Lónya is a village in the County of
Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg,
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 located close to the village of
Batiovo
Batiovo (; ; ) is a rural settlement in Berehove Raion, Zakarpattia Oblast, western Ukraine. Population:
Geography
The Uzhhorod—Solotvyno railroad line runs through Batiovo, with a station located in the town that serves as a border control be ...
in neighboring
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
.
History
300px, left, The wall paintings in the reformed church
On the basis of historical research the village existed already when the
Magyars settled in Hungary in the 10th century. First time the name of "Luna" had been mentioned in a noble benefaction letter in 1270.
In the 13th century the village had been possessed by
palatine
A palatine or palatinus (Latin; : ''palatini''; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman Empire, Roman times. Bánk Bár-Kalán
Bánk of the Bár-Kalán clan (; died after 1222) was an influential nobility in the Kingdom of Hungary, nobleman in the Kingdom of Hungary in the first decades of the 13th century. He was Palatine of Hungary between 1212 and 1213, Judge royal fro ...
. After he had assassinated
Queen Gertud, his tenure had been seized by King
Endre II. The King endowed the village to the Berenczeis in 1285. The descendants of the Berenczeis had used the family name ”Lónyay” after this donation. In this time the village divided into two parts: Kislónya (Small-Lónya) and Nagylónya (Great-Lonya). The Romanesque church was built in the 13th century. In the year of 1567 the Mongolians had been burglarized the village. The Lónyays confess to the Reformed Church (Calvinist) in the early time, in the middle of the 16th. Kis and Nagylónya were united as Lónya in 1934. The village used to lie closer to the river, but the inhabitants had to move further up, to the current position, because of frequent floods. Although the village was rebuilt, there are still a few special barns left. Today, most of the 900 inhabitants live by the main street and produce mainly wheat, corn, sunflower seeds, apples and plums.
Sights
Romanesque church (13th century)
Wooden bell-tower (18th century)
Lónyay's Crypt (end of the 19th century)
Park of the former Lónyay Castle
A castle park surrounded the Lónyay castle, and although the castle was destroyed in a fire in 1965, the walk in the famous and unique horse chestnut tree rows still exist. There are also five pyramid oaks, each about 26 metres high and 120 years old, as well as some maple trees which also must be about 100 years old. The richness of nature is also proved by a healthy elm tree in the Long-pasture, which is 25 metres high, and 3 metres in circumference.
Forest of Lónya
The Lónya forest is part of the Szatmár-Bereg Nature Reservation District. The forest by the border is scattered with beautiful hornbeam and oak trees, as well as ash and elm trees. On the southern edge is the so-called Mélyéger alder moor. In the north it is bordered by the country border and the Csaronda stream. The older species of the oak, ash, and elm trees in the grove are about 70–80 years old, but even the younger ones are older than 50 years. The grove is so isolated that red deer are only found here in the Bereg forests; there are about 50 of them, and some have capital antlers. Wild boars and roes, as well as black storks and wild cats can often be seen here. There are also vipers living here, so it is recommended to wear rubber boots when walking in the forest. Outside Lónya a hunting lodge is waiting for the hunters.
Notable people
*
Menyhért Lónyay
Menyhért Count Lónyay de Nagylónya et Vásárosnamény (6 January 1822, in Lónya, Nagylónya – 3 November 1884, in Budapest) was a Hungary, Hungarian politician who served as Prime Minister of Hungary from 1871 to 1872.
Early life and an ...
, Former prime minister of Hungary
*
Jolan Babus Jolan or Jolán is a given name, female in Magyar (Hungarian), it is the Hungarian version of the female given name Jolanda.
Notable people with the name include :
* Jolan (singer) (born 1993), English singer
* Jolan Babus (1917–1967), Hungaria ...
, Ethnographer-teacher
External links
Homepage of Lónya
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lonya
Populated places in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County
Hungary–Ukraine border crossings