Békéscsaba

Infobox Settlement


image_caption = Aerial view
image_shield = WĘG Békéscsaba COA.jpg
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = HUN
timezone=CET
utc_offset=+1
timezone_DST=CEST
utc_offset_DST=+2
pushpin_

pushpin_label_position =
pushpin_map_caption =Location of Békéscsaba
pushpin_mapsize =
official_name=Békéscsaba


subdivision_type1=County
subdivision_name1=Békés
area_total_km2=193.94
population_total=66377|population_footnotes=
population_as_of=2001|population_density_km2=342
postal_code_type=Postal code
postal_code=5600
area_code=66
latd=46.679
longd=21.091

Békéscsaba IPA| [ˈbeːkeːʃˌtʃɒbɒ] (Slovak: "Békešská Čaba") is a city and urban county in Southeast Hungary, the capital of the county Békés.

Geography

According to the 2001 census, the city has a total area of convert|193.94|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on.

History

The area has been inhabited since the ancient times. In the Iron Age the area had been conquered by the Scythians, by the Celts, then by the Huns. After the Hungarian Conquest, there were many small villages in the area.

The village of "Csaba" was first mentioned in the 1330s, its name (which is also a popular first name for boys) is of Turkish origin. Besides Csaba, eight other villages stood where now the town stands. When the Turks conquered Hungary, and the country became part of the Ottoman Empire, the town survived, but it became extinct during the fights against the Turks in the 17th century.

In 1715 Csaba is mentioned as a deserted place, but only one year later its name can be found in a document mentioning the tax-paying towns. It is likely that the new Csaba was founded by János György Harruckern, who earned distinction in the freedom fight against the Turks and bought the area of Békés county. By 1847 the town was among the twenty largest towns of Hungary, with a population of 22,000. Nevertheless, Csaba was still like a large village, with muddy streets and crowded houses.

By 1858 the railway line reached the town. This brought development; new houses and factories were built, the town began to prosper. Still, by the end of the 19th century the unemployment caused great tension, and in 1891 a revolt was oppressed by the help of Romanian soldiers. One of the most important person in the politics of the town was András L. Áchim, who founded a peasants' party and succeeded in having Békéscsaba elevated to the rank of "city with council".

World War I brought suffering to the town. Between 1919 and 1920 Békéscsaba was under Romanian occupation. After the Trianon peace treaty Hungary lost its most important Southern cities, Arad and Nagyvárad, and Békéscsaba had to take over their roles, becoming the most important town of the area.

Between the two world wars the recession caused poverty and unemployment, and a flood in 1925 didn't help, either.

During World War II battles weren't fought in the area, but two tragic events shook the town in 1944: between June 24 and 26th over 3,000 Jews were sent to Auschwitz. A few of the Békéscsaba families who were lost at Auschwitz, Dachau.

On 21st September the British and American Air Force bombed the railway station and its surroundings, killing more than 100 people. On 6 October 1944 the Soviet army occupied Békéscsaba.

During the Socialist times Békéscsaba became the county seat of Békés (1950), and began to develop into one of the most important centres of food industry of Hungary. After the change of regime in 1990 the industry got into a crisis, lots of people lost their jobs. Today the crisis seems to be over and Békéscsaba is prospering again.

Population

Ethnic groups (2001 census):
* Magyars - 93.8%
* Slovaks - 6%
* Germans - 0,6%
* Romanians - 0,4%

Religions (2001 census):
* Roman Catholic - 24.2% (mainly Magyar descendants)
* Lutheran - 20.5% (mainly Slovak descendants)
* Calvinist - 10.9% (only Magyar descendants)
* Other - 2.1% (mainly Christian)
* Atheist - 30.5%
* No answer, unknown - 10.8%

Tourist sights

* Baroque church (18th century)
* Classicist church (19th century)
* City hall (designed by Miklós Ybl, 1873)
* Mihály Munkácsy Museum
* Mór Jókai Theatre
* Slovakian folklore museum

Famous people

Born in Békéscsaba

* Ján Valašťan Dolinský (1892–1965) Slovak composer
* Károly Klimó (1936) artist
* László Vidovszky (1944) composer, pianist
* Gyula Hegyi (1951) politician
* Henrietta Ónodi (1974) gymnast
* Béla Szabados (1974) swimmer
* Sandor Toth (1980) Front-end engineer (Garner Osborne Circuits Ltd)

Died in Békéscsaba

* Sándor Erkel (1900) composer, son of Ferenc Erkel

Twin towns

* Beiuş "(Belényes)", Romania
* Mikkeli, Finland
* Odorheiu Secuiesc "(Székelyudvarhely)", Romania
* Skoczów, Poland
* Tarnowskie Góry, Poland
* Trenčín "(Trencsén)", Slovakia
* Uzhhorod "(Ungvár)", Ukraine
* Wittenberg, Germany
* Zrenjanin "(Nagybecskerek)", Serbia

External links

* [http://www.bekescsaba.hu Official site]
* [http://www.turizmus.bekescsaba.hu/latnivalok.php Photos of the town]
* [http://www.civertan.hu/legifoto/legifoto.php?page_level=1447 Aerial photography: Békéscsaba]

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