Mátészalka is a
town
A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city.
The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
in
Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, in the
Northern Great Plain region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
of eastern
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 on the Kraszna River, 52 kilometers from the city of Nyiregyhaza.
Geography
It covers an
area of and has a
population of 17,015 people (2011).
The town was the birthplace of actor
Tony Curtis' father, Emanuel Schwartz.
Population
In 2001, the population of Mátészalka was nearly 96% Hungarian, 3%
Romani, and 1% German.
History
Mátészalka was created from the merger of two large villages: Máté, founded in 1231 and Szalka, created in 1268. From the fifteenth century, Mátészalka was a market settlement. From 1920 - 1950 it was the seat of the authorities of some of the committees
Szatmár,
Ugocsa and
Bereg remaining in Hungary after
the Trianon Treaty. In 1969 Mátészalka received city rights. The city is the seat of the regional ''Szatmári Múzeum''.
The actor
Tony Curtis was born Bernard Schwarz, and his parents were from Mátészalka. His daughter,
Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis (born November 22, 1958) is an American actress, producer, and children's author. Known for List of Jamie Lee Curtis performances, her performances in the horror and slasher film, slasher genres, she is regarded as a scream qu ...
, helped to refurbish the synagogue, which is where her grandparents worshipped. She also attended the opening of the Tony Curtis Memorial Museum and Cafe, which is located in Mátészalka. About 1,500 Jews from the town were taken to
Auschwitz in 1944, after the
Nazis occupied Hungary that March. In 1946, about 150 Jews returned, but many left after the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.
Twin towns – sister cities
Mátészalka is
twinned with:
*
Carei, Romania
*
Humenné, Slovakia
*
Kolbuszowa, Poland
*
Mukachevo, Ukraine
*
Oberkochen, Germany
*
Vittoria, Italy
*
Zevenaar, Netherlands
References
External links
* in Hungarian
Populated places in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County
{{Szabolcs-geo-stub