Pilis

Infobox Settlement

---

image_caption = The Beleznay-Nyári Palace from the air
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = HUN
timezone=CET
utc_offset=+1
timezone_DST=CEST
utc_offset_DST=+2

|official_name=Pilis


subdivision_type1=County
subdivision_name1=Pest
area_total_km2=47.33
population_total=11432
population_as_of=2004
population_density_km2=230.4
postal_code_type=Postal code
postal_code=2721
area_code=29
pushpin_

pushpin_label_position =
pushpin_map_caption =Location of Pilis
pushpin_mapsize =
latd=47.28438
longd=19.54347

Pilis is a town in Pest county, Hungary.

History

It was inhabited in the prehistoric times, but later it was abandoned at the end of the Roman rule. The town was then first mentioned in 1326. It was destroyed during the ottoman rule in the 16th century, and was reestablished only in 1711, by János Beleznay, the local landlord. He brought Slovak settlers from Upper Hungary, and built a palace in 1717 for himself and his family. The Beleznay family sold the town and its surroundings in the 19th century to the Nyári family, whom renamed the palace to "Beleznay-Nyári palace".

However the ethnic composition of the town changed during the centuries, there is still a sizable Slovak minority which has its own local government, which is responsible of keeping the Slovak traditions and memories of Pilis.

The Pilis hills hold a special place in the collective consciousness of Hungarians as it is believed the hills have a sacred quality and were once the home of spiritually oriented monks and laymen.

External links

* [http://www.pilis.hu/ Pilis.hu, the town's official homepage]
* [http://www.pilis.hu/index.php?mid=194 History of Pilis in English] at the official homepage (pilis.hu)
* [http://www.terkepcentrum.hu/index.asp?go=map&tid=9821 Street map] hu icon

Pilis is a village but it is not equal to the Pilis Mountains that can be found Northern from Budapest. Pilis, the village has nothing to do with the facts mentioned above, all these apply to the Pilis mountains.