Kazincbarcika is an industrial town in Borsod–Abaúj–Zemplén county, Northern

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 is the district seat of

Kazincbarcika District Kazincbarcika () is a district in north-western part of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County. '' Kazincbarcika'' is also the name of the town where the district seat is found. The district is located in the Northern Hungary Statistical Region. Geograp ...

. It lies in the valley of the

Sajó The Sajó ( , Hungarian) or Slaná ( Slovak) is a river in Slovakia and Hungary. Its length is 229 km, of which 110 km is in Slovakia. Its source is in the Stolica Mountains range of the Slovak Ore Mountains. It flows through the ...

river, from the county capital,

Miskolc Miskolc ( , ; ; Czech language, Czech and ; ; ; ) is a city in northeastern Hungary, known for its heavy industry. With a population of 161,265 as of 1 January 2014, Miskolc is the List of cities and towns in Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, ...

History

Kazincbarcika was created during the Socialist industrialization, when several villages were unified with the aim of creating an industrial city to provide workers for the newly built Borsodi Vegyi Kombinát (a predecessor of today's BorsodChem). The village of ''Sajókazinc'' was first mentioned in 1240. It was a mainly agricultural village until 1850, when the first

coal mine Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

was opened. The village of Barcika came into existence with the unification of two villages, Upper- and Lower-Barcika. Although a mine was opened nearby,

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

remained the villagers' main occupation until the 1920s, when a large

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 built. After World War II, Sajókazinc and Barcika were united under the name Kazincbarcika. In 1954 it was granted town status, and the nearby village of Berente was annexed. The town already had 11,000 residents. BorsodChem, founded in 1949, took an active role in developing the town, and its job opportunities drew people from all over the country. In the 1970s Kazincbarcika already had 30,000 residents. In the 1980s mining and

heavy industry Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...

faced a

crisis A crisis (: crises; : critical) is any event or period that will lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affairs, especially when ...

, and the rate of unemployment was high. The district of Berente separated from the city and became an independent village, mainly due to the fact that Borsodchem was situated in this part of the town, but the residents felt more of its disadvantages than its advantages. Berente's secession from Kazincbarcika led to the newly independent village receiving the local taxes paid by the factory; it made Berente one of the richest villages in the country.

Public Life

Mayors after the end of communism in Hungary

* 1990-1994: Attila Ludányi (

Fidesz Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Alliance (; ) is a national-conservative political party in Hungary led by Viktor Orbán. It has increasingly identified as illiberal. Originally formed in 1988 under the name of Alliance of Young Democrats () as ...

) * 1994-1998: Dr. Bálint Király ( MSZP) * 1998-2002: Dr. Bálint Király ( MSZP) * 2002-2006: Dr. Bálint Király ( MSZP) * 2006-2010: Péter Szitka ( MSZP) * 2010-2014: Péter Szitka ( MSZP) * 2014-2019: Péter Szitka ( MSZP) * 2019-2024: Péter Szitka ( MSZP) * 2024-current: Péter Szitka ( MSZP)

Notable people

* Béni Egressy composer (born in 1814, as son of the Protestant pastor of the church of Sajókazinc.) * Péter Odrobéna footballer (born in 1985) * László Kleinheisler (born 8 April 1994) is a Hungarian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. * Kitti Szász, Hungarian

freestyle football Freestyle football is the art of juggling a football using any part of the body, excluding the elbows to the hands. It combines football tricks, dance, acrobatics and music to entertain onlookers and compete with opponents. The official governin ...

world champion

Twin towns – sister cities

Kazincbarcika is twinned with: *

Burgkirchen an der Alz Burgkirchen an der Alz is a municipality in the district of Altötting, in Bavaria, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north ...

, Germany * Dimitrovgrad, Bulgaria *

Knurów Knurów (; ) is a city near Katowice in Silesia, southern Poland. Knurów is an outer city of the Metropolis GZM, a metropolis with a population of two million. Knurów is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Bierawka River, a tributary of t ...

, Poland *

Revúca Revúca (; formerly ''Veľká Revúca'' in Slovak; ; ) is a town in Banská Bystrica Region, Slovakia. Revúca is the seat of Revúca District. Etymology The name is of Slovak origin and was initially the name of Revúca Creek (literally, 'roa ...

, Slovakia *

Sânnicolau Mare Sânnicolau Mare (; ; ; Banat Swabians, Banat Swabian: ''Sanniklos''; ; Banat Bulgarian dialect, Banat Bulgarian: ''Smikluš'') is a List of cities and towns in Romania, town in Timiș County, Romania, and the westernmost in the country. Located i ...

, Romania *

Świdnica Świdnica (; ; ) is a city on the Bystrzyca (Oder), Bystrzyca River in south-western Poland in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. As of 2021, it has a population of 55,413 inhabitants. It is the seat of Świdnica County, and also of the smaller dis ...

, Poland

References

External links

* in Hungarian, English, German and Chinese
Pictures of the history of the city

Aerial photographs
{{authority control Populated places in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County Socialist planned cities Planned communities in Hungary