Kisvárda | |
|---|---|
 Rétköz Museum | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
  Kisvárda | |
| Coordinates:48°13′N22°05′E / 48.217°N 22.083°E /48.217; 22.083 | |
| Country | Hungary |
| County | Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg |
| District | Kisvárda |
| Area | |
• Total | 35.91 km2 (13.86 sq mi) |
| Population (2012) | |
• Total | 16,473 |
| • Density | 502.03/km2 (1,300.3/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 4600 |
| Area code | (+36) 45 |
| Website | www |
Kisvárda (pronounced[ˈkiʃvaːrdɒ];German:Kleinwardein,Yiddish:קליינווארדיין,romanized: Kleynvardeyn) is atown inSzabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County, in theNorthern Great Plainregion of easternHungary near the border ofSlovakia andUkraine. It is the 3rd largest town inSzabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg afterNyíregyháza andMátészalka with a population of 16 669 people. TheSubregion of Kisvárda lies between two large landscapes, theNyírség and theRétköz. Kisvárda is just 22 km (14 mi) from the border ofUkraine, 30 km (18.6 mi) fromSlovakia, 43.9 km (27.3 mi) fromNyíregyháza, 50 km (31 mi) fromUngvár (Uzhorod), 52.1 km (32.4 mi) fromBeregszász (Berehove), 52.9 km (32.9 mi) fromSátoraljaújhely and 80 km (50 mi) from Dorolţ, Romania.
The name of the town, which means "little castle" inHungarian, dates back to theConquest of Hungary. The conqueringHungarians named the town for its earthwork. In theMiddle Ages, it occurred likeWarda andWarada in documents. The "kis" (meaninglittle) word part was added to differentiate the town fromNagyvárad (nowOradea,Romania), "nagy" meaninggreat orlarge.
The red and white stripes on the shield symbolize theÁrpád Dynasty, the medieval kings ofHungary. The sword with theSun and green background shows the heroic knights of Kisvárda. The scales represents the town's trade and markets. In the middle of the shield there is theCastle of Kisvárda in gold. There is a dark green, winged dragon around the shield, choking itself with its tail wrapped around its neck. This is the insignia of theOrder of the Dragon which derives from theVárday family's coat of arms.
The conqueringHungarians found a hill fort here in 895 which then they used for their border protection system.
St. Ladislaus defeated the KunteskCuman prince in 1085 in a great fight. In memory of the glorious battle, he had a church established. He dedicated it toSt Peter andSt PaulApostles.
In the 12th century, the settlement's importance declined. The castle became the possession of theSwabian-SwedishGutkeled family. The settlement was the denominator of one branch of the family, theVárdays. TheVárday family worked a lot to revive Kisvárda. Shortly the place got their fair housing law.
Pelbárt Várady got permission from the king to build theCastle of Kisvárda in 1415.
In 1421, it became a town.István Várday, theArchbishop of Kalocsa,Matthias Corvinus's chancellor expended the town's autonomy in 1468. At that time, the population of Kisvárda was more than a thousand people. It became the centre ofSzabolcs. The first guild was formed in 1591.
Because of theTurkish conquest of Hungary and the economic changes, the town's importance diminished.
Prior toWorld War II, Kisvárda had a total population of approximately 20,000.
Of the total population, 3,500 were Jewish and there were twelve synagogues. The Nazi Germans and their Hungarian allies confined the Jewish community to a ghetto in 1944 and gathered an additional 3,500 Jews from the surrounding area into the Kisvárda ghetto. They were deported to theAuschwitz concentration camp where the majority were slaughtered.[1] A small community was re-established after the war, but almost no Jews are left in Kisvárda today.
One of the former synagogues remains one of the most imposing structures in Kisvárda and is now a local history museum known as theRétközi Múzeum.
Historically, Kisvárda has been a market town for the surrounding agricultural district, and is also has some light industry such as distilling, electrics, and brake pad production. It is on the main railway line from the Hungarian capital ofBudapest toUkraine. Kisvárda also attracts tourists to itsthermal springs, and the ruins of a medieval castle.
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| Villages (20) | ||
48°13′N22°05′E / 48.217°N 22.083°E /48.217; 22.083
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