Várpalota

Infobox Settlement
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = HUN
timezone=CET
utc_offset=+1
timezone_DST=CEST
utc_offset_DST=+2
pushpin_

pushpin_label_position =
pushpin_map_caption =Location of Várpalota
pushpin_mapsize =

official_name=Várpalota


subdivision_type1=County
subdivision_name1=Veszprém
area_total_km2=77.26
population_total=21371|population_footnotes=
population_as_of=2004|population_density_km2=243.98
postal_code_type=Postal code
postal_code=8100
area_code=88
latd=47.19888
longd=18.13761

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.

History

"Here is the boundary of Veszprém County. There used to be a castle. Now it is a community-like and day-to-day better looking (...) market-town counting about three and a half thousand inhabitants with privileged rights..." described János Oláh, a scholarly preacher Várpalota in his record of journey in 1834.

The past of Várpalota goes back to ancient times. Its links to the Roman and Avar periods are verified by the burial mounds, tombstones and the Roman artifacts in the outskirts of the town, some of which can be found in the lapidary of Thuri Castle. "Good reputation of captain Turi will remain" wrote Miklós Zrínyi, the poet and general in his epic work, "Siege of Sziget".

The castle standing in the heart of the town, in Main Square is the number one symbol and sight of Várpalota even today. The castle announces in his name the memory of György Thuri, the most famous commander of the castle. Other famous warriors were Mihály Cseszneky and Balázs Baranyai. In the present Thuri Castle you can find the Museum of Chemistry, which is unique in Europe, and the collection of the memories of coal mining, which provided livelihood for the people for a long time. The Castle court used to be noisy of the warriors in old days, but today concerts and theatre performances are held there every summer.

The Hungarian Museum of Chemistry, run by a foundation, is a treasury for researchers. Thuri Castle is part of the national heritage. People in Várpalota think that it is no worth stopping as a through-passenger in the town for only one or two hours. It is not enough to leaf through the information of the guide books, the traveller should spend the time visiting the famous sights of the town and taking a nice walk. Arriving from Székesfehérvár, on main road 8, stopping at Inota we can find working watermills.

The old Catholic church can be seen from the crest of the hill, from a great distance. Inside of it there are Romanesque and early-Gothic frescos 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. On arriving in the centre of Várpalota, the robust building of the Jó Szerencsét (Good Luck) Community Centre comes into sight, in which there are four large-sized Gobelin works of Noémi Ferenczy. The one-man exhibition of Frigyes Matzon, one of the significant representatives of constructivism can be visited in the nearby Nagy Gyula Gallery, which was converted from a famous synagogue known all over the country. The visitor can view the frescos of a Maulbertschfollower artist in the Evangelic church; the Cracovian Heart of Jesus altar-piece, the crowned reproduction of Virgin Mary of Fatima's statue and the wooden statue of Archbishop József Mindszenty, the martyr cardinal in the Catholic church.

The peasant Baroque Reformed church with its irregularly arched western façade stands in Jókai Street (formerly County Hall Street). The church was built on the walls of the formerly Hussar Castle. In the church, the memorial plaque of Mária Molnár, the innocently murdered missionary woman, who was born in Várpalota, announces one of the well known people of the town to the posterity.

Zichy Castle, in Castle Hill next to the Catholic Church, reminds us of the honour of the former lords of Várpalota. The library-room with its special wooden cover and its frescos recalling mythological ages is regular place of cultural events even today. It is worth visiting Zichy-Chapel and the precious altar carved from sandstone in the Catholic cemetery. Among the graves the traveller may stop at the memorial of militiaman martyrs of the Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence belonging to the earl's family.

In the town centre, in the square behind Thuri Castle stand the 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. Beside these the traveller can come across the sculptures and works of fine arts of well-known artists at several points of the town. Those who arrive in Várpalota from Székesfehérvár enter through the Gate of Balaton. From anywhere they come the humming Bakony Hill starts here. Trail marking leads from Thuri Castle through the Castle Valley to the Castle of Bátorkő, the hunting-seat of King Matthias. Hills and mountains invite those who choose another way. The lakes in the outskirts of the town are popular meeting places of the fishermen. From the hills hanggliders, sailplanes fly with the soft Bakony wind, offering beautiful panorama high up in the air.

Present

There is an abundance of sports activities: international halfmarathon running race in autumn where persistence is tested, but the lovers of tennis and ninepins can also prove their skills at several points of the town. In spring, every year school and adult choruses sing at Dávid Ney singers-meeting, the Flowers of Bakony open on the Folk Art Days, and in summer brass bands and folkdancers have a date in international festivals. In the second week of October, the municipality celebrates the anniversary of its proclamation being a town during the Várpalota Days.

People in Várpalota are said to be honest. We who live here agree with it. We have no secrets and we would like to show everything that is possible: our everyday life, our cultural artistic property. We welcome the arrivals with pleasure even for a street, occasional conversation. We have something and someone to speak about. We can speak about the counts Zichy, the municipality organisers, about János Waldstein, the starter of modernization, about Gyula Krúdy one of the greatest Hungarian writers, about Aladár Bán the Finno-Ugrian linguist and about Dávid Ney the celebrated soloist of the Opera house. Their memories and traditions are preserved in our homes. Since we are at home.

Gallery

External links

* [http://www.varpalota.hu Várpalota Home Page]