Dunaújváros
Encyclopedia
Dunaújváros is a Hungarian city in Central Transdanubia
Central Transdanubia
Central Transdanubia is a statistical region of Hungary. It is part of Transdanubia region. Central Transdanubia includes counties of Fejér, Komárom-Esztergom, and Veszprém....

, along the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....

 river. It is in Fejér county.

History

Dunaújváros is one of the newest cities of the country. It was built in the 1950s during the industrialization of the country under Socialist rule, as a new city next to an already existing village, Dunapentele.

Dunapentele

Dunapentele was not built on until the 1950s. The construction started on the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....

's right side.
The area has been inhabited since ancient times. When Western Hungary was a Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

 province under the name Pannonia, a military camp and a town called Intercisa stood in this place, at the border of the province. The Hungarians conquered the area in the early 10th century. The village Pentele, named after the medieval Greek saint, Pantaleon, was founded shortly after.

Between 1541 and 1688 the village was under Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 rule, and during the 15-year war it was completely destroyed. During the freedom fight led by Prince Francis II Rákóczi
Francis II Rákóczi
Francis II Rákóczi Hungarian aristocrat, he was the leader of the Hungarian uprising against the Habsburgs in 1703-11 as the prince of the Estates Confederated for Liberty of the Kingdom of Hungary. He was also Prince of Transylvania, an Imperial Prince, and a member of the Order of the Golden...

 the place was deserted again. In the 18th century the village began to prosper. In 1830 the village got the right to hold two market days every week. In 1831 there was a cholera epidemic and the peasants revolted. In 1833 Pentele was granted town status (oppidum) by Ferdinand V. The citizens took part in the freedom fight in 1848-49.

Dunaújváros

After the Second World War the new, Communist government
People's Republic of Hungary
The People's Republic of Hungary or Hungarian People's Republic was the official state name of Hungary from 1949 to 1989 during its Communist period under the guidance of the Soviet Union. The state remained in existence until 1989 when opposition forces consolidated in forcing the regime to...

 started a major industrialisation programme, in support of its rearmament efforts. In 1949 Dunaújváros was chosen as site of the largest iron and steel works. Originally they were to be built close to Mohács
Mohács
Mohács is a town in Baranya county, Hungary on the right bank of the Danube.-History:Two famous battles took place there:# Battle of Mohács, 1526# Battle of Mohács, 1687...

, but the Hungarian-Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....

n relations worsened, and this new site was chosen, farther away from the Yugoslav border. The city was designed to have 25.000 residents.

The construction of the city began on May 2, 1950 near Dunapentele. Within one year more than 1000 housing units were built and the factory complex was under construction. The city took the name of Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...

 officially on April 4, 1952; its name was Sztálinváros, "Stalin City" as a parallel to Stalingrad in the USSR.

The metal works were opened by 1954. The city had a population of 27,772 at this time; 85% of them lived in nice, comfortable apartments, while about 4,200 people still lived in uncomfortable barracks which originally provided "homes" for the construction workers.

In the middle of the 1950s, public transport was organized, buses carrying 24,000 passengers each day. During the 1950s many cultural and sports facilities were built, the Endre Ságvári Primary School being the largest school in Central Europe in the 1960s. The official and obligatory architectural style and art movement of the communist system was the socialist realism
Socialist realism
Socialist realism is a style of realistic art which was developed in the Soviet Union and became a dominant style in other communist countries. Socialist realism is a teleologically-oriented style having its purpose the furtherance of the goals of socialism and communism...

. Per definition the style’s meaning was communist, its form was national, and its preferred mode of representation was the allegory
Allegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...

. There are several public statues and reliefs in the town, which represent the allegoric union of workers, peasants and intellectuals, surrounded by traditional folk motifs. Thanks to the inspiration of Bauhaus
Bauhaus
', commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term stood for "School of Building".The Bauhaus school was founded by...

 the buildings and monuments of this era (1949-56), like the forge, the cinema, the theatre, the hospital and the city’s schools where characterized by a structural functionalism, but the ideological function resulted classicist decorations, like columns, tympanums and arcades, because of which the informal name of the style became ‘Stalin’s Baroque’.

In 1956, the construction was hindered by an earthquake and a flood, and in October by the start of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution
1956 Hungarian Revolution
The Hungarian Revolution or Uprising of 1956 was a spontaneous nationwide revolt against the government of the People's Republic of Hungary and its Soviet-imposed policies, lasting from 23 October until 10 November 1956....

. During the revolution the city used its historical name Dunapentele again. The Rákóczi radio station, which was created by the revolutionaries, was broadcasting from Dunapentele (in fact from a bus that was constantly moving around in the city so that it couldn't be located.) Even though the citizens of Dunapentele tried to defend their city, the Soviet army occupied the city on November 7, 1956. The city fell under martial law, Russian tanks were standing everywhere.

After the revolution the city was still the "trademark city" of socialism in Hungary, and was presented as such to foreign visitors. Among the visitors were Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut. He was the first human to journey into outer space, when his Vostok spacecraft completed an orbit of the Earth on April 12, 1961....

 and the Indonesian president Sukarno
Sukarno
Sukarno, born Kusno Sosrodihardjo was the first President of Indonesia.Sukarno was the leader of his country's struggle for independence from the Netherlands and was Indonesia's first President from 1945 to 1967...

. The city also provided scenery to popular movies.

In 1960, the ten-year-old city already had 31,000 residents to celebrate its anniversary.

On November 26, 1961 the city's name was changed to Dunaújváros (Duna|új|város meaning Danube-new-city; "New City upon Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....

". See also Tiszaújváros
Tiszaújváros
Tiszaújváros is an industrial town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, Northern Hungary, south-east of Miskolc, near the river Tisza.Tiszaújváros owes its existence to the industrialization wave that took over the then-socialist Hungary after World War II...

) as a consequence of Stalin's death (1953) and the Hungarian Revolution
1956 Hungarian Revolution
The Hungarian Revolution or Uprising of 1956 was a spontaneous nationwide revolt against the government of the People's Republic of Hungary and its Soviet-imposed policies, lasting from 23 October until 10 November 1956....

 (1956).

In 1990 it became a city with county rights – as one of the then four, now five cities in the country that have this status but are not county capitals –, in accord with a new law that granted this status to all cities with a population over 50,000. Even though the population of Dunaújváros has been under 50,000 since 2008, it has kept its status as a city with county rights (along with Hódmezővásárhely
Hódmezovásárhely
Hódmezővásárhely , Romanian: Ioneşti) is a city in south-east Hungary, on the Great Hungarian Plain, at the meeting point of the Békés-Csanádi Ridge and the clay grassland surrounding the river Tisza...

, which is in a similar situation).

The DUNAFERR factory complex is still is a determinant enterprise in the Hungarian steel industry, and a major employer in the area.

Today, "New Danube City" is home to many new infrastructures (Pentele Bridge
Pentele Bridge (Hungary)
The Pentele Bridge or M8 Danube Bridge is built on Danube. This bridge joined Dunavecse and Dunaújváros city. The bridge was finished March 13. 2007. The Pentele bridge got her name after Dunapentele city. The bridge is in length and wide. It is part of the future M8 motorway...

, direct highway link between Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...

  and Dunaújváros) and the new South Korean Hankook factory, Europe's biggest tire factory of Hankook. This and other projects make Dunaújváros a new Hungarian boomtown.

Thanks to its formal political and economic importance, the communist urban design
Urban design
Urban design concerns the arrangement, appearance and functionality of towns and cities, and in particular the shaping and uses of urban public space. It has traditionally been regarded as a disciplinary subset of urban planning, landscape architecture, or architecture and in more recent times has...

, the socialist realist architecture and its unique atmosphere the town is the considerable memento of communism. Many of the half-century old buildings have received the protection of historic monuments, and the town is in the focus of growing touristic interest.

Demographics

In 2001 Dunaújváros had 55,309 residents (92.5% Hungarian, 0.6% Roma, 0.6% German
Danube Swabians
The Danube Swabians is a collective term for the German-speaking population who lived in the former Kingdom of Hungary, especially alongside the Danube River valley. Because of different developments within the territory settled, the Danube Swabians cannot be seen as a unified people...

, 6.3% other). Religions: 38.9% Roman Catholic, 8.3% Calvinist, 2% Lutheran, 37.8% Atheist, 0.2% other, 12.8% no answer.

Known people from Dunaújváros

  • Márton Vas
    Márton Vas
    Márton Vas is a Hungarian international ice hockey right wing, who is currently under contract with EBEL side Alba Volán Székesfehérvár. As of 30 April 2011, he has been capped 127 times for the Hungarian national team...

     (born 1980), ice hockey player
  • János Vas
    János Vas
    János Vas is a professional Hungarian ice hockey left wing currently playing in Tingsryds AIF of the Swedish Division 1 .Vas was drafted by the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League...

     (born 1983), ice hockey player
  • Balázs Ladányi
    Balázs Ladányi
    Balazs Ladanyi is a Hungarian professional ice hockey player.-Austrian Hockey League:-References:...

     (born 1976), ice hockey player
  • Imre Peterdi
    Imre Peterdi
    Imre Peterdi is a Hungarian professional ice hockey player.-Austrian Hockey League:-References:...

     (born 1980), ice hockey player
  • Tamás Lencsés (born 1979), ice hockey player
  • Lajos Tőkési (born 1975), ice hockey player
  • Viktor Tokaji
    Viktor Tokaji
    Viktor Tokaji is a Hungarian professional ice hockey defenceman who plays for Austrian Hockey League side Alba Volán Székesfehérvár.-Career:...

     (born 1977), ice hockey player
  • Viktor Szélig
    Viktor Szélig
    Viktor Szelig is a Hungarian professional ice hockey defenceman. He is currently playing in France with Diables Rouges de Briançon.-Career:...

     (born 1975), ice hockey player

Twin towns — sister cities

Dunaújváros is twinned
Town twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...

 with:
Elbasan
Elbasan
Elbasan is a city in central Albania. It is located on the Shkumbin River in the District of Elbasan and the County of Elbasan, at...

, Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

  Linz
Linz
Linz is the third-largest city of Austria and capital of the state of Upper Austria . It is located in the north centre of Austria, approximately south of the Czech border, on both sides of the river Danube. The population of the city is , and that of the Greater Linz conurbation is about...

, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

  Silistra
Silistra
Silistra is a port city of northeastern Bulgaria, lying on the southern bank of the lower Danube at the country's border with Romania. Silistra is the administrative centre of Silistra Province and one of the important cities of the historical region of Southern Dobrudzha...

, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

  Villejuif
Villejuif
Villejuif is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris.-Name:The name Villejuif was recorded for the first time in a papal bull of 1119 as Villa Judea, the meaning of which is still debated...

, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

  Terni
Terni
Terni is a city in southern Umbria, central Italy, capital of the province of Terni, located in the plain of the Nera river. It is 104 km N of Rome, 36 km NW of Rieti, and 29 km S of Spoleto.-History:...

, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

Giurgiu
Giurgiu
Giurgiu is the capital city of Giurgiu County, Romania, in the Greater Wallachia. It is situated amid mud-flats and marshes on the left bank of the Danube facing the Bulgarian city of Rousse on the opposite bank. Three small islands face the city, and a larger one shelters its port, Smarda...

, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

  Sremska Mitrovica
Sremska Mitrovica
Sremska Mitrovica is a city and municipality located in the Vojvodina province of Serbia, on the left bank of the Sava river. As of 2002 the town had a total population of 39,041, while Sremska Mitrovica municipality had a population of 85,605...

, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

  İnegöl
Inegöl
İnegöl is a city in the Bursa Province of Turkey. It has a population of 287,000 . İnegöl is one of the centers of the Turkish furniture industry, and is also known for its Meatball İnegöl Köftesi, which finds its roots from pljeskavice brought to the region by Bosnian immigrants during the...

, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

  Alchevsk
Alchevsk
Alchevsk is a town in the Luhansk Oblast of eastern Ukraine. It is separate administrative unit, and is located approximately 45 km from the oblast capital, Luhansk, and right next to the district capital of Perevalsk....

, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

  Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...

, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...


External links

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