Kecskemét ( ) is a

city with county rights A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

in central

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 the eighth-largest city in the country, and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Bács-Kiskun. Kecskemét lies halfway between the capital

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 ...

and the country's third-largest city,

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...

, from both of them and almost equal distance from the two big rivers of the country, the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

and the

Tisza The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa (see below) is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. It was once called "the most Hungarian river" because it used to flow entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national bo ...

. It is the northern of two centres of the Hungarian

Southern Great Plain The Southern Great Plain ( ) is a statistical ( NUTS 2) region of Hungary. It is part of Great Plain and North (NUTS 1) region. The Southern Great Plain includes the counties of Bács-Kiskun, Békés, and Csongrád-Csanád. The region is in the ...

() region (comprising the three

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

Bács-Kiskun,

Békés Békés (; ; ) is a town in Békés County, Hungary. It lies about north of Békéscsaba and east of Budapest. History The area of the present town has been inhabited since ancient times, due to its good soil and proximity to rivers. After ...

and

Csongrád Csongrád (; , 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) the Maros Valley was under Bulgarian control. The fortre ...

); the southern centre is Szeged, the seat of Csongrád county.

Etymology

The name of the city stems from the Hungarian word meaning '

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the ...

' and meaning ' pass'.

Geography

Kecskemét was established at the meeting point of a large sandy region and a sandy yellow soil; its elevation is

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

. The territory west of the city is covered by wind-blown sand, characterised by the almost parallel northern-southern sand dunes and the plain between them. At the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th centuries, the pastures had become depleted. Overgrazing by cattle had destroyed the natural vegetation cover, and the movement of sand seriously endangered the town. Concentrated reforestation and planting of fruit and vines was carried out to stabilise the soil again. Kecskemét is in the centre of

Kiskunság Kiskunság ("Little Cumania", ) is a historical and geographical region in Hungary situated in the current between Kalocsa and Szeged. Its territory is 2,423 km2. Like other historical European regions called Cumania, it is named for the ...

, one of Hungary's famous regions. The Kiskunság National Park was established in 1975 to preserve the many different regional species of plants and animals. It is a "mosaic"-type national park, consisting of units that are not connected.

Climate

The characteristic weather in the Kecskemét region of Kiskunság is continental warm, dry, sometimes extreme. The amount of sunlight makes it possible for the region to produce agricultural products such as wheat, apricots, red peppers, and tomatoes. The warmest month in Kecskemét is July, with an average temperature of ; the coldest is January, with . Early spring and late autumn frosts are frequent on the Great Hungarian Plain. The possibility of frost usually ends only in the middle of April. After the third week of October, the temperature is frequently below .

History

The first

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

trace of a human in the area is about five thousand years old. The

Sarmatians The Sarmatians (; ; Latin: ) were a large confederation of Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Iranian Eurasian nomads, equestrian nomadic peoples who dominated the Pontic–Caspian steppe, Pontic steppe from about the 5th century BCE to the 4t ...

invaded the area in the first century B.C.; since then the area has been continuously inhabited by a variety of cultures. János Hornyik, the first town historian, believed that the settlement known as ''Partiskum'' of the Sarmatian Jazygian was here. Contemporary consensus among historians is that it is more likely permanent settlement occurred only after the Hungarian conquest. At the beginning of the 13th century, there were seven villages in the area, each with a population of 200–300 formed near the village church, a typical rural pattern. They were all destroyed by the

Mongol Invasion The Mongol invasions and conquests took place during the 13th and 14th centuries, creating history's largest contiguous empire, the Mongol Empire (1206–1368), which by 1260 covered large parts of Eurasia. Historians regard the Mongol devastati ...

. Some of the villages revived at the time of the Cumanians' colonization. As Kecskemét was situated at an important trading route, it grew as a customhouse and a market-place; in 1368 it was identified in one of

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Louis I of Hungary Louis I, also Louis the Great (; ; ) or Louis the Hungarian (; 5 March 132610 September 1382), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1342 and King of Poland from 1370. He was the first child of Charles I of Hungary and his wife, Elizabeth of ...

's charters as an ''oppidium'' (town). The town's active economic life and relatively dense population attracted more traders, craftsmen and residents, including

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

who became an important part of the town. During the Turkish invasion, settlers from neighboring villages sought shelter in Kecskemét, which was protected by defensive

palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a row of closely placed, high vertical standing tree trunks or wooden or iron stakes used as a fence for enclosure or as a defensive wall. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymo ...

s. They also were escaping the oppression of the ''spahi'' landlords. In addition to the protection of its setting, the town of Kecskemét had arranged to pay tax directly to the ''

pasha Pasha (; ; ) was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitary, dignitaries, and others. ''Pasha'' was also one of the highest titles in the 20th-century Kingdom of ...

'' in Buda, thus gaining his protection and enjoying a special situation. Kecskemét gradually absorbed the lands of those who had taken refuge in the town. Residents created a large

common Common may refer to: As an Irish surname, it is anglicised from Irish Gaelic surname Ó Comáin. Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Com ...

field for the animals they were breeding. By the beginning of the 18th century, residents held nearly 30,000 cattle, which grazed on an almost field. At the end of the 18th century, animal breeding started to decline in economic importance, as the fields had become overgrazed and denuded. It took nearly 100 years before the region developed its next major agricultural commodity. In the 19th century, Kecskemét was already part of an important wine district, but the city increased in importance after the vine-pest destroyed most vineyards in the hilly regions. Damage was less significant in the plains' areas of loose, sandy soil. In the 1870s, landowners planted large plantations of grapevines around the town. These were the basis of the 20th-century vineyards and wine industry of the 20th century in Kecskemét. Cottage-type settlements grew up at the vineyards to house workers, a pattern still characteristic of the rural areas around the town. The growth of the wine industry stimulated those of the food industry and trade. The city is still known for its '' barackpálinka'', an

apricot An apricot (, ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus ''Prunus''. Usually an apricot is from the species '' P. armeniaca'', but the fruits of the other species in ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca'' are also ...

brandy. With their accumulation of capital, peasants began to adopt bourgeois customs and goods, stimulating trade in the town. Such regional wealth led to construction of new buildings, especially those surrounding Kecskemét's main square. This

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

complex is architecturally significant: the Town Hall, the New College, the Ornamented Palace, the Luther-Palace, the House of Trade (today the House of Young), and the Gentlemen's Casino, now used as the Hungarian Museum of Photography. The town's growth suffered in the 1929–33 economic world crisis and

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, followed by the upheaval and destruction of

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 ...

. During the war and especially May–June 1944, Hungarian authorities rounded up and deported most of the Jews from the city to

Auschwitz-Birkenau 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 ...

, where most were killed. Jewish Hungarians had been an important part of Kecskemét's thriving culture and trade. After 1945, the new

Communist government A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

, strongly influenced by the

Soviet Union 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 ...

, imposed a different social-political system. Kecskemét's development slowed. Due to reorganisation in local government, Kecskemét lost its big territory; several new independent villages were formed in the area. They were economically connected to the town. In 1950, for the first time, Kecskemét took on a significant political administrative role, as it was made seat of the country's largest county, Bács-Kiskun. In the special system of the so-called ''controlled economy'' under the Communist regimes, such status provided political and financial advantages that greatly helped the city continue its growth. The architect József Kerényi (1900–1975) adapted and renovated several historic buildings for other uses, helping keep the varied historical character of the city alive. For instance, in the early 1970s, he renovated the early-eighteenth-century

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

for use as the

Zoltán Kodály Zoltán Kodály (, ; , ; 16 December 1882 – 6 March 1967) was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, music pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. He is well known internationally as the creator of the Kodály method of music education. ...

Conservatory; it opened for classes in 1975.The Hungarian Association of Photographers formed the Hungarian Photography Foundation in 1990. It helped raise funds for the restoration of an 18th-century building in Kecskemét last used as an Orthodox synagogue. It was adapted for the Hungarian Museum of Photography (''Magyar Fotográfiai Múzeum''), which opened in 1991. The museum holds work by Hungarian and other photographers of international and national reputations. It especially collects Hungarian photographers who successfully worked abroad. On 18 June 2008, German car manufacturer Daimler announced that it would build a

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to simply as Mercedes and occasionally as Benz, is a German automotive brand that was founded in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a subsidiary of the Mercedes-Benz Group, established in 2019) is based in Stuttgart, ...

manufacturing plant in Kecskemét, planning to invest €800 million (US$1.24 billion). The plant, one of the biggest if not the biggest-ever in the region, provides work for 2,500 people.

Economy

In March 2012, the German automobile manufacturer

Daimler AG Mercedes-Benz Group AG (formerly Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler, and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive company headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufacturers. Daimler-B ...

opened a plant nearby Kecskemét, to manufacture the new B-Class, A-Class and CLA-Class models. The

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

-based company invested €800 million (US$1.24 billion) to build the new plant, which is expected to create 3,000 new jobs in the region. According to the plans, more than 100,000 vehicles will be produced annually at the factory. Wikicamp 2019 by Samat 012

As of 2021, the largest companies were: *

– cars: 5,000 employees * Duvenbeck IMMO – logistic: 1,100 employees *

ACPS Automotive ACPS may refer to: * Alachua County Public Schools * Albemarle County Public Schools * Alexandria City Public Schools * Atlantic City Public Schools {{disambig ...

– towbars: 1,000 employees *

Knorr-Bremse Knorr-Bremse AG is a German manufacturer of braking systems for rail and commercial vehicles that has operated since 1905. Other products in the company's portfolio include intelligent door systems, control components, air conditioning system ...

– brakes: 950 employees * Phoenix Mecano – enclosures and mechanical components: 850 employees * CabTec – cable: 800 employees * Fornetti – baked goods: 800 employees * Univer Product – canned goods: 800 employees In the city, unemployment is extremely low. Over the last few years, thousands of jobs have been created to promote a low unemployment rate. In 2024, unemployment was 2,70%.

Public transport

With the 1900s industrialisation of Hungary, Kecskemét developed public transportation by

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

s for a population of 50,000. Not until after World War II did bus travel begin in the city. In 2010, with competitive funding from the EU, the city launched a number of trolley bus lines and in 2011 completely rebuilt the town centre as a

trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...

and pedestrian tourist zone. Currently, bus travel is the only public transportation to many destinations. Bus destinations (): * 1 Noszlopy park - GAMF - Homokbánya kollégium * 1D Homokbánya kollégium - Mercedes gyár I. kapu * 2 Széchenyi tér - Rendőrfalu * 2A Széchenyi tér - Gokart Stadion * 2D Noszlopy park - Mercedes gyár I. kapu * 2S Noszlopy park - Déli Ipartelep - SMP gyár * 3 Széchenyi tér - Műkertváros - Nyíri Úti Kórház * 3A Széchenyi tér - Műkertváros * 4 Margaréta Otthon - Széchenyi tér - Repülőtér * 4A Széchenyi tér - Kisfái * 4C Széchenyi tér - Repülőtér * 5 Széchenyi tér - Máriaváros * 6 Széchenyi tér - Szeleifalu * 7 Noszlopy park - Knorr Bremse - Szilády Nyomda * 7C Noszlopy park - Mindszenti körút * 9 Széchenyi tér - Talfája köz * 10 Széchenyi tér - TESCO M5 Hipermarket * 11 Széchenyi tér - Petőfiváros - Kadafalvi út * 11A Széchenyi tér - Petőfiváros - AUCHAN Kereskedelmi Központ * 12 Margaréta Otthon - Belváros - Köztemető I. kapu * 12D Hunyadiváros (Serleg utca) - Mercedes gyár I. kapu * 13 Széchenyi tér - Knorr Bremse * 13D Széchenyi tér - Mercedes-gyár I. kapu * 13K Széchenyi tér - Georg Knorr út * 14 Széchenyi tér - Széchenyiváros * 14D Széchenyiváros (Margaréta Otthon) - Mercedes gyár I. kapu * 15 Noszlopy park - Hetényegyháza * 15D Hetényegyháza - Mercedes gyár I. kapu * 16 Széchenyi tér - Miklovicsfalu * 18 Széchenyi tér - Köztemető II. kapu * 19 Noszlopy park - Miklóstelep * 20 Széchenyi tér - Megyei Kórház - Széchenyiváros * 20H Széchenyi tér - Köztemető II. kapu - Kórházak - Széchenyi tér * 21 Noszlopy park - Széchenyiváros - Nagykörút - Noszlopy park * 21D Noszlopy park - Kurucz körút - Mercedes gyár I. kapu * 22 Noszlopy park - Csabay Géza körút - Nagykörút - Noszlopy park * 23 Széchenyi tér - Katonatelep * 23A Széchenyi tér - Hunyadiváros - Katonatelep * 25 Noszlopy park - Műkertváros * 28 Széchenyi tér - Szeleifalu * 29 Széchenyi tér - Hetényegyháza * 32 Noszlopy park - Matkó * 34 Kadafalva - Széchenyiváros - Kadafalva * 34A Széchenyi tér - Széchenyiváros - Kadafalva * 34V Kadafalva - Petőfiváros - Kadafalva * 169 Széchenyi tér - Miklovicsfalu - Széchenyi tér * 350 Máriaváros vasútállomás - Széchenyiváros * 353 Hetényegyháza vasútállomás - Hetényegyháza központ * 354 Hetényegyháza vasútállomás - Hetényegyháza központ * 916 Széchenyi tér - Talfája köz - Széchenyi tér

Demographics

Kecskemét has 107,267 residents (). The population is homogeneous with a large Hungarian majority. A few thousand of the Romani minority live in the city; they formed their independent minority government in 1994. (95% Hungarian; 0.8% Romani; 0.4%

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

; 0.2% Slovak; 4.8% other.) The city had a thriving

Jewish population the world's core Jewish population (those identifying as Jews above all else) was estimated at 15.8 million, which is approximately 0.2% of the 8 billion worldwide population. Israel hosts the largest core Jewish population in the world with ...

before World War II, as represented by their grand

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

. Most of the Jews were deported by the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

forces in 1944 to

concentration camps A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploit ...

, where they were killed. The Vice President of the German minority in Kecskemet is Ms Rozalia Neuendorf. Since 19 March 2007, there is also a minority self-government for

Croats The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

in Kecskemét.

Districts

Kecskemét is divided into 21+1 sections. * Belváros (

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

) * I. Árpádváros (

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 ...

town) * II. Máriaváros ( Marytown) * III. Széchenyiváros ( Széchenyitown) * IV. Bethlenváros ( Bethlentown) * V. Rákócziváros ( Rákóczitown) * VI. Erzsébetváros ( Elisabethtown) * VII. Kossuthváros ( Kossuthtown) * VIII. Hunyadiváros ( Hunyaditown) * IX. Szent István-város (Műkertváros, Szolnoki-hegy) (

Saint Stephen Stephen (; ) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first martyr of Christianity."St ...

town) * X. Szent László-város (Rendőrfalu) ( Saint Ladislaus town) * XI. Alsószéktó (Szeleifalu) * XII. Felsőszéktó (Petőfiváros, Sutusfalu) * XIII. Talfája * XIV. Katonatelep * XV. Repülőtér (Reptéri-lakótelep) * XVI. Matkó * XVII. Kadafalva * XVIII. Szarkás * XIX. Hetényegyháza * XX. Méntelek * XXI. Borbáspuszta

Main sights

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

* "Cifra Palota" * Co-Cathedral of the Ascension of the Lord, Kecskemét * Old Church * Synagogue *

József Katona József Katona (11 November 1791, Kecskemét – 16 April 1830, Kecskemét) was a Hungarian playwright and poet, creator of the Hungarian historical tragedy '' Bánk bán''. Biography József Katona was born and died in Kecskemét. He stud ...

Theatre * Hungarian Museum of Photography * Museum of Hungarian Naive Artists
MiG-21 Monument
File:Ev. templom (2225. számú műemlék).jpg,

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

Church File:Görögkeleti templom (Szentháromság) (2252. számú műemlék) 2.jpg, Orthodox Church

Activities

* Adventure Spa & Waterslide Par
www.csuszdapark.hu
* Kecskemét Baths http://www.kecskemetifurdo.hu/ * Kecskemét Wild Park http://www.zookecskemet.hu/ * Katona József Theatre of Kecskemét http://kecskemetikatona.hu/hu/english. * Kecskemét Arboretum http://www.kecskemetiarboretum.hu/

Events

Csiperó- Future of Europe International childrend and youth meeting
*

Kecskemét Animation Film Festival Kecskemét Animation Film Festival () (KAFF) is an animated film festival held biennially during the month of June in Kecskemét, Hungary. Although the bulk of the festival is oriented toward efforts in Hungarian animation, the associated KAFF-spo ...

* Kecskemét Air Show

Politics

The current mayor of Kecskemét is

Klaudia Szemereyné Pataki Klaudia Szemereyné Pataki (née ''Pataki''; born 4 March 1976) is a Hungarian politician, member of the National Assembly (MP) from Fidesz Bács-Kiskun County Regional List from 2013-14. She graduated from the Corvinus University of Budapest ...

(Fidesz-KDNP). The local Municipal Assembly, elected at the 2019 local government elections, is made up of 21 members (1 Mayor, 14 Individual constituencies MEPs and 6 Compensation List MEPs) divided into this political parties and alliances:

List of mayors

List of city mayors from 1990:

Notable natives and residents

* András Gáspár (1804–1884), Hungarian

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

* Adrienne Nagy (born 1988) Hungarian pop singer *

(1791–1830), author * Antal Szabó (1875–1926), painter *

(1882–1967), Hungarian

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

ethnomusicologist Ethnomusicology is the multidisciplinary study of music in its cultural context. The discipline investigates social, cognitive, biological, comparative, and other dimensions. Ethnomusicologists study music as a reflection of culture and investiga ...

, educator,

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

and philosopher. A music conservatory was named in his honor. The train station was built on the site of his family's house. * Kálmán Latabár (1902–1970), actor,

comedian A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertainment, entertain an audience by making them laughter, laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop c ...

* Nicolas Abraham (1919–1975), French psychoanalyst *

Tamás Adamik Tamás Adamik (born August 6, 1937) is a Hungarian classical philologist and linguist, literary historian, and translator. He joined Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest as a professor in 1973, where he worked in its Latin department until ...

(born 1937), Hungarian linguist and professor * Ákos Kónya (born 1974), ultramarathoner * Kati Zsigóné (born 1953), artist

Twin towns – sister cities

Kecskemét is twinned with: *

Aomori , officially Aomori City (, ), is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 264,945 in 136,781 households, and a population density of 321 people per squa ...

, Japan *

Berehove Berehove (, ; , ) is a city in Zakarpattia Oblast, western Ukraine. It is situated near the border with Hungary. It is the cultural centre of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine, and Hungarians constitute roughly half (a plurality) of its popula ...

, Ukraine *

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

, England, United Kingdom *

Dornbirn Dornbirn () is a city in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg. It is the administrative centre for the district of Dornbirn, which also includes the town of Hohenems, and the market town Lustenau. Dornbirn is the largest city in Vorarlb ...

, Austria *

Galanta Galanta (, ) is a town with about 15,000 inhabitants in the Trnava Region of Slovakia. It is situated 50 km due east of the Slovak capital Bratislava. Etymology The name is derived from a Slavic name ''Golęta'' (initially a collective name ...

, Slovakia *

Hyvinkää Hyvinkää (; , ) is a town in Finland, located in the southern interior of the country. Hyvinkää is situated in the northern part of the Uusimaa region. The population of Hyvinkää is approximately . It is the most populous municipality in ...

, Finland *

Lidköping Lidköping () is a locality and the seat of Lidköping Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had about 40,000 inhabitants in 2021. It is situated on the southern shore of Lake Vänern and sometimes refers to itself as "Lidkö ...

, Sweden *

Nahariya Nahariya () is the northernmost coastal city in Israel. As of , the city had a population of . The city was founded in 1935 by Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany. Etymology Nahariya takes its name from the stream of Ga'aton River, Ga'aton (riv ...

, Israel *

Rüsselsheim am Main Rüsselsheim am Main (, ) is the largest city in the Groß-Gerau district in the Rhein-Main region of Germany. It is one of seven special status cities (implementing several functions that counties normally provide) in Hessen and is located on t ...

, Germany *

Sfântu Gheorghe Sfântu Gheorghe (; or ''Szentgyörgy'' ; ; English lit.: ''Saint George'') is a city that serves as the seat of Covasna County in Transylvania, Romania. Located in the central part of the country, it lies on the Olt River in a valley between ...

, Romania *

Târgu Mureș Târgu Mureș (, ; ; German language, German: ''Neumarkt am Mieresch'') is the seat of Mureș County in the historical region of Transylvania, Romania. It is the list of cities and towns in Romania, 16th-largest city in Romania, with 116,033 ...

, Romania *

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, Turkey *

Wadowice Wadowice () is a town in southern Poland, southwest of Kraków with 17,455 inhabitants (2022), situated on the Skawa river, confluence of Vistula, in the eastern part of Silesian Foothills (Pogórze Śląskie). Wadowice is known for being the bir ...

, Poland

Friendly cities

Kecskemét also cooperates with: *

Großenhain Großenhain (; also written as Grossenhain; , ) is a Große Kreisstadt (German for major district town) in the district of Meissen, Saxony, Germany. It was originally known as Hayne. The current name simply means "big Hayne". History Großenhain ...

, Germany *

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...

, Serbia *

Tábor Tábor (; ) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 34,000 inhabitants, making it the second most populated town in the region. The town was founded by the Hussites in 1420. The historic town centre is well pres ...

, Czech Republic

Military

The MH 59th "

Dezső Szentgyörgyi Warrant Officer Dezső Szentgyörgyi (16 January 1915 – 28 August 1971) was the highest scoring Hungary, Hungarian fighter ace of the Royal Hungarian Air Force, Royal Hungarian Honvéd Air Force in World War II. Early life/Royal Hungarian Ho ...

" Tactical Wing, the only jet fighter unit of the

Hungarian Defence Forces The Hungarian Defence Forces (, ) is the national defence force of Hungary. Since 2007, the Hungarian Armed Forces has been under a unified command structure. The Ministry of Defence maintains political and civil control over the army. A subordi ...

, is based at Kecskemét air force base. The Kecskemét Air Show is held here every two years.

Sport

Kecskeméti TE Kecskeméti Testedző Egyesület, commonly known as Kecskeméti TE or simply Kecskemét, is a sports club based in Kecskemét, Hungary. It is most famous for its Association football, football section which competes in the Nemzeti Bajnokság II ...

, association football club * Kecskeméti LC, association football club

References

;Notes

External links

* in Hungarian, English and German
Kecskemét's local map

Aerial photography: Kecskemét

"Hungarian Museum of Photography"
Official Website, English
Kecskemét at funiq.hu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kecskemet County seats in Hungary Cities with county rights of Hungary Populated places in Bács-Kiskun County Populated places established in the 9th century