Kőbánya (, , ) is the 10th district 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 ...
() and one of the largest by territory. It is located in southeast
Pest, easily accessible from the
downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...
by
Metro 3, whose
terminus is named ''
Kőbánya-Kispest''.
It has strong industrial and
organized labour traditions; as such, it suffered a decline after the collapse of the
Hungarian People's Republic
The Hungarian People's Republic (HPR) was a landlocked country in Central Europe from its formation on 20 August 1949 until the establishment of the current Hungary, Republic of Hungary on 23 October 1989. It was a professed Communist_state# ...
in 1989–90. Today, the district is rebuilding itself into a living area for the middle class. Due to its large size, there are several diverse areas within Kőbánya, each with different architecture.
History
The Kőbánya area was historically used to mine
limestone
Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
for buildings in
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 ...
and north-west
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 ...
. The extensive and often un-plotted
tunnel network
In transport, tunnels can be connected together to form a tunnel network. These can be used in mining to reach ore below ground, in cities for underground rapid transit systems, in sewer systems, in warfare to avoid enemy detection or attacks, ...
that was created during the past five centuries is a major source of problems today, causing buildings to sink and roadbeds collapse. There were also clay-mining pits for the
brick
A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...
industry. Most of these holes have been filled with urban garbage during the 20th century, then covered with soil and built upon, which also causes problems today. As an exception, one of the holes became a fishing lake due to collapse.
A third of the economy in Kőbánya was in
wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...
-making, until the vineyards were destroyed by the
Phylloxera
Grape phylloxera is an insect pest of grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. Grape phylloxera (''Daktulosphaira vitifoliae'' (Fitch 1855) belongs to the family Phylloxeridae, within the order Hemiptera, bugs); orig ...
disease at the end of the 19th century. A building which exemplifies the historical heritage of Kőbánya is the "Csősztorony" (a small vineyard watchtower) in the middle of the Óhegy area. The district recovered when
beer
Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...
-making enterprises moved into the area and the light beer "Kőbányai Világos" became a kind of national drink during the socialist regime.
The historical Rákosmező area, whose exact location is no longer known, used to be the only legal tent site for
feudal
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...
parliamentary
In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
sessions throughout the medieval ages. It is only known that it was alongside the small Rákos stream, which runs into 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 ...
river.
The barren new Rákosmező area (now a traffic junction near the brewery) used to be the proving ground for Hungarian aviation pioneers around 1909–1912. Even
Louis Bleriot
Louis may refer to:
People
* Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name
* Louis (surname)
* Louis (singer), Serbian singer
Other uses
* Louis (coin), a French coin
* HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy
See also
* ...
flew there once during an air race.
Geography
Kőbánya lies mostly on plain. Óhegy and Újhegy (literally Old- and Newhill) are two higher-standing areas, roughly at the height of
Gellért Hill on the other side of 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 ...
river. Óhegy is 148 m high.
Demographics
Kőbánya is a largely working to middle class, mostly ethnically
Hungarian neighborhood (90,3%). There is a significant
Roma (Gypsy) presence in the district (1%), mostly scattered evenly over the entire district. As of recent, a number of small but visible immigrant communities are also springing up, notably the
Chinese (0,6%). (2001 census)
Economy
Kőbánya is home to pharmaceutical companies and
Gedeon Richter Ltd., and the sizeable beer brewer
Dreher. Manufacturing and the chemical industry collapsed with
the fall of socialism. Tax evasion still occurs frequently in the district, which hurts the district and the country.
Description
The centre of Kőbánya has a beautiful Catholic church built 1891–97 in
eclectic-
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...
style, dedicated to knight-king
St. Ladislaus. It was designed by
Ödön Lechner
Ödön Lechner (born János Ödön Lechner; 27 August 1845 – 10 June 1914) was a Hungarian architect, one of the prime representatives of the Hungarian Szecesszió style, which was related to Art Nouveau in the rest of Europe, including the ...
and a statue of the architect with a model of the church has been erected outside. The church has a very tall bell-tower and the church's roof is covered in patented colorful
Zsolnay "eozenic" porcelain tiles which were designed by Ignatz Oppenheimer. Next to it lies the "Pataky" culture centre and library, and
Szent László Gimnázium, the secondary school, also dedicated to King Ladislaus. It specializes in biology and languages (especially Italian). Many elementary schools in Kőbánya have been closed in recent years due to dwindling birthrate. On the opposite side of the church the "Mázsa tér" square is set to become a small
high-rise are with six 60-meter tall apartment towers. The Budapest general assembly or the
Ferihegy airport authorities are considering blocking this ambitious plan.
Újhegy have been covered with a vast housing estate of 10-story concrete houses during the 1970s and 1980s. A very large area of Kőbánya land near Újhegy is occupied by a prison and the New Public Cemetery (perhaps the largest in Europe). Other large open spaces, namely the horse-racing circuit and the Expo area (used for international trade fairs during the communist era) will be relocated outside the district to allow for housing projects.
In the north-east corner of the 10th district is a large fashionable
shopping mall
A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a large indoor shopping center, usually Anchor tenant, anchored by department stores. The term ''mall'' originally meant pedestrian zone, a pedestrian promenade with shops along it, but in the late 1960s, i ...
called ''Árkád'' on the Örs vezér tere traffic junction. In the south-east corner is a public sporting park (Sportliget) with indoor swimming pool and a small but very deep fishing lake. In the north-west corner is a large public park called
Népliget, which has been in poor shape since 1990, due to social outcasts drawn there by the intercity bus junction. A large
Planetarium
A planetarium (: planetariums or planetaria) is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation.
A dominant feature of most planetariums is ...
is located in the park. The south-west corner of Kőbánya hosts the terminal station of the
M3 underground line and a large mass transit junction. This area is inhabited by many
homeless
Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...
people.
Politics
Kőbánya has had a
socialist
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
party-dominated municipal assembly since 1990. Before 2002 the mayor was a member of the Christian Republic party. At that time a socialist bureaucrat became mayor. The inefficient and in-fighting Kőbánya council has become a symbol of corruption and feud, both too common to Hungarian politics. Kőbánya recently has been drawn into a financial and political scandal, domestically known as the "broker scandal" and lost huge investments, pushing the district into great debts. After much political manipulation, some of this sum was recovered, when the affected bank decided to pay to keep the even nastier issues under wrap.
The current mayor of X. District of Budapest is
Róbert Kovács (Fidesz-KDNP).
The District Assembly, elected at the
2019 local government elections, is made up of 18 members (1 Mayor, 12 Individual constituencies MEPs and 5 Compensation List MEPs) divided into this political parties and alliances:
List of mayors
Sport
*
Törekvés SE
Törekvés Sportegyesület is a Hungarian association football, football club from the town of Kőbánya, Budapest.
History
Törekvés debuted in the 1903 Nemzeti Bajnokság I, 1903 season of the Hungarian League and finished third.
Name Changes ...
Twin towns – sister cities
Kőbánya is
twinned with:
*
Bălan, Romania
*
Jarosław
Jarosław (; , ; ; ) is a town in southeastern Poland, situated on the San (river), San River. The town had 35,475 inhabitants in 2023. It is the capital of Jarosław County in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship.
History
Jarosław is located in the ...
, Poland
*
Letovice
Letovice () is a town in Blansko District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 7,100 inhabitants.
Administrative division
Letovice consists of 17 municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census):
* ...
, Czech Republic
*
Litochoro
Litochoro (, ''Litóchoro''; Katharevousa: Λιτόχωρον) is a town and a former municipality in the southern part of the Pieria (regional unit), Pieria regional unit, Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government re ...
, Greece
*
Štúrovo
Štúrovo (, ) is the southernmost town of Slovakia, situated on the river Danube not far from the mouth of the Hron. Connected by the Mária Valéria Bridge it forms a cross-border urban area with the city of Esztergom in Hungary. In 2023 the tow ...
, Slovakia
*
Vinkovci
Vinkovci () is a city in Slavonia, in the Vukovar-Syrmia County in eastern Croatia. The city settlement's population was 28,111 in the 2021 census, while the total population was 30,842, making it the largest town of the county. It is a local tr ...
, Croatia
*
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...
, England, United Kingdom
See also
*
Kőbánya cellar system
The Kőbánya cellar system or cellar system of Kőbánya (; in Hungarian language, Hungarian: ''kőbányai pincerendszer'', "cellar system of Kőbánya", or ''kőbányai alagútrendszer'', "tunnel system of Kőbánya"), sometimes known to non-Hu ...
*
List of districts in Budapest
Budapest, the capital of Hungary has 23 districts (, ), each with its own Municipality, municipal government.
The number of districts in Budapest
Budapest was organized into 10 districts (numbered from I to X) in 1873 after the unification of t ...
Gallery
File:Kőbányai református templom, civertanlegi.jpg
File:Kobanya ohegy u kapolnacivertanlegi.jpg
File:Kobanya uj templom sorgyarmellett.jpg
File:Kobanya zsinagogacivertanlegi.jpg,
File:Szent laszlo ter templomcivertanlegi.jpg
File:Kobanyai onkormcivertanlegi.jpg
File:Hungexpocivertanlegi.jpg
File:Kobanya planetariumcivertanlegi.jpg
File:Kobanya sorgyarcivertanlegi.jpg
File:Gergely Straße 1, Ecke, 2021 Kőbánya.jpg
Notes
References
External links
Aerial photographs of KőbányaPicture Gallery of Kőbánya
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