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Jaszbereny
Wandering all the way from Iran in the 1200s, the Jasz tribe came to the banks of the Zagyva River, a tributary of the Tisza, and said this is home. Thus was born the town of Jaszbereny (www.jaszbereny.hu). With time, a number of other towns would emerge as well, developing a regional Hungarian culture with Iranian roots. Any towns on the map that begin with Jasz have their roots in Jaszbereny. After Ottoman Leopold I sold the town to the Knights of the Teutonic Order, whose taxation policies were renowned, the citizens of Jaszbereny fell into serfdom.
But their independent spirit would not let this last rest. In a particularly poor crop year, they held an emergency meeting. All the "Jasz" towns attended. Knowing that heavy taxation was about to descend upon their small shire, they collected 500,000 gold florins, a king's ransom for that time. They were going to try to buy off their new rulers with a lump sum payment and thus escape taxation. Empress Mother Theresa ended the sacrifice, however, when she restored the lands and semi-independence to the Iranian descendents. The Jaszkunsag made the agreement with Empress Theresa in 1745, in which they also agreed to make the lump sum payment as a security pledge in place of their taxes, thus witnessing in hard cash that they were loyal to the Hapsburg Empire. They succeeded in paying the entire sum in 1751, thus insuring a semi-autonomy that lasted for the next 150 years.
Yet, despite the Iranian heritage, the Magyar roots are strong here as well. Local legend says that Attila the Hun was buried here. How we love our pagan roots--several other Hungarian towns make the same claim. The center of town is the Szentharomsag ter (Trinity Square), bordered by a street that is called Lehel Vezer ter. In Trinity Square, where Lehel Vezer ter intersects with Nagytemplom street, the Church of the Virgin Mary dominates the intersection. Originally a 1300s Gothic structure, it was rebuilt after the Turks destroyed it. The reconstruction gave it the current Baroque facade. Its semi-Turkish Baroque spire, so typical of Hungary, is topped by a copy of the Hungarian crown. Also facing the square, the town hall was built in 1839.
Despite Jaszbereny's Iranian roots, it is unequivocally Magyar, as evidenced by the village Museum, which houses one of the artifact treasures of Hungary, the famed Horn of Lehel. Lehel was one of the great chieftains of the Magyars as they led their raids into Europe. In one particularly desperate battle in Germany, Lehel was captured. The German emperor gave him a choice of any two ways to die. Lehel asked for his horn so that he could blow it in the final dramatic seconds of life. When they brought him his horn, he promptly struck the emperor with it, killing him instantly, and announced, even as the German knights closed around him, "Now you will be my slaves." The early Magyars believed that anyone they killed in battle in this life would be their slave in the after-life. The horn is in the Museum at 5 Tancsics M Street, [telephone] 36-57-312-753, open 9 am to 4 pm, summer until 5 pm.
The time to visit this town is in the month of August, the harvest time, when fairs and events take place almost every day of the month. In the first week of August the notable Folk Art Country Fair (on Margit Island) will offer you plenty of souvenirs. Opening festivities include the "Csango Procession" (in the main square), folk dancing in the streets, lutes, and violins, and bands, as well as villagers from throughout the region. After the parade, visit the Camp of Hussars (Hatvani road at Margit-Sziget Island), where you can see a duplicated encampment from the age of the famous Hussar cavalry, and see enactments of horseback fighting tactics. Within a few days of these events, Jaszbereny usually hosts the International Honey Fair and Meeting of Bee-Keepers. As the exact dates may vary, contact Tourinform in Jaszbereny (see Appendix).
The Zoological and Botanical Garden at 1 Femnyomo street, www.jaszberenyzoo.hu is not just a zoo but also a large park with children's playground areas, a petting zoo, and huge habitat cages, where animals live in semi-natural surroundings, including lakes and streams. In a unique program, bears and wolves are kept in the same cage area. When they feed the animals they try to duplicate natural conditions, so the animals must actually use their natural instincts to find the food. The public is invited to watch. The feeding hours are on the website. Soft drink, ice cream, souvenir, and food vendors range across the huge territory.
The thermal spas are open to the public at the Jasviz Strand es termalfurdo (open-air thermal bath), at 5 Hatvani ut, [telephone] 36-57-412-108, fax 36-57-412-612, open daily 9 am to 7 pm, or alternatively at the Lehel Sport Kft, Szabadidokozpont es termalfurdo, Kiserdei ut 10, [telephone] 36-57-415-245. Our next destination is south on Route 32 to Szolnok.
Szolnok
At the junction of the Tisza and Zagyva, the town (www.szolnok.hu) has been at a river crossing for over 900 years and, as a result, many battles have been fought here. It has been totally destroyed and rebuilt five times. On Route 32 from Szolnok, make a right at Baross Gabor, and head straight to the train station. It is one of the most modern in all of Central or Eastern Europe. From the station we head down Baross Gabor ut, toward the Tisza River, and make a right at Szapari ut (where Baross Gabor ut changes to Kossuth Lajos ut). As you arrive at utja Templom, the street on your right, it changes to Sohaz ut on your left.
The yellow cream-colored Szolnoki Galeria (Szolnok Gallery), at Templom ut 2, is a former synagogue, today a museum for Szolnok's artists and a concert hall most of the year. Before WWII there was a thriving community of Jews in Szolnok, hence the monument, near the gallery. Built in the 1890s, the beautiful synagogue building was a demonstration of the wealth and influence of the community. The entire population of 2,500 was sent to death camps in WWII. There is no exact count of survivors. Some say 600, others say fewer. But of those few who returned, there was probably too much pain associated with the memory to make head counts. Besides, others now occupied their homes and businesses. There is a very small Jewish community in this town of 78,000 today. They do not keep a high profile.
Now head west on Sohaz ut. The Tisza Park adorns the shoreline in the next block on the right. The Szigliget Theater at Tisza Park 1, [telephone] 36-56-342-633 or 36-56-423-770, is a combination of Art Nouveau and modern architecture. Theater performances are in Hungarian, not English, even if they advertise English classics.
Now go to the shoreline of the Tisza River and continue the walk east on the Tiszaparti setany. Look to your left as you arrive at the Vershegy park. You will see the Gyogyfurdo (healing baths) in the Vershegy park 2, today the Neo-Baroque Tisza Hotel and Medical Bath, [telephone] 36-56-510-810, fax 36-56-421-520, reserve@hoteltisza.hu, www.hoteltisza.hu. These baths were once reserved for the nobility. They are reputed to cure gynecological, rheumatic, and digestive problems, and the water is used, not just for bathing, but for drinking as well.
If we continue our walk farther, but go one block from the shore onto Sohaz ut, near the intersection of Damjanich ut and Sohaz ut we will find Kossuth Lajos ter, which spills across Kossuth Lajos ut eastward to Szabadsag ter. The Janos Damjanich Museum, at Lajos Kossuth Square 4, has dioramas, paintings and historical material from the battle of Szolnok in the 1848-49 Revolution, as well as a history of the Jasz, Nagykun, and Szolnok counties. Janos Damjanich was the leader of the Hungarian patriots that defeated the forces of Imperial Austria on the plains outside Szolnok.
Now cross Kossuth Lajos ut to Vershegy ut, which takes us to Gutenberg ter (Gutenberg Square). At Gutenberg Square 4 we will find the Szolnok Artist's Colony, center for such great Hungarian artists as Bela Ivany, Grunwald, Vilmos Novak Aba, Pal Paczay, Janos Vaszary, and Adolf Fenyes. Established in 1902, many of the works that emerged from the colony are at the Szolnok Gallery.
Leaving Szolnok, take Route 442 south to Route 4, head east to Route 46 in Torokszentmiklos, then south toward Mezotur.
Mezotur
A composite of two towns, Mezo and Tur, situated on the edge of the "Nagykunsag" region, this town was already famous in medieval times for its potters and fairs. The history of the town's 500-year pottery...
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