Pátka is a village in Fejér county,

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 ...

. Located just north of Lake Velence and 12 km northwest of

Székesfehérvár Székesfehérvár (; ; ; ; Serbian language, Serbian: ''Стони Београд''; ), known colloquially as Fehérvár (), is a city in central Hungary, and the country's ninth-largest city. It is the Regions of Hungary, regional capital of C ...

, the village extends across 40.4 km² of

loess A loess (, ; from ) is a clastic rock, clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. Ten percent of Earth's land area is covered by loesses or similar deposition (geology), deposits. A loess ...

plain and low crystalline ridges in the western foothills of the Velence Hills. The village is notably home to the Pátkai-víztározó, a 312-hectare

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

created in 1975 by damming the Császár-víz watercourse, which serves as a water-supply buffer for Lake Velence and supports a rich diversity of bird species. While maintaining a stable permanent population of around 1,770 residents, Pátka has increasingly oriented toward recreation and commuter living since the 1990s, attracting anglers, birdwatchers, and cyclists to its natural attractions and heritage sites.

Description

Lying just north of Lake Velence, Pátka extends across of

plain and low crystalline ridges in the western foothills of the Velence Hills. The village sits at , 12 km north-west of

. The cadastral area is drained south-east by the regulated channel of the watercourse. In 1975 this stream was impounded with an earthfill barrage to create the Pátkai-víztározó, a 312-ha

holding 7.9 million cubic metres; together with the Zámolyi basin it forms the water-supply buffer for Lake Velence. The lake's wide reedbeds and shallow bays now support at least 167 bird species—including spoonbill, white-tailed eagle and rare migrants such as lesser white-fronted goose—prompting conservationists to propose local protected-area status. Heavy abstraction to bolster Lake Velence, however, left the reservoir perilously low and triggered a mass

fish kill The term fish kill, known also as fish die-off, refers to a localized mass mortality event, mass die-off of fish populations which may also be associated with more generalized mortality of aquatic life.University of Florida. Gainesville, FL (200 ...

in December 2023; the managing angling federation ordered a full drawdown and fish rescue in early 2024, suspending all fishing until

water quality Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water based on the standards of its usage. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance, generally achieved through tr ...

recovers.

History

Archaeology 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, ...

shows that the site has been occupied since the

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 ...

Rampart Rampart may refer to: * Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement Rampart may also refer to: * LAPD Rampart Division, a division of the Los Angeles Police Department ** Rampart scandal, a blanket ter ...

traces at Szűzvár mark a late prehistoric

hillfort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

, while silver hoards and the

masonry Masonry is the craft of building a structure with brick, stone, or similar material, including mortar plastering which are often laid in, bound, and pasted together by mortar (masonry), mortar. The term ''masonry'' can also refer to the buildin ...

remains of a 4th-century Roman dam on the Császár-víz testify to continuous use of the valley's water resources. The name Patka appears in royal charters of 1192 as Patca/Pathka, probably derived from the Old Hungarian personal name Paty plus the

diminutive A diminutive is a word obtained by modifying a root word to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment, and sometimes to belittle s ...

-ka. During the Ottoman wars the village was repeatedly depopulated, then repopulated in the 18th century by

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

settlers whose

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

church (1730) still stands on Fő utca. Pátka next enters national history on 29 September 1848, when the triangle of Pátka–Pákozd–Sukoró formed the left wing of General János Móga's defensive line that halted Josip Jelačić's Croatian army in the first major clash of the Hungarian War of Independence.

Recent history

Industrial ventures arrived late in Pátka. Exploration for lead–zinc

veins Veins () are blood vessels in the circulatory system of humans and most other animals that carry blood towards the heart. Most veins carry deoxygenated blood from the tissues back to the heart; exceptions are those of the pulmonary and fetal c ...

beneath Szűzvár opened a small fluorspar mine in 1952; it closed in 1967, and the ore-dressing plant was dismantled six years later. Since the 1990s the settlement has shifted toward recreation and commuting: census estimates show the permanent population holding steady around 1,770 in 2025, yet weekend numbers swell with anglers, bird-watchers and cyclists heading for the reservoir and the 33-km Velence-lake cycle loop. Local government promotes "green heritage"

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

by maintaining way-marked

trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or a small paved road (though it can also be a route along a navigable waterways) generally not intended for usage by motorized vehicles, usually passing through a natural area. Ho ...

s around the Roman dam and installing a lakeshore bird hide, while plans for a wetland reserve hinge on resolving long-term water-level

management Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a Government agency, government bodies through business administration, Nonprofit studies, nonprofit management, or the political s ...

at Pátkai-víztározó.

References

External links

Street map
{{DEFAULTSORT:Patka Populated places in Fejér County