Gyöngyös

Gyöngyös [ˈɟøɲɟøʃ] is a town in Heves county in Hungary, 80 km (50 mi) east of Budapest. Situated at the foot of the Sár-hegy and Mátra mountains, it is the home of numerous food production plants, including milk production and sausage factories. It is also the home of many vineyards on the slopes of the Sárhegy.

Gyöngyös
Town
Orczy palace of Orczy family
Flag
Coat of arms
Gyöngyös
Location of Gyöngyös
Gyöngyös
Gyöngyös (Europe)
Coordinates: 47.7833°N 19.9333°E / 47.7833; 19.9333
Country Hungary
CountyHeves
DistrictGyöngyös
Area
 • Total54.1 km2 (20.9 sq mi)
Population
 (2001)
 • Total33,553
 • Density620/km2 (1,600/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
3200
Area code(+36) 37
Websitewww.gyongyos.hu

The Art-Nouveau and Baroque buildings around the main square were reconstructed after a disastrous fire started in the local hospital in 1917,[1] destroying a number of buildings housing important Jewish institutions and leaving in all around 8,000 homeless.[2]

Name
Baroque Church of Saint Bernard of Gyöngyös
Gyöngyös 1938

The meaning of the town's name is "Made of Pearls"; Croats from Hungary call this city Đunđuš (pronounced as "Dyun-dyush"). The 16/17th-century historian Miklós Istvánffy wrote that the name of the town comes from the Hungarian word for mistletoe (fagyöngy literally "wood-pearl"), which is abundant in the local woods.

History

Gyöngyös was home to a large Jewish community before World War II. In 1942, anti-Jewish laws were adopted in the province, affecting the Jews of the town.[3] Following the occupation of Hungary by the German army in March 1944, 1800 Jews were locked in a ghetto. Some were saved by Hungarian Righteous Among the Nations personnel but most of them were deported to Auschwitz and killed.[4]

Sights to visit

There are many monuments and places of interest in the town, such as the Orczy mansion, home of the Mátra Museum, Saint Bartholomew's Church (Saint Bartholomew Church, Gyöngyös, Hungary) in the center of town, and its Treasury.

Notable residents
  • Gyöngyi Horváth, sociologist, conference organiser
  • Rudolph Ritter von Brudermann (1851–1941), general of Austria-Hungary during the First World War
  • Béla Kerékjártó (1898–1946), mathematician
  • Sandor Kenyeres (1949–), property developer, scientific philanthropist, and cultural visionary
  • Gedeon Richter (1872–1944), pharmacist, business magnate, philanthropist, founder of Gedeon Richter plc, pioneer of the Hungarian pharmaceutical industry
  • Soma Visontai (1854–?), lawyer, deputy
  • Paul Vay de Vaya (1735–1800), Major General (1794), Feldmarschall-leutnant (1799–1800)
  • Margit Gréczi (1941–), painter
  • Zita Pataki (1973–), weather presenter

Politics

Gabor Horváth, (1963–) Brigadier General, Army Carrier Officer, promoter of NATO and EU membership,Commander

Sports

International relations
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Hungary

Twin towns — Sister cities

Gyöngyös is twinned with:

  • Aerial photograph of the water tower, built in 1927.

References
  1. Charles Hebbert; Norm Longley; Dan Richardson (2002). Hungary (Rough Guide Travel Guides). Rough Guides Ltd. p. 323. ISBN 1-85828-917-3.
  2. Adrian Phillips, Jo Scotchmer (2010). Bradt Travel Guides. Hungary. p. 222. ISBN 1-84162-285-0.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-08-15. Retrieved 2016-05-26.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "המכון הבין-לאומי לחקר השואה – יד ושם". www.yadvashem.org.
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-08-05. Retrieved 2013-05-10.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

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