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The history of

Csongrád-Csanád County

The conquering Hungarians settled in the former areas of the towns of the county, artisans and tradesmen also began to

Huns and the Avars, and the leading tribe held its fi rst parlia- organize themselves into guilds, while many similar guilds
ment in Pusztaszer. were founded in several towns during the 18th century.
King Saint Stephen founded counties in this part of the coun- In 1773, Szegvár had become the centre of Csongrád County,
try after defeating the ruler Ajtony. This was the time when a role which was later taken over by Szentes in 1883.

Christianity began to spread. Csongrád County has been men- Szeged played an important role in the revolution and war
tioned in documents since 1075 (the founding document of of independence of 1848; after the “overture” of the revolu-

the Garam-St. Benedict Abbey), with Csongrád as its centre. tion, its fi nal chords were also played here. In July 1848, the
The population of the county was mainly engaged in fi shing, government and the House of Representatives were moved

in addition to farming and shepherding. to Szeged. After the Compromise, the town began to develop

The county became deserted after the Mongol invasion. Th e again, however, this was interrupted by a great natural disaster,

most prosperous towns, Szeged, Csanád, Csongrád, Vásárhely, the flood of 1879, when the town’s loss in human life and mate-

were destroyed. King Béla IV repopulated the region, and rial goods was enormous.
also invited foreigners to whom he gave precious privileges, Th e current area of the county was formed during the 1950
thereby laying the foundations of a developed urban culture. county reform. The seat of the county was then moved from

The 14th century was the age of growth and development Szentes to Hódmezővásárhely, and then to Szeged in 1962. On

of the urban-bourgeois society. During the Anjou era, King the centenary of the Peace Treaty of Trianon, the name of the
Charles Robert visited Csanád, the episcopal seat, several county was changed to Csongrád-Csanád County at the sug-
times. gestion of János Lázár, the region’s member of parliament, and
Csongrád County was freed from Ottoman rule in 1686. it will become known as Csongrád-Csanád Historic County

The life of the guilds started again in the early 1700s. In other on 1 January 2023.

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