Zalaegerszeg
Zalaegerszeg | |
---|---|
City with county rights | |
Zalaegerszeg Megyei Jogú Város | |
, A water wheel in Village Museum of Göcsej, Right:Statue of Szent Florián, Zala Megyei Leveltár Reference Office (all items from above to bottom) | |
UTC+2 (CEST) | |
Postal code | 8900 |
Area code | (+36) 92 |
Website | zalaegerszeg |
Zalaegerszeg (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈzɒlɒɛɡɛrsɛɡ] ⓘ; Croatian: Jegersek; Slovene: Jageršek; German: Egersee) is the administrative center of Zala county in western Hungary.
Location
Zalaegerszeg lies on the banks of the
History
This section needs additional citations for verification. (December 2023) |
The area was already inhabited in the Upper Paleolithic, according to archaeological findings (the oldest ones in Zala county). Later, the area was inhabited by Celts.
The first written mentions of the town are as Egerscug (1247) and Egerszeg (1293); the name means "alder-tree corner" and is probably a reference to the town's situation in the angle where two rivers meet. King
In the 14th century, Egerszeg was the largest town of the area. Between 1368 and 1389, it was a royal town for a short time, then
In 1381, the town built a stone church. In 1421, Egerszeg was granted oppidum status, which meant they could pay taxes once a year and the citizens could elect their own judge. The population grew quickly, and by the 16th century, Egerszeg became the de facto centre of Zala comitatus.
In the 1530s, development was brought to a halt. Taking advantage of the power of the king being weakened, the owners of the surrounding lands attacked the town often, and the Ottomans already began to occupy Hungary after the Battle of Mohács in 1526. From 1568, the town was fortified, a castle was built. The Ottomans attacked the town for the first time in the late 1570s, but they failed to capture it.
After Kanizsa fell to the Ottomans, the strategic importance of Egerszeg grew, but the castle was severely damaged in 1616 and captured by the Ottomans for a short time in 1664. The citizens suffered not only from the war, but from plagues and heavy taxes as well.
Egerszeg, even though it was on the periphery of the comitatus, became its capital in the 18th century, mostly because the councils were always held there, because of its importance in the Ottoman times and because it wasn't the estate of a local lord, unlike the other towns in Zala. The county hall was built between 1730 and 1732 in Baroque style, and for a long time it was the only significant building of the town. In the 1760s a large church and a barracks was built. Most of the citizens still did not own stone-built houses, and fires often destroyed the town, until 1826, when stone buildings were built.
Until the early 19th century, there were only a few craftsmen and merchants in the town, because they had to pay taxes to the bishop who owned the city. By the 1830s 10% of the residents of the mostly Catholic town were Jewish, but even they did not give a boost to trade. Because of this, even though the town was the centre of administration, economically and culturally it was not really important. Even though it had about 3,500 residents, it had only two primary schools. The cultural centres of the comitatus were Kanizsa and Keszthely.
Zalaegerszeg played only a minor role in the revolution and freedom fight in 1848–49. In 1870, it lost its town status and became a village, which meant a decrease in prestige, even more so since Nagykanizsa kept its town status. On 31 May 1885 Zalaegerszeg became a town again. In 1887, the village of Ola was annexed to the town. In 1890, the railway line between Ukk and Csáktornya (now Čakovec) connected Zalaegerszeg to the railway system of the country. In 1895, several new buildings were built, including a new secondary school, a town hall, a hotel, a nursery school and a brick factory, but the town ran into debt and the mayor, Károly Kovács, had to resign. His successor, Lajos Botfy, decreased the debt and could continue the development of the town, but in the early 20th century Zalaegerszeg was still behind the other county seats in many ways.
The representative at the Hungarian Parliament
The 1920s brought prosperity again; new buildings included the new post office, the railway station, the office of the fire department, the police headquarters, the monastery of the Notre Dame Order and a synagogue in Baroque style.
The most significant loss in
The 1950s brought important changes. Zalaegerszeg got a more industrial profile with the construction of the textile factory and the discovery of oil resources in 1952. The railway line was expanded, too. Many workers were commuting from the nearby villages, because it was almost impossible to find a flat in the city, so several residents of Zalaegerszeg (mostly those who were considered to be opposed to the Socialist system) were forced to relocate.
The citizens took part in the
In the 1960s and 1970s, the city experienced a
After the end of Socialism, Zalaegerszeg wasn't affected by economic recession as much as other cities were. The 1990s brought dynamic development to the city.
Zalaegerszeg hosted the 1983 World Orienteering Championships. In 2001, Zalaegerszeg hosted the Central European Olympiad in Informatics (CEOI). Zalaegerszeg also hosted the 2004 European Women's Handball Championship preliminary round, the 2005 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship and the 2005 European Fencing Championships.
Climate
Zalaegerszeg's climate is classified as oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb). The annual average temperature is 10.6 °C (51.1 °F), the hottest month in July is 20.9 °C (69.6 °F), and the coldest month is 0.0 °C (32.0 °F) in January. The annual precipitation is 633.9 millimetres (24.96 in), of which June is the wettest with 80.0 millimetres (3.15 in), while January is the driest with only 21.0 millimetres (0.83 in). The extreme temperature throughout the year ranged from −20.4 °C (−4.7 °F) on February 10, 1996 to 38.1 °C (100.6 °F) on August 8, 2013.
Climate data for Zalaegerszeg, 1991−2020 normals | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 17.4 (63.3) |
21.2 (70.2) |
22.4 (72.3) |
28.2 (82.8) |
32.3 (90.1) |
34.8 (94.6) |
37.9 (100.2) |
38.1 (100.6) |
32.8 (91.0) |
26.1 (79.0) |
21.5 (70.7) |
17.0 (62.6) |
38.1 (100.6) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 3.1 (37.6) |
5.9 (42.6) |
10.8 (51.4) |
16.6 (61.9) |
20.9 (69.6) |
24.7 (76.5) |
26.8 (80.2) |
26.6 (79.9) |
20.8 (69.4) |
15.3 (59.5) |
8.7 (47.7) |
3.6 (38.5) |
15.3 (59.5) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 0.0 (32.0) |
1.8 (35.2) |
6.1 (43.0) |
11.3 (52.3) |
15.4 (59.7) |
19.1 (66.4) |
20.9 (69.6) |
20.6 (69.1) |
15.6 (60.1) |
10.7 (51.3) |
5.5 (41.9) |
0.7 (33.3) |
10.6 (51.1) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −2.6 (27.3) |
−1.7 (28.9) |
2.3 (36.1) |
6.5 (43.7) |
10.1 (50.2) |
13.8 (56.8) |
15.3 (59.5) |
15.3 (59.5) |
11.2 (52.2) |
6.8 (44.2) |
2.8 (37.0) |
−1.5 (29.3) |
6.5 (43.7) |
Record low °C (°F) | −17.3 (0.9) |
−20.4 (−4.7) |
−15.0 (5.0) |
−4.5 (23.9) |
0.8 (33.4) |
3.0 (37.4) |
6.0 (42.8) |
5.3 (41.5) |
0.7 (33.3) |
−9.4 (15.1) |
−10.2 (13.6) |
−19.3 (−2.7) |
−20.4 (−4.7) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 21.0 (0.83) |
31.8 (1.25) |
32.8 (1.29) |
41.0 (1.61) |
65.8 (2.59) |
80.0 (3.15) |
71.7 (2.82) |
69.4 (2.73) |
76.4 (3.01) |
55.7 (2.19) |
51.3 (2.02) |
37.0 (1.46) |
633.9 (24.96) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 4.1 | 5.2 | 5.5 | 6.4 | 8.7 | 8.8 | 8.3 | 7.2 | 7.0 | 6.8 | 7.4 | 6.0 | 81.4 |
Average relative humidity (%)
|
82.1 | 73.8 | 67.3 | 62.9 | 68.1 | 69.6 | 68.6 | 69.8 | 76.0 | 81.4 | 84.3 | 83.9 | 74.0 |
Source: NOAA[4] |
Main sights
- Roman Catholicchurch (Baroque)
- Old county hall (18th century)
- Hevesi Sándor Theatre
- Göcsej Museum and open-air museum
- Museum of Oil Industry
- Kisfaludi Strobl collection
- Bazita Peak TV Tower
Sport
- Zalaegerszegi TE, local football team
- Zalakeramia-ZTE KKProfessional Basketball team
Demographics
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
1870 | 9,784 | — |
1880 | 10,736 | +9.7% |
1890 | 12,794 | +19.2% |
1900 | 15,207 | +18.9% |
1910 | 16,727 | +10.0% |
1920 | 19,606 | +17.2% |
1930 | 19,906 | +1.5% |
1941 | 20,472 | +2.8% |
1949 | 21,668 | +5.8% |
1960 | 30,147 | +39.1% |
1970 | 40,541 | +34.5% |
1980 | 56,108 | +38.4% |
1990 | 62,212 | +10.9% |
2001 | 61,654 | −0.9% |
2011 | 59,499 | −3.5% |
2022 | 54,000 | −9.2% |
source[5] |
In 2001, Zalaegerszeg had 61,654 inhabitants (95.5%
Politics
The current mayor of Zalaegerszeg is Zoltán Balaicz (Fidesz-KDNP).
The local Municipal Assembly, elected at the 2019 local government elections, is made up of 18 members (1 Mayor, 12 Individual constituencies MEPs and 5 Compensation List MEPs) divided into this political parties and alliances:[6]
Party | Seats | Current Municipal Assembly | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Candidate for Zoltán Balaicz-Fidesz-KDNP | 13 | M | |||||||||||||
Opposition coalition[a] | 3 | ||||||||||||||
Our Homeland Movement | 1 | ||||||||||||||
EZE | 1 |
Notable people
- Ferenc Deák (1803–1876), member of parliament, minister of justice
- László Dús (born 1941), artist
- Miklós Gábor (1919–1998), actor
- Dezső Keresztury (1904–1996), critic, literary historian
- Zsigmond Kisfaludi Strobl (1884–1975), sculptor
- Károly Kovács (1839–1904), mayor
- József Mindszenty (1892–1975), cardinal, archbishop of Esztergom
- Lajos Portisch (born 1937), chess player
- Gyula Wlassics (1852–1937), minister of education
- Lajos Vajda (1908–1941), painter
- László Andor (*1966), EU commissioner
Twin towns – sister cities
Zalaegerszeg is twinned with:[7]
References
- ^ KSH - Zalaegerszeg, 2011
- ^ KSH - Zalaegerszeg, 2011
- ^ Zala County, 1901 (Grade 20, Nos. 27-52) • # 15 of 50
- ^ "Zalaegerszeg Climate Normals 1991-2020". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on 2023-09-20. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
- ^ "Zalaegerszeg népessége" (in Hungarian). Retrieved 3 November 2023.
- ^ "Városi közgyűlés tagjai 2019-2024 - Zalaegerszeg (Zala megye)". valasztas.hu. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
- ^ "Baráti és testvérvárosok". zalaegerszegturizmus.hu (in Hungarian). Zalaegerszeg Turizmus. Retrieved 2021-03-21.
- Notes