File:Hodmezocivertanlegi1.jpg File:Fekete Sas Szálló. - Csongrád megye, Hódmezővásárhely, Kossuth tér 3. Hodmezocivertanlegi2.jpg File:Városháza, Hódmezővásárhely, Kossuth Lajos tér 1 - Hodmezocivertanlegi3.jpg, Town hall File:A volt Takarékpénztár műemlék épülete. - Csongrád megye, Hódmezővásárhely, Kossuth tér 5. Hodmezocivertanlegi4.jpg File:Rovastabla avatas Hodmezovasarhely.jpg, Rovas city limit sign celebration, 2011 File:Régi árvédelmi fal részlete.JPG, Old flood protection wall in the city centre File:Hódmező zsinagóga.jpg, Old Synagogue File:Hódmezővásárhely on a snowy day.jpg, Snow storm on 9 January 2022.


References


External links

* in Hungarian and English
Hódmezővásárhely Blog

Aerial photography: Hódmezővásárhely

Hódmezővásárhely at Google Earth Community

Picture Gallery

Hódmezővásárhely at funiq.hu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodmezovasarhely Populated places in Csongrád-Csanád County Cities with county rights of Hungary Serb communities in Hungary