Vértesszőlős is a village in Komárom-Esztergom 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 ...

. It is most known for the archaeological site where a Middle Pleistocene human fossil, known as " Samu", was found.

History

Prehistory

Vértesszőlős sits at the foot of the Gerecse Mountains, which were at one point in the sea. At the bottom of this sea, many fossils accumulated, including that of a ''

Homo heidelbergensis ''Homo heidelbergensis'' is a species of archaic human from the Middle Pleistocene of Europe and Africa, as well as potentially Asia depending on the taxonomic convention used. The species-level classification of ''Homo'' during the Middle Pleis ...

'' individual that is now known as Samu.''History of Vértesszőlős'', vertesszolos.hu
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Modern history

For most of its history, Vértesszőlős has been constantly inhabited by different peoples, including

Celts The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...

, Romans, Avars,

Moravians Moravians ( or Colloquialism, colloquially , outdated ) are a West Slavs, West Slavic ethnic group from the Moravia region of the Czech Republic, who speak the Moravian dialects of Czech language, Czech or Czech language#Common Czech, Common ...

, and

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

. According to legend, it was near Vértesszőlős that

Svatopluk I of Moravia Svatopluk I or Svätopluk I, also known as Svatopluk the Great, was a ruler of Great Moravia, which attained its maximum territorial expansion during his reign (870–871, 871–894). Svatopluk's career started in the 860s, when he govern ...

and

Árpád Árpád (; 845 – 907) was the head of the confederation of the Magyar tribes at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries. He might have been either the sacred ruler or '' kende'' of the Hungarians, or their military leader or '' g ...

fought. At the beginning of the 18th century, the village had several Lords, who recruited Slovakian-speaking

serfs Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery. It developed dur ...

to settle the land. These settlers radically transformed the landscape; they drained the marshes, cut forests to make pastures, and brought sheep into the territory. By the end of the 18th century, the Slovakian settlers decided to build a church, which was completed in 1792. In 1809,

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

's armies invaded Hungary, and ramparts were built in Vértesszőlős. In

World War I 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 ...

, 236 inhabitants of the village fought, of which 32 died and 7 became disabled. In 1929, the names of the dead were recorded on the Hero Memorial which stands in front of the village's church. This was also the year that the village's school was built. In

World War II 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 ...

, 23 soldiers from the village died. The front passed through the village twice, causing many buildings to be damaged. In 1944, the parish priest of the village died, and the pastor died a year later in January 1945. It wasn't until March 1945 that the Soviet forces displaced the German occupants from Vértesszőlős. Between 1990 and 1994 the town grew with several newly built public institutions: a sports hall, a football field, a new school building, a health house, and a pharmacy had been built. After Hungary joined the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

in 2004, from 2006 onwards, the EU development funds, more significant than the previous ones, provided new impetus to the development of Vértesszőlős.

References

External links

*
Street map (Hungarian)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vertesszolos Populated places in Komárom-Esztergom County