Hódmezővásárhely (; also known by other
alternative names
Alternative or alternate may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki''
* ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film
* ''The Alternative ...
) is a
city with county rights in southeast
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...
, on the
Great Hungarian Plain, at the meeting point of the
Békés-Csanádi Ridge and the
clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4).
Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay pa ...
grassland
A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...
surrounding the river
Tisza
The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. Once, it was called "the most Hungarian river" because it flowed entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national borders.
The Tisza be ...
. In 2017, it had a population of 44,009.
Etymology and names
The city's name, which literally translates to ''Beavers' Field Marketplace'', was first mentioned after the unification of two
Árpád-era villages, Hód and Vásárhely, the former getting its name after
Beaver
Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers a ...
's lake, an
apocope
In phonology, apocope () is the loss ( elision) of a word-final vowel. In a broader sense, it can refer to the loss of any final sound (including consonants) from a word.
Etymology
''Apocope'' comes from the Greek () from () "cutting off", fro ...
of ''Hód-tó'' (now one of the city's districts and the canal ''Hód-tavi-csatorna)'' and the latter coming from the mediaeval legal term marking settlements with the right of hosting markets and literally meaning
market town
A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...
. The middle term ''mező'', which also refers to the city's state as an ''oppidum'', a city with certain rights that are given by its feudal ruler, was later added to the town and to its name.
The city is also known by alternative names in other languages: hr, Vašrelj; ro, Ionești; and sr, Вашархељ, Vašarhelj.
History
Prehistory
There is evidence of human habitation close to the modern town dating back 6,000 years, and
archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
evidence suggests that the area has been continuously inhabited since then by a variety of different cultures.
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...
dwellings recessed into the ground stored domestic items such as plates, as well as the ''Kökénydombi Vénusz'' fertility symbol. Remains have also been found from the
Copper Age
The Copper Age, also called the Chalcolithic (; from grc-gre, χαλκός ''khalkós'', "copper" and ''líthos'', " stone") or (A)eneolithic (from Latin '' aeneus'' "of copper"), is an archaeological period characterized by regular ...
,
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
,
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly ...
and the great migrations period. The town's archaeological treasures can now be seen at the permanent archaeological exhibition of the
Tornyai János Museum.
Medieval period
At the end of the 8th century, the
Avars found mostly remnants of the
nomadic population and of the agrarian and animal-breeding
Slavs
Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...
.
Before the
Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...
invasion of Hungary, at least seven villages with churches existed in the area. After the devastation caused by the Mongols, more villages were established, but these later became victims of the
Turkish invasion. The territories of these villages were later absorbed by Hódmezővásárhely as the town grew. Evidence of more than twenty villages and churches from the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
have been found.
The present town of Hódmezővásárhely developed in the 15th century when Hód, Vásárhely, Tarján, and Ábrány, once small villages, became joined and the market town was established. The town is known to have been called Hódvásárhely in 1437. The town's location next to the road leading from
Csongrád
Csongrád ( ro, Ciongrad; tr, Conğrad sr, Чонград, Čongrad, archaically also ''Црноград/Crnograd'') is a town in Csongrád County in southern Hungary.
History
At the time of the Hungarian Conquest (the end of 9th century) th ...
to
Csanád was advantageous for the development of trade. In the Middle Ages markets, and particularly the trade in livestock, fuelled its growth.
Hódmezővásárhely was part of
Csongrád
Csongrád ( ro, Ciongrad; tr, Conğrad sr, Чонград, Čongrad, archaically also ''Црноград/Crnograd'') is a town in Csongrád County in southern Hungary.
History
At the time of the Hungarian Conquest (the end of 9th century) th ...
comitatus. Part of that county was under Turkish control after 1542. The region between the Tisza and the
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
belonged to the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...
, while the area to the east of the
Tisza
The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. Once, it was called "the most Hungarian river" because it flowed entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national borders.
The Tisza be ...
, including Hódmezővásárhely, belonged to
Transylvania
Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the A ...
. After the military expedition of 1552, the whole of Csongrád county was taken by the Turks. The entire area was devastated by the Turkish offensive in 1566. The region was occupied by the Turks for the next 150 years.
Independence
At the time of the
Rákóczi war of independence (1703–1711), the town was under the control of Count
Miklós Bercsényi. The royal court confiscated the estate and gave it to imperial general
Leopold Schlick. During the war of independence,
Miklós Bercsényi seized the town back and gave it to the
Kuruts general
Sándor Károlyi for leasehold. The royal court in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
did not accept Károlyi's claim to the territory after the peace of
Szatmár and he was only able to retrieve it by buying it back years later. From 1722 to 1818, when landowner jurisdiction was abolished, the Károlyi family possessed the town.
In the 1848–49 fights for freedom, Hódmezővásárhely played a significant part in national events.
Lajos Kossuth reached the town on 3 October 1848 on his second recruiting trip. While there, he received the news that the Hungarian Army had been engaged in battle at
Pákozd, and patriotic fervour gripped the town. Troops from Hódmezővásárhely took part in beating off the southern Serbian attacks.
After the
control of the Theiss in the 1860s, the surrounding lakes and brooks dried up. The inner areas were progressively filled and the town's population increased.
Hódmezővásárhely seceded from the county in 1873 and received the independent municipals rights. The first signs of industrialisation were apparent from that time. In 1890 Hódmezővásárhely was the fourth largest Hungarian town with 55,475 inhabitants.
20th century
The modern picture of the town was established at the turn of the century. These decades were characterised by the construction of wells, dynamic building operations, and the construction of
canal
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface f ...
s. 70 per cent of the population, however, was engaged in farming and animal breeding.
A typical system of settlement was established with a huge system of detached farms. Animal breeding still dominated the livelihood of the inhabitants. Rural animal breeding was characterised by economic efficiency. Quality horse breeding, which was partly an export product and partly demanded by the needs of agriculture, was profitable. Poultry and
egg production for the markets also flourished. Animal breeding was gradually replaced by extensive growing of corn, which became the basis of the town's economy and employed large numbers of workers.
The
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
hindered the development of the town and its people suffered losses. The human costs of the war contributed to the social tension around this time which led to demonstrations in Vásárhely.
In the first decade of the
Horthy era, there was a fairly good market for the town's agricultural products. Although the war and the occupation debilitated the economy of the town, the possibilities for the sale of the high-quality corn increased. Pork breeding grew, as did the export of poultry. Dozens of medium-scale factories sprung up, but the great
world economic crisis demolished this new-found prosperity. Unemployment increased, until a new economic boom in the late 1930s.
The
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
interrupted the development again. Soviet troops reached the town on 25 September 1944. Most of the powerful and well-off citizens escaped from Vásárhely. The war surged through the town on 8 October. The damage in human lives and buildings was not so huge as the damage to industrial equipment and infrastructure.
At the end of the 1960s giant factories were established. Full employment was realised but the town's industry proved inefficient. Political and economic bankruptcy, however, only emerged at the end of the 1980s.
After the transition in 1990, Hódmezővásárhely became a municipal town of county rank. After the municipal elections, its government was established.
The town is now a destination for foreign and domestic tourism. Museums, churches, triumphal wells, statues, parks, and a thermal
swimming hall
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built above ground (as ...
are notable attractions.
Demographics
Politics
The most recent mayor of Hódmezővásárhely was
István Almási (Fidesz-KDNP), but he died on 20 November 2017, leaving the position vacant. The independent candidate
Péter Márki-Zay
Péter "MZP" Márki-Zay (, born 9 May 1972) is a Hungarian politician, marketer, economist, electrical engineer and historian. He has served as mayor of Hódmezővásárhely since 2018, and is the co-founder of the Everybody's Hungary Movement ...
won the mayoral by-election on 25 February 2018. His unexpected victory against the
Fidesz candidate received international attention and was seen as a possible indicator for a change in the
Hungarian parliamentary election on 8 April 2018. The
swing
Swing or swinging may refer to:
Apparatus
* Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth
* Pendulum, an object that swings
* Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus
* Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse
* Swing ri ...
was not replicated in the parliamentary election.
The current mayor of Hódmezővásárhely is
Péter Márki-Zay
Péter "MZP" Márki-Zay (, born 9 May 1972) is a Hungarian politician, marketer, economist, electrical engineer and historian. He has served as mayor of Hódmezővásárhely since 2018, and is the co-founder of the Everybody's Hungary Movement ...
(
Mindenki Magyarországa).
The local Municipal Assembly, elected at the
2019 local government elections, is made up of 15 members (1 Mayor, 10 Individual constituencies MEPs and 4 Compensation List MEPs) divided into this political parties and alliances:
List of mayors
List of City Mayors from 1990:
People
Sport
The association football club,
Hódmezővásárhelyi FC, is based in Hódmezővásárhely.
Twin towns – sister cities
Hódmezővásárhely is
twinned with:
*
Arad, Romania
*
Baia Mare, Romania
*
Baja, Hungary
*
Brețcu
Brețcu ( ; hu, Bereck, Hungarian pronunciation: ; la, Angustia) is a commune in Covasna County, Transylvania, Romania composed of three villages:
*Brețcu / Bereck
*Mărtănuș / Kézdimartonos
*Oituz / Ojtoztelep
The village has been recor ...
, Romania
*
Bruckneudorf
Bruckneudorf ( hu, Királyhida) is a small town in the district of Neusiedl am See in the federal state of Burgenland in Austria, neighbouring Bruck an der Leitha ("Leitha Bridge"). Its name means ''bridge new village'', whereas the Hungarian ver ...
, Austria
*
Debeljača (Kovačica), Serbia
*
Hechingen
Hechingen ( Swabian: ''Hächenga'') is a town in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated about south of the state capital of Stuttgart and north of Lake Constance and the Swiss border.
Geography
The town lies at the foot of t ...
, Germany
*
Kelmė, Lithuania
*
Kiskunhalas
Kiskunhalas (; german: Hallasch) is a city in the county of Bács-Kiskun, Hungary.
Railroad
The city is an important railway junction. It crosses the Budapest-Subotica-Belgrade railway line. The Kiskunfélegyháza railway ends in Kiskunhalas.
...
, Hungary
*
Senta, Serbia
*
Sokobanja, Serbia
*
Solotvyno
Solotvyno (also Solotvina) ( uk, Солотвино, hu, Aknaszlatina and hu, Faluszlatina, ro, Slatina, rue, Солотвино, yi, סעלאָטפֿינע (Selotfine), sk, Slatinské Doly) is an urban-type settlement in Tiachiv Raion in Z ...
, Ukraine
*
Tamar, Israel
*
Turda, Romania
*
Vallauris
Vallauris (; oc, Valàuria) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. It is located in the metropolitan area, and is today effectively an extension of the town of Antibes ...
, France
*
Vidin, Bulgaria
*
Zgierz, Poland
*
Hoofddorp, The Netherlands
Gallery
File:Hódmezővásárhely látképe.jpg,
File:Hódmezővásárhely légi.jpg, Aerial photography of Hódmezővásárhely
File:Hodmezocivertanlegi1.jpg
File:Fekete Sas Szálló. - Csongrád megye, Hódmezővásárhely, Kossuth tér 3. Hodmezocivertanlegi2.jpg
File:Városháza, Hódmezővásárhely, Kossuth Lajos tér 1 - Hodmezocivertanlegi3.jpg, Town hall
File:A volt Takarékpénztár műemlék épülete. - Csongrád megye, Hódmezővásárhely, Kossuth tér 5. Hodmezocivertanlegi4.jpg
File:Rovastabla avatas Hodmezovasarhely.jpg, Rovas city limit sign celebration, 2011
File:Régi árvédelmi fal részlete.JPG, Old flood protection wall in the city centre
File:Hódmező zsinagóga.jpg, Old Synagogue
File:Hódmezővásárhely on a snowy day.jpg, Snow storm on 9 January 2022.
References
External links
* in Hungarian and English
Hódmezővásárhely BlogAerial photography: HódmezővásárhelyHódmezővásárhely at Google Earth CommunityPicture GalleryHódmezővásárhely at funiq.hu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodmezovasarhely
Populated places in Csongrád-Csanád County
Cities with county rights of Hungary
Serb communities in Hungary