Hatvan | |
|---|---|
 Grassalkovich Palace | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
  Hatvan | |
| Coordinates:47°40′5″N19°40′11″E / 47.66806°N 19.66972°E /47.66806; 19.66972 | |
| Country |  Hungary |
| County | Heves |
| District | Hatvan |
| Area | |
• Total | 80.66 km2 (31.14 sq mi) |
| Population (2019) | |
• Total | 20,228 |
| • Density | 250/km2 (650/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 3000 |
| Area code | (+36) 37 |
| Website | hatvan |
Hatvan[ˈhɒtvɒn] (German:Hottwan) is a town inHeves County,Hungary. Hatvan is the Hungarian word for "sixty". It is the county's third most populous town followingEger andGyöngyös.
Hatvan is the Hungarian word for "sixty". It is a common urban legend that the town got this name because it is 60 km fromBudapest, but in fact the name is already mentioned in medieval sources, many years before the kilometre existed; also, the actual distance between the capital and the town is closer to 50 km.[1]
Rather, the town's name likely derives from thePecheneg root word "chatwan" or "chatman", meaning "small-tribe" or "splinter-group". This is because theTurkic Pechenegs were divided into small groups when they were settled into the earlyKingdom of Hungary.[2]
The area around Hatvan has been inhabited since theNeolithic. Archeological evidence suggests that both sides of theZagyva river were inhabited at this point. A significant settlement took shape in theCopper Age, which existed until the earlyBronze Age. Around 1900 BC, tribes ofpastoralists from the east made their way into theCarpathian Basin where they eventually settled. Following the Bronze Age, no permanent settlements existed around Hatvan until the 1170s, however archeological evidence suggestsScythians,Celts,Roxolani,Sarmatians,Avars, and eventuallyMagyars passed through the region.
In the 1170s,Premonstratensians established a permanent settlement where today's Hatvan sits. Themonastery they established slowly grew in significance, and was first documented in writing in 1235. The monks drained swamps in the area, and developed the land for agriculture, causing increasing numbers of people to settle the area around the monastery in the13th century.
Following theCongress of Visegrád in 1355, the settlement grew in significance, since a road connectingBuda andKraków was constructed passing through it.Louis I of Hungary passed though the settlement multiple times leading his forces on campaigns intoLithuania, and eventually Hatvan was officially granted the status ofmarket town.
After the occupyingOttomanpasha ofBudaMehmed Yahya Pashazade pushed his armies north and capturedVisegrád andNógrád in 1544, the captains of Hatvan's freshly constructed castle made the decision to burn their fortifications down, lest they fall under Turkish control. The town's soldiers and leadership withdrew toEger, leaving its citizens to be captured by Ottoman forces shortly after. The Ottomans made Hatvan the head of their newly conqueredsanjak, causing such a large influx of Turkish soldiers and officials that by the17th century the local Hungarians became a minority in the city. The Turks reenforced the city with an extensive system of fortifying pile walls, which they made fireproof by caking them with clay.
In 1594, an unsuccessful attempt to retake the town was made byUpper Hungarian forces. Two years later, in 1596,Maximilian III was able to retake the town following a three week long siege, but it was quickly retaken by an Ottoman army led byMehmed III. The town was briefly recaptured byHermann Christof von Russwurm in 1603, but fell promptly back into Turkish hands. The Turkish occupation finally came to an end in 1686 following theSiege of Buda, and the town was restored to Hungarian control.
Between the 17th and 18th centuries, the town was populated mostly byserfs, who mostly practicedanimal husbandry, but also started tending vineyards. Following the defeat of the Ottomans, Hatvan was reintegrated into Hungarian society: In 1689 the town gained postal service, in 1693 a customs office was built, and by 1700 the localparish resumed operation.
Theassociation football clubFC Hatvan is based in Hatvan.
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| Villages (11) | ||
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