Monok is a village in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Hungary and is part of the Tokaj wine region.

Geography

The nearest town is Szerencs away. Neighbouring villages are Golop away,

Legyesbénye Legyesbénye is a village in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County in northeastern Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukrai ...

away and

Tállya Tállya is a village in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, Northern Hungary, 45 kilometres from county seat Miskolc, in the famous Tokaj-Hegyalja wine district. Geography Tállya is located at . According to the 2001 Census the village has a t ...

away. The

Zemplén Mountains Zemplén Mountains () or Tokaj Mountains (; hu, Zempléni-hegység or ''Tokaji-hegység'') is a mountain range in Hungary. Its highest peak is the Nagy-Milic at 894 metres above sea level. The range is part of the North Hungarian Mountains wit ...

have two sides: on the north Vilvitány Hill, on the south Szerencs Hill. The village lies in the valley between the two. Although the north is mountainous the south is lower lying at around . On the north and south slopes there are fields and vineyards whose wines compete with those from Tokaj, and the fields bordering the vineyards offer views of the Tatra Mountains.

History

It is not certain when the village was established, but it was some time during the Mongol invasion of Europe, or the earlier Hungarian invasion ( hu, honfoglalás). The first record of the village is in 1392 and the Monok family owned it from the mid 13th century until the mid 17th century. The name of the village allegedly comes from Slavic ''monoh'' meaning " monk". During the Ottoman Empire the village was razed and in 1567 it was recorded as being just barren fields. Towards the end of this century the village was reinhabited and around 1570 a small castle was built in the Renaissance style. Later, the village was owned by the

Andrássy The House of Andrássy is the name of a Hungarian noble family of very ancient lineage that was prominent in Hungarian history. The full family name is ''Andrássy de Csíkszentkirály et Krasznahorka''. ''Csíkszentkirály'' is a town in modern- ...

family who renovated the castle, but because it was too small they built another nearby in the Classical style.

Ethnicity

93% of the population is Hungarian, with the remaining 7% being of Romany origin.

Traditions

* Monok holds a summer

fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Types Variations of fairs incl ...

on the second Sunday of every September called fair, to which people from far and wide make a pilgrimage. * Each August the renovated Monaky Castle holds a "Renaissance Castle Day", when people wear period dress and perform archery and stage marionette shows. There is also a market and a beer tent, which also serves cauldrons of goulash and

soft drink A soft drink (see § Terminology for other names) is a drink that usually contains water (often carbonated), a sweetener, and a natural and/or artificial flavoring. The sweetener may be a sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, a su ...

Landmarks

Lajos Kossuth Lajos Kossuth de Udvard et Kossuthfalva (, hu, udvardi és kossuthfalvi Kossuth Lajos, sk, Ľudovít Košút, anglicised as Louis Kossuth; 19 September 1802 – 20 March 1894) was a Hungarian nobleman, lawyer, journalist, poli ...

's birthplace * Andrássy Castle * Renaissance Castle (small) * War memorials * Kálvária fairground * Roman Catholic church, renovated in 2005 * Lake Ingvár * Many old houses with verandas in several architectural styles * Szécheny family

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...

Notable people

, leader of Hungary, was born in Monok on 19 September 1802 * Miklós Németh, Hungarian Prime Minister, was born in Monok on 24 January 1948 * János Holup, sport shooter