Csongrád

For Csongrád the county, see Csongrád (county).

Csongrád
Nagyboldogasszony (Holy Virgin) Church
Coat of arms
Csongrád
Coordinates: 46°42′40.64″N 20°8′25.01″E / 46.7112889°N 20.1402806°E / 46.7112889; 20.1402806
Country	Hungary
Region	Dél-Alföld
County	Csongrád
Subregion/Micro-region	Csongrádi
Boroughs	List Csongrád-Bokros
Government[1]
– Mayor	Tibor Kőrösi
– Deputy mayor	Gáspár Gyovai
– Notary
Area[2]
– Total	183.683 km2 (70.9 sq mi)
– Csongrád	9.65 km2 (3.7 sq mi)
– Csongrád-Bokros	0.083 km2 (0 sq mi)
Elevation	83 m (272 ft)
Population (2009)[3]
– Total	17,686
– Density	107.61/km2 (278.7/sq mi)
Ethnic minorities[4]
– Hungarian	18653
– Gypsy	89
– German	19
– Ukrainian	8
– Other (Greek, Polish, Romanian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian)	18
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
– Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	6640
Area code(s)	63
Twin Cities
– Raisio	Finland
– Óbecse	Serbia
– AGD city union	France
– Bełchatów	Poland
Website	http://www.csongrad.hu/

Csongrád (Romanian: Ciongrad; Serbian: Чонград/Čongrad, archaically also Црноград/Crnograd) is a town in Csongrád County in southern Hungary. Formerly, the city also had the alternate Slavic name of Černigrad, which, like the Hungarian version, means "Black Castle" or "Black Town".

Pontoon bridge between Csongrád and Csépa.

Rovas city limit sign near the pontoon bridge.

Sandbank of the Tisza river near Csongrád.

The railway station.

History

At the time of the Hungarian Conquest (the end of 9th century) the Maros Valley was under Bulgarian control. The fortress was known as Chorniy Grad (Slavic term for 'black castle') and served as a Bulgarian-Slavic guard outpost.^[5] Later King Stephen (1000–1038) made the town a state administration center, giving its name to a county. It remained a county seat till the Mongol invasion of Hungary (1240–42). The town and fortress were badly damaged by the Mongols; king Béla IV subsequently transferred the county seat to Szeged in 1247. The move significantly affected Csongrád's recovery. It did not become a town again until 1920.^[6]

Main sights

The Main Square obtained its definitive shape in the first half of the 10th century, its streets are wide with many trees. The Main Street is lined by old plane trees.

The road running along the grammar school in Secessionist style leads to the old town. This part of the settlement, called Öregvár (meaning Old Castle), preserves the structure of a Hungarian fishing-village of the 18th century. The adobes and houses with puddle wall have thatched roofs, many of them are equipped inside with modern furniture. One building can be seen with original furniture (at Gyökér utca 1).

The Tisza has a sand-bank which looks like a seashore.

Another attraction of Csongrád is the backwater generated by the river control works (Holt-Tisza), which houses several water-birds. In the wood strip on the left bank of the Tisza are the uncovered ruins of a Benedictine monastery founded in the 11th century.

Tourism

Csongrád is a small and very pretty town especially at the summer time when there are lot to see and do. This town is very quiet and peaceful, people are very hospitable and friendly. As the town is small you can get everywhere on foot or if you prefer you can ride a bike, you can cycle through Csongrád on the special bicycle lane.

The greatest attraction in Csongrád is the Tisza river bank. The river has a sandy beach and during summer hundreds of people come to bathe in the water. Csongrád has spas and some swimming pools as well, both indoor and outdoor.^[7]

Csongrád's museums include:

• Csongrád's traditional style house
• László Tari Museum ^[8]
• István Széchenyi Elementary School's collection of the region
• Gallery of Csongrád
• Művésztelep (Artists' park)

The permanent exhibition of the museum located in the center of the city awaits the visitors by presenting a material of town history. Less than hundred meters away from here the City Gallery can be found, where from time to time periodical exhibition of the Gallery the aquarelles of the painter-artist of Csongrád, János Piroska representing the brilliant technique of color-runout as light as air are shown.^[9]

There are several beautiful churches in Csongrád that are worthy of a visit:

• The Nagyboldogasszony (Holy Virgin) Church - situated in the main town square and built between 1762–69
• Saint Rókus-church
• Piroskavárosi Saint Joseph Church Franciscan Abbey^[10]

There are two main festivals in the summer time:

• Csongrád Wine Festival,^[11] which is usually last for 3–4 days
• Körös-Toroki Days^[12] which lasts for a week

Famous residents

• Miloš Crnjanski, Serbian writer
• János Piroska, painter

International relations

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

Twin towns — Sister cities

Csongrád is twinned with:

• Raisio, Finland
• Bečej, Serbia
• AGD union of cities, France
• Bełchatów, Poland^[13]

References

• István Sebestyén (1996): A Glance at Csongrád. Csongrád a vizek és a parkok városa. Raszter Kft. Kiadó, Csongrád, Hungary

Sources

1. ^ Csongrád város honlapja: Tisztségviselők (Hungarian)[1]
2. ^ Csongrád város honlapja: Csongrád történelme (Hungarian)[2]
3. ^ Népszámlálás 2001: 4.1.1 A népesség számának alakulása, terület, népsűrűség, 1870–2001 KSH, 2001. (Hungarian) [3]
4. ^ Népszámlálás 2001: A nemzetiségi népesség száma. KSH, 2001. (Hungarian) [4]
5. ^ András Róna-Tas (1999). Hungarians and Europe in the early Middle Ages: an introduction to early Hungarian history. Central European University Press. p. 266. ISBN 978-963-9116-48-1. http://books.google.com/books?id=I-RTt0Q6AcYC&pg=PA266. 
6. ^ Steve Fallon; Neal Bedford (2003). Hungary. Lonely Planet. pp. 303–304. ISBN 978-1-74059-152-2. http://books.google.com/books?id=FfkOpHEUGA0C&pg=PA303. 
7. ^ Csongrád town's official website
8. ^ László Tari Museum
9. ^ Csongrád town official website
10. ^ List of churches in Csongrád
11. ^ Csongrád town Events Calendar
12. ^ Körös-Torok
13. ^ Bełchatów town council (2010 [last update]). "Portal Bełchatów". belchatow.pl. http://www.belchatow.pl/portal.php?aid=1158607934450ef43e80428. Retrieved 22 June 2011. 

External links

• Csongrád town official website (Hungarian)
• Körös-Torok (Hungarian)
• List of churches in Csongrád (Hungarian)
• László Tari Museum (Hungarian)
• Csongrád town Events Calender (Hungarian)

Coordinates: 46°42′41″N 20°08′25″E / 46.71129°N 20.14028°E / 46.71129; 20.14028