Railroad

The city is an important railway junction. It crosses the Budapest-Subotica-Belgrade railway line. The Kiskunfélegyháza railway ends in Kiskunhalas.

Name

Kiskunhalas used to be surrounded by lakes that were rich in fish, Halas in Hungarian

Hungarian language

Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....

, and this gave rise to the town's name. The other part of the name comes from the Hungarian kiskun-, meaning Little Cumania (Hungarian: Kiskunság).

Croats

Croats

Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...

 in Hungary call this town as Olaš. The Croat name came as shortening of its Hungarian name, as it was easier for Croat speakers to pronounce it that way.

History

Its history goes back to the 800

800

Year 800 was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. It was around this time that the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years, so from this time on, the years began being known as 800 and onwards.- Europe :* December 25 - Pope Leo III...

s. Kiskunhalas has many archaeological artifacts

Artifact (archaeology)

An artifact or artefact is "something made or given shape by man, such as a tool or a work of art, esp an object of archaeological interest"...

 that are on display in the János Thorma

János Thorma

János Thorma was a Hungarian painter. A representative figure of the Nagybánya artists' colony, his work progressed from naturalism, to historical subjects, to romantic realism to a Post-Impressionism of a style specific to Nagybánya .Born in Kiskunhalas, Kingdom of Hungary, Austria-Hungary to the...

 Museum. Since 895

895

Year 895 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* The seven tribes of the Magyars settle in the Carpathian Basin under the leadership of Árpád...

, several villages existed in the area. The place became significant when the Cumans arrived; it is named after the Cumans, the Hungarian word for Cumans being Kun. The first written documents mentioning Halas date back to 1347. After 1596 the town lost much of its population. In the 16th and 17th century, Kiskunhalas welcomed the Protestant Reformation

Protestant Reformation

The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...

. Until 1754 it was the center of the region, but after that it has been declined its rights because of the local people's support for Protestantism

Protestantism

Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...

. A Roman Catholic church was built in 1770, and a new Presbyterian one in 1823. In 1910 the population reached 25,000.

Sports

The town is the birthplace of the highest ranked Hungarian tennis

Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

 player Ágnes Szávay

Ágnes Szávay

Ágnes Szávay is a professional tennis player from Hungary. She is the country's highest ranked tennis player. She was the WTA Newcomer of the Year in 2007. She achieved her career high ranking of World No. 13 on April 14, 2008.- Background :...

 (at one time ranked 13th in the world), who has won five WTA

Women's Tennis Association

The Women's Tennis Association , founded in 1973 by Billie Jean King, is the principal organizing body of Women's Professional Tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women. Its counterpart organization in the men's professional game is the Association of...

 titles.

Twin towns — Sister cities

Kiskunhalas 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:

Kanjiža Kanjiža Kanjiža is a town and municipality in the North Banat District of Vojvodina, Serbia...  in 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...  Kronach Kronach Kronach is a town in Oberfranken, Bavaria, Germany, located in the Frankenwald area. It is the capital of the district Kronach.Kronach is the birthtown of Lucas Cranach the Elder and Maximilian von Welsch, as well as Johann Kaspar Zeuss and Josef Stangl....  in Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

Nowy Sącz Nowy Sacz Nowy Sącz is a town in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship in southern Poland. It is the district capital of Nowy Sącz County, but is not included within the powiat.-Names:...  in Poland Poland Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...   Sfântu Gheorghe Sfântu Gheorghe Sfântu Gheorghe is the capital city of Covasna County, Romania. Located in the central part of the country and in the historical region of Transylvania, it lies on the Olt River in a valley between the Baraolt Mountains and Bodoc Mountains...  in 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...

External links

• Official website