Várpalota
Encyclopedia
Várpalota is a town in Western Hungary
, in the Transdanubian county of Veszprém
. It was a mining
town during the Socialist
era, but the mines have been closed. Most of the citizens work in the nearby cities, Veszprém
or Székesfehérvár
.
and Avar
periods, as testified verified by burial mounds, tombstones and Roman artifacts in the outskirts of the town, some of which can be found in the lapidary of Thuri Castle.
In the Middle Ages it was a flourishing market town. In the 20th century it became a center for coal mining.
, Romania Fermo
, Italy Kremnica
, Slovakia Wolfsberg
, Austria Gradec
, Slovenia
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...
, in the Transdanubian county of Veszprém
Veszprém (county)
Veszprém is the name of an administrative county in Hungary. Veszprém is also the name of the capital city of Veszprém county.-Veszprém county:...
. It was a mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
town during the Socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
era, but the mines have been closed. Most of the citizens work in the nearby cities, Veszprém
Veszprém
Veszprém is one of the oldest urban areas in Hungary, and a city with county rights. It lies approximately north of the Lake Balaton. It is the administrative center of the county of the same name.-Location:...
or Székesfehérvár
Székesfehérvár
Székesfehérvár is a city in central Hungary and is the 9th largest in the country. Located around southwest of Budapest. It is inhabited by 101,973 people , with 136,995 in the Székesfehérvár Subregion. The city is the centre of Fejér county and the regional centre of Central Transdanubia...
.
History
The town's origins are linked to the RomanRoman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
and Avar
Eurasian Avars
The Eurasian Avars or Ancient Avars were a highly organized nomadic confederacy of mixed origins. They were ruled by a khagan, who was surrounded by a tight-knit entourage of nomad warriors, an organization characteristic of Turko-Mongol groups...
periods, as testified verified by burial mounds, tombstones and Roman artifacts in the outskirts of the town, some of which can be found in the lapidary of Thuri Castle.
In the Middle Ages it was a flourishing market town. In the 20th century it became a center for coal mining.
Main sights
- The Thuri castle, located in the heart of the town. It was commanded, among the others, by György Thuri. It is currently home to the Museum of ChemistryChemistryChemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, and the collection of the memories of coal miningCoal miningThe goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
. Concerts and theatre performances are held there every summer. - The old Catholic church, home to RomanesqueRomanesque artRomanesque art refers to the art of Western Europe from approximately 1000 AD to the rise of the Gothic style in the 13th century, or later, depending on region. The preceding period is increasingly known as the Pre-Romanesque...
and early-GothicGothic artGothic art was a Medieval art movement that developed in France out of Romanesque art in the mid-12th century, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, but took over art more completely north of the Alps, never quite effacing more classical...
frescoFrescoFresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
s in a particularly good condition. One of the World War I memorials erected in those days and destroyed in the tempests of the history can be found here. - Jó Szerencsét (Good Luck) Community Centre, which houses four large-sized GobelinGobelinGobelin was the name of a family of dyers, who in all probability came originally from Reims, and who in the middle of the 15th century established themselves in the Faubourg Saint Marcel, Paris, on the banks of the Bièvre....
works of Noémi Ferenczy. The one-man exhibition of Frigyes Matzon, one of the significant representatives of constructivismConstructivism (art)Constructivism was an artistic and architectural philosophy that originated in Russia beginning in 1919, which was a rejection of the idea of autonomous art. The movement was in favour of art as a practice for social purposes. Constructivism had a great effect on modern art movements of the 20th...
can be visited in the nearby Nagy Gyula Gallery, which was converted from a synagogueSynagogueA synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
. - Baroque Reformed church with its irregularly arched western façade. It was built on the walls of the formerly Hussar Castle. It houses the memorial plaque of Mária MolnárMária MolnárMária Molnár is a Hungarian art historian, art critic, and art collection curator. She is the founding editor-in-chief of the tri-lingual Central European periodical, Praesens and the founding chair of the National Art Salon of Hungary's "Foundation for a Civil Hungary."-References:...
. - Zichy Castle. The library-room with its wooden cover and its frescoFrescoFresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
s recalling mythological ages, is a regular place of cultural events. Italso includes the Zichy-Chapel and the altar carved from sandstone in the Catholic cemetery. Among the graves are the memorial of militiaman martyrMartyrA martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
s of the Hungarian RevolutionHungarian RevolutionHungarian Revolution may refer to:* The Hungarian Revolution of 1848.* The Hungarian Revolution of 1919, which led to the formation of the Hungarian Soviet Republic headed by Béla Kun.* The Hungarian Revolution of 1956....
and War of Independence belonging to the earl's family. - Memorials of the Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence in 1848-49, of the World War heroes and victims, of the heroes of Revolution in 1956.
Twin towns
PetroşaniPetrosani
Petroşani is a city in Hunedoara County, Romania, with a population of 45,447 .-History:The city of Petroşani was founded in the 17th century...
, Romania Fermo
Fermo
Fermo is a town and comune of the Marche, Italy, in the Province of Fermo.Fermo is located on a hill, the Sabulo with a fine view, on a branch from Porto San Giorgio on the Adriatic coast railway....
, Italy Kremnica
Kremnica
Kremnica is a town in central Slovakia. It has some 5,700 inhabitants. The well-preserved medieval town built above important gold mines is the site of the oldest still-working mint in the world.-History:...
, Slovakia Wolfsberg
Wolfsberg
Places named Wolfsberg include:*Wolfsberg, Carinthia, a district capital in Carinthia, Austria*Wolfsberg , a district of Carinthia, Austria*Wolfsberg im Schwarzautal, a municipality in Styria, Austria...
, Austria Gradec
Gradec
Gradec or Gradets – South Slavic for "small town" – may refer to:* In Croatia:** Gradec, Zagreb, a neighborhood** Gradec, Zagreb County, a village and a municipality* In Slovenia:** Dobrova-Polhov Gradec...
, Slovenia