Tokaj () is a historical

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 Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, 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 ...

, 54 kilometers from county capital

Miskolc Miskolc ( , ; ; Czech language, Czech and ; ; ; ) is a city in northeastern Hungary, known for its heavy industry. With a population of 161,265 as of 1 January 2014, Miskolc is the List of cities and towns in Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, ...

. It is the centre of the

Tokaj-Hegyalja Tokaj wine region ( ) or Tokaj-Hegyalja wine region (short ''Tokaj-Hegyalja'' or ''Hegyalja'') is a historical wine region located in northeastern Hungary and southeastern Slovakia. It is also one of the seven larger wine regions of Hungary ...

wine district where

Tokaji Tokaji ( ) or Tokay is a rich, sweet wine originating in the Tokaj wine region (also ''Tokaj-Hegyalja wine region'' or ''Tokaj-Hegyalja'') in Hungary. This region is noted for its sweet wines made from grapes affected by noble rot, a style of wi ...

wine is produced.

History

Tokaj Castle - colored etching - around 1664

The wine-growing area was first mentioned by the name Tokaj in 1067. The town itself was first mentioned in documents in 1353. Its first castle was a

motte A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or Bailey (castle), bailey, surrounded by a protective Rampart (fortificati ...

, which was destroyed during the

Mongol 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 of M ...

invasion of Hungary. By the 14th century, the town already had a stone castle, belonging to the Diósgyőr estate. After 1450, Tokaj was the property of the

Hunyadi family The House of Hunyadi was one of the most powerful noble families in the Kingdom of Hungary during the 15th century. A member of the family, Matthias Corvinus, was King of Hungary from 1458 until 1490, King of Bohemia (ruling in Moravia, Low ...

, so after Matthias Hunyadi became king, the town became a royal estate. In 1526, after the Ottomans captured Petervarad (modern day

Petrovaradin Petrovaradin ( sr-Cyrl, Петроварадин, ) is a historic town in the Serbian province of Vojvodina, now a part of the city of Novi Sad. As of 2011, the urban area has 14,810 inhabitants. Lying on the right bank of the Danube, across the m ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

Cistercians The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

from Petervarad and its surroundings relocated to Tokaj and greatly improved wine making in the area. In 1705,

Francis II Rákóczi Francis II Rákóczi (, ; 27 March 1676 – 8 April 1735) was a Hungarian nobleman and leader of the Rákóczi's War of Independence against the Habsburgs in 1703–1711 as the prince () of the Estates Confederated for Liberty of the Kingdom of ...

ordered the castle to be destroyed. After the

Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 (, ) established the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary, which was a military and diplomatic alliance of two sovereign states. The Compromise only partially re-established the former pre-1848 sovereign ...

, the town prospered, but when the World Wars came, it suffered greatly, losing its importance and town status. Even its role in wine trade was taken over by

Sátoraljaújhely Sátoraljaújhely (German language, German: ''Neustadt am Zeltberg''; Slovak language, Slovak: ''Nové Mesto pod Šiatrom;'' Yiddish: ''איהעל'') is a border town located in Borsod–Abaúj–Zemplén County, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County, Hu ...

. Tokaj was granted town status again in 1986 and it again started to prosper. Now, the town is a popular tourist attraction.

Tokaj wine region

Tokaj wine region Tokaj wine region ( ) or Tokaj-Hegyalja wine region (short ''Tokaj-Hegyalja'' or ''Hegyalja'') is a historical wine region located in northeastern Hungary and southeastern Slovakia. It is also one of the seven larger Hungarian wine, wine regi ...

is a historical wine region located in northeastern

and southeastern

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 ...

. It is one of the seven larger wine regions of Hungary (Hungarian: Tokaji borrégió). Hegyalja means "foothills" in Hungarian, and this was the original name of the region. The region consists of 28 named villages and 11,149 hectares of classified vineyards, of which an estimated 5,500 are currently planted. Tokaj has been declared a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

in 2002 under the name Tokaj Wine Region Historic Cultural Landscape. However, its fame long predated this distinction because it is the origin of Tokaji aszú wine, the world's oldest

botrytized ''Botrytis cinerea'' is a necrotrophic fungus that affects many plant species, although its most notable hosts may be wine grapes. In viticulture, it is commonly known as "botrytis bunch rot"; in horticulture, it is usually called "grey mould" or ...

wine.

Twin towns – sister cities

Tokaj is twinned with: *

Binyamina-Giv'at Ada Binyamina-Giv'at Ada () is a town in the Haifa District in northern Israel. It is the result of the 2003 merger between the two local councils of Binyamina and Giv'at Ada. In 2019 its population was 17,371. Before the merger, the population of ...

, Israel *

Cormons Cormons or Cormòns (; ) is a (municipality) in the Regional decentralization entity of Gorizia in the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about northwest of Trieste and about west of Gorizia, on the border with Slovenia. Cor ...

, Italy * Dej, Romania *

Iwonicz-Zdrój Iwonicz-Zdrój () is a spa town in south-eastern Poland, in Subcarpathian Voivodship, in Krosno County. It has 1,831 inhabitants (02.06.2009). It is located in the heartland of the Doły Jasielsko Sanockie, Doły (Pits), and its average altitude is ...

, Poland *

Oestrich-Winkel Oestrich-Winkel () is a town with roughly 12,000 inhabitants in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Oestrich-Winkel, which culturally belongs to the Rheingau region, lies o ...

, Germany *

Rust Rust is an iron oxide, a usually reddish-brown oxide formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the catalytic presence of water or air moisture. Rust consists of hydrous iron(III) oxides (Fe2O3·nH2O) and iron(III) oxide-hydroxide (FeO(OH) ...

, Austria * Sonoma, United States *

Supetar Supetar () is a List of cities and towns in Croatia, town on the northern part of the Dalmatian island of Brač, in the Split-Dalmatia County, in Croatia. It became the island's official centre in 1827. The town of Supetar includes Supetar itself ...

, Croatia

Main sights

* Main square with City hall; the Bacchus fountain; the Catholic Church; and other monuments * Roman Catholic Church * Tokaj Gallery (former Orthodox church—government has announced intentions to restore) * Tokaj Museum (Karácsony house) *

Wine cellars A wine cellar is a storage room for wine in bottles or barrels, or more rarely in carboys, amphorae, or plastic containers. In an ''active'' wine cellar, important factors such as temperature and humidity are maintained by a climate control sys ...

* Rákóczi-Dessewffy castle * Tisza bridge * Synagogue * Tokaj open stage (″Fesztivalkatlan″) File:Tokaj.varoshaza.jpg, City center File:Bacchus-Brunnen_Tokaj.JPG, Bacchus fountain File:Interior of Roman Catholic Church in Tokaj.JPG, Interior of Roman Catholic Church File:Jewish cemetery, Tokaj.JPG, Jewish cemetery File:Tokaj-Hegyalja.jpg,

File:River Tisza in winter with Tokaj bridge - Hungary.jpg, River

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 ...

in winter with Tokaj bridge

External links

* in Hungarian
Tokaj and the Historic Wine Region - tourism information

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County