Page 5 - Csongrád 2021

The conquering Hungarians settled in the former villages of other towns of the county, craftsmen began to form guilds; we

the Huns and Avars, and the leading tribe held its fi rst parlia- can find nearly the same guilds in several towns and villages
ment in Pusztaszer. during the 18th century.
King Saint Stephen established the counties in this part of In 1773, Szegvár became the centre of Csongrád County, and
Hungary after the ruler Ajtony had been defeated. Christi- then Szentes became the new seat in 1883.

anity began to spread from this time. Csongrád County was Szeged played an important role in the Hungarian Civic
mentioned in the deeds from 1075 (the founding charter of Revolution and War of Independence of 1848, and aft er
Garam-St. Benedict’s abbey), with its centre in Csongrád. the War of Independence began, its final “chords” were also

The county’s population was mainly engaged in fi shing, in played here. In July 1848, the government and the House of

addition to agriculture and shepherding. Representatives were moved to Szeged. After the Austro-
After the Tartar invasion, the county was uninhabited. Szeged, Hungarian Compromise, the town started to develop again.

Csanád, Csongrád, Vásárhely - the most prosperous towns However, this was interrupted by a great natural disaster, the

- were destroyed. King Béla IV repopulated this region and flood of 1879, when the town suffered great losses both in
invited people from abroad to whom he granted special privi- terms of human lives and material possessions.
leges, thus laying the foundations for a modern urban culture. The present area of the county was formed during the or-

The 14th century was the age when the urban and civil soci- ganization of counties in 1950. The seat of the county was

ety was created and started to develop. During the era of the moved from Szentes to Hódmezővásárhely, then to Szeged
Anjou kings, King Charles Robert I visited Csanád, the epis- in 1962. On the 100th anniversary of the Treaty of Trianon,
copal seat, several times. at the suggestion of János Lázár, the member of parliament
Csongrád County was liberated from Turkish rule in 1686. of the region, the county’s name was changed to Csongrád-

The guilds started to operate in the early 1700s again. In the Csanád County.
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