Makó (, german: Makowa, yi, מאַקאָווע Makowe, ro, Macău or , sk, Makov) is a town in

Csongrád County Csongrád ( ro, Ciongrad; tr, Conğrad sr, Чонград, Čongrad, 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) th ...

, in southeastern

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...

, from the

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

n border. It lies on the Maros River. Makó is home to 23,272 people and it has an area of , of which is arable land. Makó is the fourth-largest town in Csongrád County after

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also other alternative names) is the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat of Csongrád-Csanád county. The University of Szeged is one of the m ...

Hódmezővásárhely Hódmezővásárhely (; also known by other alternative names) is a city with county rights in southeast Hungary, on the Great Hungarian Plain, at the meeting point of the Békés-Csanádi Ridge and the clay grassland surrounding the river Tisz ...

and Szentes. The town is from

, from

, from Arad, from Gyula, from

Timișoara ), City of Roses ( ro, Orașul florilor), City of Parks ( ro, Orașul parcurilor) , image_map = Timisoara jud Timis.svg , map_caption = Location in Timiș County , pushpin_map = Romania#Europe , pushpin_ ...

(Temesvár), and from

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

. The climate is warmer than anywhere else in

, with hot, dry summers. The town is noted for its onion which is a hungarikum, the spa and the thermal bath. The Makó International Onion Festival, the largest of its kind, is held annually. Makó is a popular tourist destination in Hungary. The Makó gas field, located near the town, is the largest

natural gas field A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the presence ...

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the ...

. The gas volume is more than 600 billion cubic metres (21 trillion cubic feet), according to a report by the Scotia Group. The town's floodplain forests are protected as part of Körös-Maros National Park. Roman catholic church Makó

Economy

The economy is based on

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peop ...

. The town is noted for its production of

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the oni ...

s and

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Welsh onion and Chinese onion. It is native to South Asia, Central Asia and northe ...

. Both the climate and the soil structure make the town and its surroundings an ideal place for onion farming. Onions have been cultivated in the region since the 16th century. The first records of significant garlic production date to the late 18th century. International recognition of the garlic grown in Makó has been widespread since the Vienna Expo in 1873 and the

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Expo in 1888. The mud of the Maros River has similar properties to some of the best in

and the world; at times it is likened to that of the

Dead Sea The Dead Sea ( he, יַם הַמֶּלַח, ''Yam hamMelaḥ''; ar, اَلْبَحْرُ الْمَيْتُ, ''Āl-Baḥrū l-Maytū''), also known by other names, is a salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank ...

. The local

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneothe ...

has been one of the main tourist attractions since 1961. With the political changes in 1989, after the break-up of the Soviet Union, Makó lost jobs in industry. Unemployment has risen in the area, to an estimated 8% in the early 21st century, and is considered a serious issue. Farmers have also suffered more economic difficulties. The town has established an

industrial park An industrial park (also known as industrial estate, trading estate) is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more "heavyweight" version of a business park or office park ...

to encourage that development, and the town hopes to build on its site as "The South-Eastern Gate of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...

". Makó has become known in the early 21st century for the nearby Makó Trough, a basin-centered gas accumulation that could be one of the largest natural gas fields in continental Europe. As of March 2007, it was not clear whether the gas can be recovered economically from this area. At the 90% probability rate, Makó had certified recoverable resources of over 600 billion cubic meters of natural gas, according to a report by the Scotia Group. This was prepared for the field's exploration concession holder, the Canada-based Falcon Oil and Gas.

History

Makó used to be the capital of Csanád, a historic administrative county (

comitatus ''Comitatus'' was in ancient times the Latin term for an armed escort or retinue. The term is used especially in the context of Germanic warrior culture for a warband tied to a leader by an oath of fealty and describes the relations between a lo ...

) of the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephe ...

. Noted

Hungarian people Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Ural ...

were born or have lived in Makó. Perhaps the most prominent is the American publisher and journalist,

Joseph Pulitzer Joseph Pulitzer ( ; born Pulitzer József, ; April 10, 1847 – October 29, 1911) was a Hungarian-American politician and newspaper publisher of the '' St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' and the ''New York World''. He became a leading national figure in ...

, who was born to a Jewish family here on April 18, 1847. Emigrating to the United States when young, he developed as a publisher, owning and operating two newspapers in the United States: in

Saint Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

; bequeathed funds to

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

to establish its school of journalism, and endowed the Pulitzer Prizes in journalism and photography, as well as literature, art and music.

Jewish history

Makó developed a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

community beginning in the 18th century. The Orthodox synagogue was reconstructed during the years 1999-2002 and reopened on 10 March 2002. :hu:Ortodox zsinagóga (Makó) Jews began to settle in Makó about the middle of the 18th century, under the protection of Stanislavich, the

Bishop of Csanád A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

. In 1740, he assigned a special quarter where they soon formed a community, and by 1747 had established a

Chevra kadisha The term ''Chevra kadisha'' (Modern Hebrew: חֶבְרָה קַדִּישָׁא) gained its modern sense of "burial society" in the nineteenth century. It is an organization of Jewish men and women who see to it that the bodies of deceased Je ...

. The first rabbi of Makó was Judah ben Abraham ha-Levi (who occupied the rabbinate from 1778 to 1824). He was succeeded by

Salomon Ullman Salomon may refer to: People * Salomon (given name) * Salomon (surname) Companies * Salomon Brothers, a former investment bank, now a part of Citigroup * Salomon Group, a company manufacturing sporting equipment (which was a part of Adidas-S ...

(1826–63). Ullman wrote a commentary on certain sections of ''

Yoreh De'ah Yoreh De'ah ( he, יורה דעה) is a section of Rabbi Jacob ben Asher's compilation of halakha (Jewish law), Arba'ah Turim around 1300. This section treats all aspects of Jewish law not pertinent to the Hebrew calendar, finance, torts, marriage ...

'', under the title ''"Yeri'ot Shelomoh"'' (Vienna, 1854). He was followed by

Anton Enoch Fischer Anton may refer to: People *Anton (given name), including a list of people with the given name *Anton (surname) Places *Anton Municipality, Bulgaria **Anton, Sofia Province, a village *Antón District, Panama **Antón, a town and capital of th ...

(1864–96), former rabbi of Dunaföldvár. Fischer introduced

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

and (later) Hungarian in his sermons, when the community still spoke mostly Yiddish.
In 1904 the rabbi was Dr. A. Kecskemeti". The community established a Jewish school in Makó in 1851, of which Marcus Steinhardt was a teacher for forty years. The community also set up a

Jewish Women's Association The League of Jewish Women in Germany (german: italic=no, Jüdischer Frauenbund, JFB) was founded in 1904 by Bertha Pappenheim. Pappenheim led the JFB throughout the first twenty years of its existence, and remained active in it until her death in 1 ...

, a Jewish students' aid society, and a Jewish women's lying-in hospital. In 1900, Makó had 1,642 Jews, less than 5% of the total city population of 33,722. The community was destroyed during the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

. The Jewish population was deported to extermination camps, where most were killed in the last year of the war.

Geography

The former community pasture of the town near the Maros River has been preserved as part of the Körös-Maros National Park. The traditional name of the area, ''Csordajárás,'' expresses its historic use as grazing ground for cattle.

Climate

Makó and the surrounding region get the most sunshine in

, about 85-90 sunny days a year. The sun shines more than 2,100 hours a year in Makó. The climate is relatively dry, especially in the summer, with the 100-year average of

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hai ...

recorded at per year. The average medium temperature is .

Notable residents and natives

Politics

Lajos Návay Lajos Návay de Földeák (18 September 1870 – 29 April 1919) was a Hungary, Hungarian jurist and politician, who served as List of Speakers of the House of Representatives of Hungary, Speaker of the House of Representatives between 1911 an ...

(1870-1919), jurist, politician, Speaker of the House of Representatives (1911-1912) * Andrea Mágori, politician * Béla Bánhidy, politician * László Szászfalvi, politician * Ferenc Erdei, politician *

József Kristóffy József Kristóffy (17 September 1857 – 29 March 1928) was a Hungarian politician, who served as Interior Minister for a year (1905–1906) in Géza Fejérváry's cabinet. Universal suffrage appeared as part of this cabinet's program. Kr ...

, politician, Interior Minister (1905–1906)

Science

* Geza de Kaplany, physician * Béla H. Bánáthy (1919–2003), Hungarian-American

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Lingui ...

, systems scientist, educator, founder of

White Stag Leadership Development Program The White Stag Leadership Development Program, founded in 1958, is a summer leadership training program for youth 10 1/2–18 led by two California-based non-profits that sponsor leadership development activities. The teen youth staff of the two ...

in California * József Galamb (1881–1955), Hungarian-American engineer * Peter Lantos (born 1939), medical scientist and writer *

Moritz Löw Moritz Löw, astronomer; born at Makó, Hungary, in 1841; died in Steglitz, Berlin, May 25, 1900; studied at the universities of Leipzig and Vienna, and received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Budapest A university () is an institution ...

(1841–1900, Steglitz, Berlin), Jewish Hungarian-German astronomer

Religion

Géza Vermes Géza Vermes, (; 22 June 1924 – 8 May 2013) was a British academic, Biblical scholar, and Judaist of Hungarian Jewish descent—one who also served as a Catholic priest in his youth—and scholar specialized in the field of the history of r ...

(born 1924), Jewish theologian, orientalist *

Meshulim Feish Lowy Meshulim Feish Segal Lowy II ( he, משולם פייש סג"ל לאווי, Magyarized: ''Lőwy Ferencz''; 11 April 1921 – 12 August 2015) was the fourth Grand Rebbe of the Tosh Hasidic dynasty. Biography Early life Lowy was born in Nyírtass, ...

, Grand Rebbe of the

Tosh Hasidic dynasty Tosh may refer to: People * Tosh (surname) * Tosh (nickname) * Tosh Townend (born 1985), professional skateboarder * Tosh Van der Sande (born 1990), Belgian professional cyclist Places * Tosh, Himachal Pradesh, India; a village * Kiryas Tos ...

* Vasile Erdeli, Romanian bishop of the Diocese of Oradea Mare (1843-1862) * Sándor Rosenberg, neolog rabbi

Media/Art/Entertainment

* Tamás Kátai (born 1975), musician * Antal Páger (1899-1986), actor * Katalin Berek (1930–2017), actress * István Dégi (1935–1992), actor * Bea Palya (born 1976), singer *

(1847–1911), Hungarian-American journalist, publisher and philanthropist *

Albert Pulitzer Albert Pulitzer (July 10, 1851 – October 3, 1909) was the younger brother of newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer. Pulitzer founded the ''New York Morning Journal'' in 1882,(18 November 1882)New York ''Boston Evening Transcript'' (noting debut of ...

(1851-1909), Hungarian-American journalist, teacher *

Andre DeToth Endre Antal Miksa DeToth, better known as Andre de Toth (born Endre Antal Mihály Tóth; May 15, 1913 – October 27, 2002), was a Hungarian-American film director, born and raised in Makó, Austria-Hungary. He directed the 3D film ''House of ...

, Hungarian-American film director *

André de Toth Endre Antal Miksa DeToth, better known as Andre de Toth (born Endre Antal Mihály Tóth; May 15, 1913 – October 27, 2002), was a Hungarian-American film director, born and raised in Makó, Austria-Hungary. He directed the 3D film ''House o ...

(1912–2002), Hungarian-American producer *

Emil Makai Emil Makai (17 November 1870 – 6 August 1901), born Emil Fischer, was a Hungarian- Jewish poet, journalist, dramatist, and translator. Biography Born to Rabbi Antal Enoch Fischer in Makó, Makkai went to Budapest in 1884, where he disting ...

(1871–1901, Budapest), Hungarian poet * Jenő Barcsay, painter

Sports

József Sütő József Sütő (born 9 September 1937) is a Hungarian former long-distance runner. He competed in the marathon at the 1964 Summer Olympics and the 1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), off ...

, long-distance runner * Marko Milošević, Bosnian footballer, football manager * Gábor Gyömbér, footballer * Zsolt Gévay, footballer * Krisztina Pigniczki, handballer *

Zsolt Huszárik Zsolt Huszárik (born 4 August 1989 in Szeged) is a professional Hungarian footballer currently plays for BKV Előre SC. Career In the summer 2013, Huszárik joined Austrian club USC Mank. He played there until January 2014, where he joined ano ...

, footballer *

Tamás Szélpál Tamás Szélpál (born 11 July 1987) is a Hungarian football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football ...

, footballer *

András Dlusztus András Dlusztus (born 22 July 1988 in Szeged) is a Hungarian football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form o ...

, footballer * László Köteles, footballer

Twin towns – sister cities

Makó is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: * Ada, Serbia * Atça (Sultanhisar), Turkey * Bodo (Balinț), Romania * Dumbrava, Romania *

Jasło Jasło is a county town in south-eastern Poland with 36,641 inhabitants, as of 31 December 2012. It is situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (since 1999), and it was previously part of Krosno Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is located in Lesser ...

, Poland *

Kiryat Yam Kiryat Yam ( he, קִרְיַת יָם, lit. ''Sea Town'') is a city in the Haifa Bay district of Israel, north of Haifa. One of a group of Haifa suburbs known as the Krayot, it is located on the Mediterranean coast, between Kiryat Haim and the ...

, Israel *

Lugoj Lugoj (; hu, Lugos; german: Lugosch; sr, Лугош, Lugoš; bg, Лугож; tr, Logoş) is a city in Timiș County, Romania. The Timiș River divides the city into two halves, the so-called "Romanian Lugoj" that spreads on the right bank and t ...

, Romania * Martinsicuro, Italy *

Maumee Maumee may refer to: Places: * Maumee Township, Allen County, Indiana * Maumee, Indiana, an unincorporated community in Salt Creek Township * Maumee, Ohio, a city in Lucas County * Maumee River, a river in northwestern Ohio and northeastern India ...

, United States *

Miercurea Ciuc Miercurea Ciuc (; hu, Csíkszereda, ; german: Szeklerburg) is the county seat of Harghita County, Romania. It lies in the Székely Land, a mainly Hungarian-speaking ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania, and is situated in the Olt ...

, Romania *

Radomsko Radomsko is a city in southern Poland with 44,700 inhabitants (2021). It is situated on the Radomka river in the Łódź Voivodeship (since 1999), having previously been in Piotrków Trybunalski Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is the county se ...

, Poland * Rusko Selo (Kikinda), Serbia *

Sânnicolau Mare Sânnicolau Mare (; hu, Nagyszentmiklós; german: Großsanktnikolaus; sr, Велики Семиклуш, Veliki Semikluš; Banat Bulgarian: ''Smikluš'') is a town in Timiș County, Romania, and the westernmost of the country. Located in the Ba ...