Ajka

Infobox Settlement

---

image_caption = Aerial view
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 Ajka
pushpin_mapsize =

official_name=Ajka


subdivision_type1=County
subdivision_name1=Veszprém
area_total_km2=95.05
population_total=31334|population_footnotes=
population_as_of=2004|population_density_km2=329.65
postal_code_type=Postal code
postal_code=8400
area_code=88
latd=47.10062
longd=17.55223

Ajka is a town in Hungary with about 35,000 inhabitants. It is situated in the hills of Bakony.

History

Today's Ajka was created on January 1, 1960 by the unification of four villages ("Ajka, Bódé, Tósok" and "Tósokberénd.") In the following decades four additional villages ("Csékút, Bakonygyepes, Padragkút" and "Ajkarendek") were annexed to the town.

Around 1000 BCE the area was inhabited by Celts. By the 2nd century CE the territory was conquered by the Romans. The Hungarians occupied the area in the early 900s.

The village Ajka was named after the Ajka clan, which, in turn, got its name after its ancestor, a knight named Heiko who was a member of the retinue of Gisela, Princess of Bavaria, wife of King St. Stephen in the early 11th century. The village itself was first mentioned in 1214 when it was already about a hundred years old.

The village developed slowly during the next few centuries. Real prosperity came only in the second half of the 19th century when coal resources were found nearby. In the 1930s vast bauxite resources were found too. In 1937 the first krypton factory of the world was built near Ajka.

During the industrialization wave of the Socialist era Ajka was a natural choice to build a new industrial town. The new town – like several other industrial cities and towns – came into existence with the unification of several villages. At the time of the unification it had 15.375 residents.

The political changes of 1989/90 affected the industry of the area, but Ajka quickly recovered and is now a prospering town.

Tourist sights

* Roman Catholic Church of Tósokberénd (late baroque, 1807-1808)
* Roman Catholic Church of Ajka (late baroque, 1788)
* Reformed Church of Ajka (late baroque, 1783)
* Evangelical Church of Ajka (late baroque, 1786-89)
* House of the Steward (manor house, 18-19th centuries)
* Museum of Mining (industrial heritage site)
* Glass Factory

Twin towns

Ajka is twinned to these towns:
*flagicon|Romania Cristuru Secuiesc, Romania
*flagicon|Finland Rovaniemi, Finland
*flagicon|Germany Unna, Germany
*flagicon|Austria Weiz, Austria

External links

* [http://www.ajka.hu Official site] hu icon
* [http://www.civertan.hu/legifoto/legifoto.php?page_level=13 Aerialphotgraphs of Ajka]