Balassagyarmat (Hungarian: ; formerly ''Balassa-Gyarmath''; ; or ) is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in northern

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 was the seat of the

Nógrád Nógrád (; ) is a village in Nógrád 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 ...

comitatus Comitatus may refer to: *Comitatus (warband), a Germanic warband who follow a leader * ''Comitatus'', the office of a Roman or Frankish comes, translated as count. * ''Comitatus'', translated as county, a territory such as governed by medieval cou ...

. Balassagyarmat is the capital city of

Palóc The Palóc are a subgroup of Hungarians in Northern Hungary and southern Slovakia. While the Palóc have retained distinctive traditions, including a very divergent dialect of Hungarian, the Palóc are also ethnic Hungarians by general consensu ...

country as the prominent author of Hungarian epic,

Kálmán Mikszáth Kálmán Mikszáth de Kiscsoltó (16 January 1847 – 28 May 1910) was a widely reputed Hungarians, Hungarian novelist, journalist, and politician. His work remains in print in Hungarian and still appears from time to time in other languages. Bi ...

said. Palóc people's origin is quite mysterious. Their distinctive dialect, culture, folklore, and traditions make them a unique ethnicity.

History

Since 1998, the town's coat of arms has borne the Latin inscription "Civitas Fortissima" (the bravest city) because it was claimed that in January 1919

Czechoslovak Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) ** Fourth Czechoslovak Repu ...

troops crossed the demarcation line delineated in December 1918 in preparation for the

Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (; ; ; ), often referred to in Hungary as the Peace Dictate of Trianon or Dictate of Trianon, was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace Conference. It was signed on the one side by Hungary ...

, illegally occupying towns south of the line, including Balassagyarmat. The occupation was the subject of a 2009 song by the nationalist rock-band Kárpátia, "Civitas Fortissima". Due to its favorable location, Balassagyarmat has been populated since the Bronze Age. When the Magyar tribes entered the

Carpathian Basin The Pannonian Basin, with the term Carpathian Basin being sometimes preferred in Hungarian literature, is a large sedimentary basin situated in southeastern Central Europe. After the Treaty of Trianon following World War I, the geomorphologic ...

, Grand Chief Árpád sent his two generals, Zoárd and Kadosa to take the northern parts of Hungary. After the occupation of Nógrád Castle, Zoárd and Kadosa took control over the Balassagyarmat region. The name of the town derives from the name of Gyarmat, which was one of the seven Magyar tribes who came with

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 ...

. The Gyarmat tribe settled in the Balassagyarmat region. In 1241, the

Mongols Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...

invaded the country, destroying the settlement completely. After the Mongols withdrew the following year, stone castles were built all over the country at the urging of King Bela IV. He was anticipating a second Mongol invasion, and he expected to stop them with the help of stone castles. The first medieval castle of Balassagyarmat developed from a watchtower established after the Mongolian invasion. At this time, it was called just Gyarmat. We know that it was the king's property, and it used to belong to Hont castle in 1244.

King Béla IV King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by fi ...

gave these estates to Miklós, son of Detre of the Kacsics Clan in 1246. Detre became the ancestor of the Balassa family. In the same document, the king ordered the construction of a castle in Gyarmat, which was completed around 1260. It was how Detre, the ancestor of the Balassa family, built the first fortified stone tower in Gyarmat along the Ipoly River. The construction was certainly ready in 1274, as it was mentioned in a contemporary charter. Later Péter (aka Furró), one of the members of the Balassa family was accused of infidelity, so King László IV took the castle from him. However, the new owner, Comes Demeter of Pozsony and Zólyom Counties could not take the property as the previous owner did not cede it. We came to know about this incident as it was mentioned in a document in 1290, according to which Demeter had to take the residential tower of Gyarmat by force. As it was, Demeter was also related to the Balassa family, so the property remained in their hands. They did not let it slip from their hands. In 1374, the Balassa family received a new letter of donation from King Lajos the Great so the town remained the property of the family. The only change was that the castle was in the hands of the king, who usually appointed the members of the Balassa family as his castellans. The settlement developed into a market town by the 15th century, but despite its closely integrated castle, it had no military significance. Officially speaking, Balassagyarmat became a market town in 1437. The situation changed radically after the battle of

Mohács Mohács (; Croatian: ''Mohač''; ; ; ; ) is a town in Baranya County, Hungary, on the right bank of the Danube. Etymology The name probably comes from the Slavic ''*Mъchačь'',''*Mocháč'': ''mъchъ'' (moss, Hungarian ''moha'' is a loanword ...

in 1526. The importance of the castles of

Nógrád County Nógrád (, ; ) is a counties of Hungary, county () of Hungary. It sits on the northern edge of Hungary and borders Slovakia. Description Nógrád county lies in northern Hungary. It shares borders with Slovakia and the Hungarian counties Pest ( ...

, including Gyarmat castle, had been increased. The northern part of the fortification was defended by the Ipoly River, but the other defences were hastily fortified, and the city was surrounded by a wooden palisade. The

Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks () were a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group in Anatolia. Originally from Central Asia, they migrated to Anatolia in the 13th century and founded the Ottoman Empire, in which they remained socio-politically dominant for the e ...

were expanding their rule unstoppably to the north, and in 1541 they took Buda as well. In 1544, 500 soldiers were guarding Gyarmat castle, under the command of Horváth Bertalan. (Please note that I use the Oriental name order for Hungarians, where family names come first.) The enemy took the nearby Szanda castle and destroyed it in 1551. Captain Horváth heard of the approaching Turks in 1552 and fled from the castle, leaving it empty. It was how Pasha Hadim Ali of Buda castle took it without a fight. He set it on fire and demolished it at once. The castle was recaptured by the royal troops only in the 1593 campaign of Chief Captain Kristóf Tiefenbach of Kassa (Košice, Kaschau) who was aided by the troops of Pálffy Miklós and Homonnay István. They could easily take the small castle as the Turk garrison set it on fire and fled when the Christian army was coming. Colonel Philip Morgentaller was appointed as captain of the castle, and immediately began repairing and restoring the damaged walls. Let us also commemorate Balassi Bálint, the great Renaissance poet and warrior who lost his life at the siege of

Esztergom Esztergom (; ; or ; , known by Names of European cities in different languages: E–H#E, alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the righ ...

in 1594. Below is a commemorative plaque to

Bálint Balassi Baron Bálint Balassi de Kékkő et Gyarmat (, ; 20 October 1554 – 30 May 1594) was a Hungarian Renaissance lyric poet. He wrote mostly in Hungarian,István Nemeskürty, Tibor KlaniczayA history of Hungarian literature Corvina, 1982, p. 64 ...

(1554–1594) Hungarian poet and warrior. It was affixed to the wall of the high school which bears his name. Quote: "The beautiful confines of your homeland are truncated everywhere." (Balassagyarmat, Deák Ferenc Street Nr 17) The Imperial guards of Gyarmat opened the gates of the castle before General Rhédey Ferenc, the commander of Prince Bocskai István of

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

in 1605. Nevertheless, the castle was returned to King Rudolf in 1606, according to the Treaty of Vienna in 1606. The Diets held in 1608, 1613, and 1618 ordered to reinforce the castle which was carried out. Despite these fortifications, the castle was occupied by Prince Bethlen Gábor's army in 1619, but according to the peace of Nikolsburg in 1622, it was given back to the Habsburg king. Balassagyarmat was besieged by the Turks in 1648 with an army of 4,000 men, but the cavalry of Count Ádám Forgách, the Chief Captain of Érsekújvár (Nové Zámky) castle came to the aid of the defenders, and he chased the attackers away. In 1652, Count Esterházy Ferenc was the captain of the castle, the one who fell in the battle of Vezekény. After 1652, Balassa Ferenc and his brother Imre became the chief captains of the castle. However, Imre demanded a bigger share from the leadership and the estate, causing a quarrel between them. The Turks were able to benefit from their debate, though. The

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

seemed to be declining but an iron-handed Grand Vizier called Köprülü Ahmed wanted to prevent this process. He launched a huge army against Hungary in 1663, his troops occupied, burned, and destroyed the smaller border castles that lay in their path. Taking advantage of the quarrel between the Balassi brothers, the Turkish army led by Köprülü – joined by the army of Prince Apafi Mihály of Transylvania – occupied Balassagyarmat. They burned and thoroughly destroyed the castle in 1663 or 1665. As it had lost its military significance, the ruined walls were not rebuilt again. During the

Ottoman Wars A series of military conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and various European states took place from the Late Middle Ages up through the early 20th century. The earliest conflicts began during the Byzantine–Ottoman wars, waged in Anatolia in ...

, the area and the city became depopulated. After the end of the war, the settlement started to develop again, and it was rebuilt in 1690. Due to its favourable geographical location, the town was rapidly populated. In 1701, the fortifications of the town were blown up, according to the decree of Emperor Leopold. Later, the stones of the fortress were used for construction, so today there is hardly any trace of it above the surface. During

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 ...

, May 9, 1944, Germans kept 3,000 Jews from the town and the surrounding villages imprisoned in a

ghetto A ghetto is a part of a city in which members of a minority group are concentrated, especially as a result of political, social, legal, religious, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished than other ...

. They were all sent to

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...

on June 11 and 14, 1944. Balassagyarmat was captured on 9 December 1944 by

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

troops of the

2nd Ukrainian Front The 2nd Ukrainian Front () was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War. History On October 20, 1943, the Steppe Front was renamed the 2nd Ukrainian Front. In mid-May 1944 Malinovsky took over the 2nd Ukrainian Front. During t ...

in the course of the Budapest Offensive. In 1973, two young men (17 and 19), the sons of the local secretary of the state-party, broke into the city's girls' dormitory and took

hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized—such as a relative, employer, law enforcement, or government—to act, o ...

20 girls. They demanded a bus to cross the border into

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. They stayed there for five days without any food or drink before being taken down. The older brother was shot by three snipers with special bullets on the fifth day from outside the building. The younger brother was captured and sentenced to 15 years in prison, and his four friends, who had heard about their plans before they committed the crime, were sentenced to four years each in prison. None of the girls was injured physically except one, who broke her arm when she tried to escape by jumping out of the window of the dormitory on the second day. Afterwards, they were instructed not to publicly talk about the case. Csenge Hatala, a young writer, started collecting documents and conducting interviews with the victims forty years later. This was the first hostage situation in the modern history of Hungary. The unqualified police and military force found themselves in a situation they had no experience of. In communist Hungary, serious crimes were not only awkward, but actually harmful to the

Party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...

and its leaders. The city authorities tried to hide the details and smother the case, but it triggered a huge wave of indignation in the city and throughout the country as a whole.

Geography

The town lies on the left bank of the Ipoly river, which marks the state border with

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

Demographics

In 2001 Balassagyarmat had 18,474 inhabitants. The population were Hungarian 98%,

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnic groups * Romani people, or Roma, an ethnic group of Indo-Aryan origin ** Romani language, an Indo-Aryan macrolanguage of the Romani communities ** Romanichal, Romani subgroup in the United Kingdom * Romanians (Romanian ...

2%. 100% of the total population speak Hungarian as their

mother tongue A first language (L1), native language, native tongue, or mother tongue is the first language a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongue'' refers ...

. As of 2022, its population recorded was 14,185.

Notable people

* '' Balassi (

Balassa Balassa is a Hungarian surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bálint Balassa (1554–1594), Hungarian poet ** Balint Balassi Memorial Sword Award, Hungarian literary award * Béla Balassa (1928–1991), Hungarian economist ** Bala ...

)'' family (means "from Balassa") * Bálint Balassi (''aka Balassa'') (1554, Zólyom - 1594) *

Josef Dobrovský Josef Dobrovský (17 August 1753 – 6 January 1829) was a Czech philologist and historian, one of the most important figures of the Czech National Revival along with Josef Jungmann. Life and work Dobrovský was born at Balassagyarmat, N� ...

(1753–1829), a Czech philologist and historian *

Márk Rózsavölgyi Márk Rózsavölgyi (; born Mordecai Rosenthal; 14 August 1787 – 23 January 1848) was a Hungarian composer and violinist. He has been called "the father of csárdás". Life and music Rózsavölgyi was born to a poor tradesman's family in Bal ...

(1789–1848), musician, componist * Maier Zipser (1815–1869),

neolog Neologs (, "Neolog faction") are one of the two large communal organizations among Hungarian Jewry. Socially, the liberal and modernist Neologs had been more inclined toward integration into Hungarian society since the Era of Emancipation in th ...

rabbi *

(1847-1910), Hungarian novelist, journalist, and politician, lived here * Károly

Balogh de Mankó Bük Balogh is a Hungarian surname. It was the surname of a medieval noble house, Balog (genus). Another variant is Balog. Notable people with the surname include: * Ádám Balogh, one of the most famous kuruc colonels during Rákóczi's War for Ind ...

(1879-1944), Hungarian statesman and writer. * Iván Nagy (hu) (1824–1898), genealogist, heraldic, historian * János Zádori (1831-1887), Roman Catholic priest, Ecclesiastical writer, lived here * Sigmund Streisinger (1880-1942), glazer *

Dezső Magos (Munk) Dezső Magos (1 March 1884 – 10 June 1944) was a Jewish-Hungarian architect. He was born in Balassagyarmat, in what is now Hungary. Life His parents were Adolf Munk and Rezi Strassburger. In 1913, Magos graduated as an architect. Some of hi ...

(1884-1944), Hungarian architect * Albert Kenessey surgeon (1889–1973) * Rose & Jenny Dolly, Hungarian-American dancers and actresses * Lőrinc Szabó (de Gáborján) (1900-1957), a poet and literary translator, lived here *

Lajos Ligeti Lajos Ligeti (28 October 1902 – 24 May 1987) was a Hungarian orientalist and philologist, who specialized in Mongolian and Turkic languages. Ligeti was born in Balassagyarmat in 1902. After completing his secondary studies in his native t ...

(hu) (1902–1987), orientalist * Michel Gyarmathy, director of

Folies Bergère 150px, Stanisław Julian Ignacy Ostroróg">Walery, 1927 The Folies Bergère () is a cabaret music hall in Paris, France. Located at 32 Rue Richer in the 9th Arrondissement, the Folies Bergère was built as an opera house by the arc ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

* Ernő Zórád (hu) (1911–2004), illustrator, graphic artist, painter, comic artist *

Károly Jobbágy Károly () is a common Hungarian male given name. It is also sometimes found as a Hungarian surname. Károly is considered the equivalent of English Karl or Charles (because the Latin Carolus is very close to Károly).Fercsik Erzsébet – Raátz ...

(hu) (1921–1998), poet and literary translator *

Iván Markó Iván Markó (29 March 1947 – 21 April 2022) was a Hungarian Choreography, choreographer and ballet dancer. Biography Markó was born in Balassagyarmat. He studied Dance, dancing at the Hungarian State Ballet Institute in Budapest. After ha ...

(hu) (born 1947), ballet dancer, choreographer * György Udvardy (born 1960), Roman Catholic Archbishop of Veszprém * Ferenc Palánki (hu) (born 1964), Roman Catholic Bishop of Debrecen-Nyíregyháza *

Zoltán Szlezák Zoltán Szlezák (born 26 December 1967 in Balassagyarmat, Hungary) is a retired Hungarian football player who has spent most of his career playing for Újpest FC.He played as a centre back. He was considered a fan's favourite in Újpest. He play ...

(born 1967), football player * Péter Kőszeghy (born 1971), composer and music educator * Orsolya Szatmári (hu) (born 1975), pop singer

Twin towns – sister cities

Balassagyarmat is twinned with: * Dej, Romania *

Heimenkirch Heimenkirch is a municipality in the district of Lindau in Bavaria in Germany. Geography Heimenkirch is located in the Allgäu region. It consists of the subdivisions of Aspach, Berg, Biesenberg, Dreiheiligen, Engenberg, Geigersthal, Hofs, Kapp ...

, Germany *

Lamezia Terme Lamezia Terme (), commonly called Lamezia, is an Italian city and ''comune'' of 70,452 inhabitants (2013), in the province of Catanzaro in the Calabria region. History The municipality of Lamezia Terme was formally created on 4 January 1968. It ...

, Italy *

Ostrołęka Ostrołęka (; ) is a small city in northeastern Poland on the Narew river, about northeast of Warsaw, with a population of 51,012 (2021) and an area of . It is the capital of both Ostrołęka County and Ostrołęka City County in the Masovian V ...

, Poland *

Slovenské Ďarmoty Slovenské Ďarmoty () is a village and municipality in the Veľký Krtíš District of the Banská Bystrica Region of southern Slovakia. References External links

* * *http://www.statistics.sk/mosmis/eng/run.html Villages and mu ...

, Slovakia *

Svaliava Svaliava (, ) is a city located on the Latorytsia River in Zakarpattia Oblast in western Ukraine. It was the administrative center of the former Svaliava Raion (district) until its abolition in 2020, now it is located in Mukachevo Raion. Popul ...

, Ukraine *

Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...

, Italy

Gallery

File:Civitas Fortissima emlékmű.JPG, Civitas Fortissima File:Balassagyarmati városháza 3.jpg, City Hall File:Welcome sign in Balassagyarmat.JPG, Welcome Sign in Balassagyarmat

External links

Official site
in Hungarian

References

{{authority control Populated places in Nógrád County Divided cities Holocaust locations in Hungary Jewish communities in Hungary