Pilis () is a town in
Pest County, Hungary.
History
The town was inhabited in
prehistoric
Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...
times, but was abandoned at the end of the
Roman rule. Pilis was then first mentioned in 1326. It was destroyed during
the Ottoman rule in the 16th century, and was reestablished only in 1711, by
János Beleznay, the local landlord. He brought
Slovak settlers from
Upper Hungary
Upper Hungary (, "Upland"), is the area that was historically the northern part of the Kingdom of Hungary, now mostly present-day Slovakia. The region has also been called ''Felső-Magyarország'' ( literally: "Upper Hungary"; ).
During the ...
, and built a palace in 1717 for himself and his family. The
Beleznay family sold the town and its surroundings in the 19th century to the
Nyári family, who renamed the palace to "Beleznay-Nyári palace".
Even though the town's ethnic composition has changed in the last centuries, there is still a sizable
Slovak minority which has its own local government that is responsible for keeping the Slovak traditions and memories of Pilis.
Etymology
The name comes from
Slavic
Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to:
Peoples
* Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia
** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples
** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples
** West Slav ...
''Pleš'' – bald (area or mountain), an area with sparse or missing trees or vegetation.
There are similar names in several Slavic countries including e.g.
Pleš, Slovakia
Pleš () is a village and municipality in the Lučenec District in the Banská Bystrica Region of Slovakia
Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine t ...
(1319 ''Pilis'').
Some point out the similarity between the Lithuanian word "''pilis''" (meaning
castle
A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...
) and the Hungarian town's name.
Notable people
*
Pál Csernai
Pál Csernai (21 October 1932 – 1 September 2013) was a Hungarian football player and manager.
Career
Playing career
Born in Pilis, Kingdom of Hungary, Csernai played club football in Hungary, Germany and Switzerland for Budapesti Postás, ...
(1932–2013), football player and manager
*
Tibor Csernai
Tibor Csernai (3 December 1938 – 11 September 2012) was a Hungarian footballer who competed at the 1964 Summer Olympics
The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 ...
(1938–2012), footballer
Twin towns – sister cities
Pilis is
twinned with:
*
Piazza al Serchio
Piazza al Serchio is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Lucca in the Italian region Tuscany, located about northwest of Florence and about northwest of Lucca.
Piazza al Serchio borders the following municipalities: Camporgiano, Min ...
, Italy
References
External links
Official websiteHistory of Pilis in English
at the official website
Street map
Populated places in Pest County
{{Pest-geo-stub