Örkény is a small town in
Pest 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 ...
, south of
Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
.
History
The mediaeval village was formed beside the ancient
Pest-Constantinople highway. Today this is one of the most important roads of Hungary (Route 5). Örkény appeared in the royal charters in the 15th century under the name ''Ewrkyn'' or ''Ewrken'' (the origin of the name is uncertain).
The village was destroyed in the early days of the
Ottoman rule, and remained deserted until the 18th century because of the constant wars and looting armies.
In 1784 a new era began with colonising efforts of Prince
Antal Grassalkovich
Anton Graf Grassalkovich de Kmeťovo, Gyarak (Ürmény, 6 March 1694 – Gödöllő, 1 December 1771) was an Imperial Real Privy Councilor, President of the Royal Hungarian Court Chamber, Chief Justice of Hungary (1731–1748), and confidant of ...
who built a small manor house, and distributed parcels and lots to the new inhabitants. In 1848 the St. Leopold Church was built in elegant
Neoclassical style (today it's a national monument). In 1888 the estate was inherited by
István Pálóczi Horváth. The new owner has done a lot for the development of the village: he established the famous School of Agriculture, distributed lots to the landless peasants and planted new orchards and vineyards. The Pálóczi Horváth Mansion was built in 1893 (today it is a cultural and community centre).
In the 20th century Örkény was transformed by the rapid economical development, the mechanisation of the agriculture and the slow urbanization. This was marked in the 1980s by the building of the new primary school and the health care centre. Örkény became a town in 2005.
There is a motor racing circuit near the town, named the EuroRing. It was featured in the
racing simulator rFactor
''rFactor'' is a personal computer, computer racing simulator designed for hardcore simulation racers. ''rFactor'' claimed to be the most accurate race simulator of its time. Released in August 2005, it competed with games like ''NASCAR Racing ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orkeny
Populated places in Pest County