Salgótarján
Encyclopedia
Nógrád (county)
-Description:Nógrád county lies in northern Hungary. It shares borders with Slovakia and the Hungarian counties Pest, Heves and Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén. The capital of Nógrád county is Salgótarján. Its area is 2544 km²....
county, north-eastern Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
.
Location
At the foot of Karancs mountain, in the Cserhát hills, 250 meters above sea level, 120 km (75 mi) north-east from BudapestBudapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, 70 km (43 mi) west from Miskolc
Miskolc
Miskolc is a city in northeastern Hungary, mainly with heavy industrial background. With a population close to 170,000 Miskolc is the fourth largest city of Hungary It is also the county capital of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén and the regional centre of Northern Hungary.- Geography :Miskolc is located...
. Salgótarján is surrounded by beautiful forests and hills topped with castle ruins, which are accessible by bus that may be taken from the center of town.
History
The town already existed in the Middle AgesMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, but information on it is scarce, it is likely that it was a small village. The word salgó means "shining" in Old Hungarian
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
, while Tarján was the name of one of the Hungarian tribes conquering the area.
The castle of Salgó was built in the 13th century on a mountain of volcanic origin. In the 13th century the town already had a church.
After the 1682 siege of the nearby Castle of Fülek (today Fiľakovo
Filakovo
Fiľakovo is a town in the Banská Bystrica Region of south-central Slovakia. Historically it was part of the Nógrád region.-Geography:...
, Slovakia) the town was deserted, and new settlers arrived only ten years later, but remained a small village.
Development came in the mid-19th century, when a coal mine was opened nearby. The job opportunities provided by the mine and the developing industry began to attract people. The village grew quickly and was granted town status in 1922. Today visitors can see the remains of the mining industry by visiting the Mine Museum, which is located next to the main entrance of the mine.
In 1950, Salgótarján became the capital of Nógrád county instead of the previous county seat Balassagyarmat
Balassagyarmat
Balassagyarmat 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" , because in January 1919 Czechoslovak troops crossed the demarcation line delineated in December 1918 in preparation for the...
. In the next twenty years several villages were annexed to the growing city.
The coal mines have been closed years ago, leaving the city with high unemployment rates.
In 1994, Salgótarján was granted the rank of city with county rights, in accord with a new law stating that all county seats are cities with county rights. (Previously only cities with a population over 50.000 were granted county rights, and Salgótarján was one of only two county seats that had smaller population than 50.000; the other was Szekszárd
Szekszárd
Szekszárd is a city in Hungary and the capital of Tolna county. By population, Szekszárd is the smallest county capital in Hungary; by area, it is the second smallest -Location:...
).
Places of interest
The town is near two ruined castles and contains two museums, among other places of interest.- Plébániatemplom (Cathedral), located opposite the County History Museum, is the main church in the town.
- Nógrádi Történeti Múzeum (county of Nógrád History Museum) is the town's principal museum with exhibits about the history of the county. There is a special exhibit on János Balázs, the Romany poet and painter who lived in the city.
- Nógrádi Történeti Múzeum Bányászati Kiállítóhelye (Mining Museum), is the main mining museum in the country, with exhibits about the history of mining in the region. Visitors can view a section of the mine and see mining equipment.
- Somoskő (Šomoška) Castle in the suburb of Somoskő is the better preserved of the two castles. It is situated atop a 526 meter tall hill. One of the three original towers is restored. The castle lies on the Slovak side of the border, but it's easily accessible from the Hungarian village of Somoskő.
- Salgói Castle Ruins, in the suburb of Salgóbánya, is 625 meters above sealevel, giving it a panoramic view of the area.
Twin towns — Sister cities
Salgótarján is twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with: Doncaster
Doncaster
Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
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Gliwice
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, Poland
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Banská Bystrica
Banská Bystrica
Banská Bystrica is a key city in central Slovakia located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Veľká Fatra, and the Kremnica Mountains. With 81,281 inhabitants, Banská Bystrica is the sixth most populous municipality in Slovakia...
, Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
Lučenec
Lucenec
Lučenec is a town in the Banská Bystrica Region of south-central Slovakia. Historically, it was part, and in the 18th century the capital, of the Nógrád county of the Kingdom of Hungary. In 1918, as a result of the Treaty of Trianon, it became a part of Czechoslovakia...
, Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
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Finland
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