Balassagyarmat

Balassagyarmat
Town

County House of Balassagyarmat

Coat of arms
Nickname(s): Civitas Fortissima (The Bravest City)
Balassagyarmat

Location of Balassagyarmat

Coordinates: 48°04′43″N 19°17′39″E / 48.07861°N 19.29417°E / 48.07861; 19.29417Coordinates: 48°04′43″N 19°17′39″E / 48.07861°N 19.29417°E / 48.07861; 19.29417
Country  Hungary
Statistical large region Great Plain and North
Region Northern Hungary
County Nógrád
Subregion Balassagyarmati
Government
 • Mayor Lajos Medvácz (Fidesz-KDNP)
Area
 • Total 29.03 km2 (11.21 sq mi)
Population (2013)
 • Total 16 055
 • Density 695,87/km2 (180,230/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 2660
Area code 35
Website balassagyarmat.hu

Balassagyarmat (formerly Balassa-Gyarmath, Slovak: Balašske Ďarmoty, German: Jahrmarkt) is a town in northern Hungary. It was the seat of the Nógrád comitatus.

History

The town's coat-of-arms bears the Latin inscription "Civitas Fortissima" (the bravest city), because in January 1919 Czechoslovak troops crossed the demarcation line delineated in December 1918 in preparation for the Treaty of Trianon, illegally occupying towns south of the line, including Balassagyarmat. The local population managed to push back the Czechoslovak troops in a serious military encounter in which many of the civilian participants lost their lives.[1]

The heroics of the town's people against the illegal and unprovoked invasion has been immortalised in the Kárpátia(hu) song "Civitas Fortissima"[2]

During World War II, May 9, 1944, Germans kept 3,000 Jews from the town and the surrounding villages imprisoned in a ghetto. They are all sent to Auschwitz concentration camp on June 11 and 14, 1944.[3]

Balassagyarmat was captured on 9 December 1944 by Soviet troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front in the course of the Budapest Offensive.

Geography

The town lies on the left bank of the Ipoly river, which marks the state border with Slovakia.

Demographics

In 2001 Balassagyarmat had 18,474 inhabitants. The population were homogeneous with Hungarian majority (Magyars 98%, Romani 2%),[4] 100% of the total population speak Hungarian as their mother tongue.

Famous people

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Balassagyarmat is twinned with:

External links

See also

References

  1. ↑ Hungarian foreign policy: Fidesz or Duchy of Fenwick style? http://esbalogh.typepad.com/hungarianspectrum/
  2. ↑ http://www.karpatiazenekar.hu/oldal/album.php
  3. ↑ http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/he/research/ghettos_encyclopedia/ghetto_details.asp?cid=149
  4. ↑ Hungarian census 2001
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Balassagyarmat.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Balassagyarmat.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/5/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.