Mosonmagyaróvár
Encyclopedia
Mosonmagyaróvár is a city in Győr-Moson-Sopron
county in northwestern Hungary
. It lies close to both the Austria
n and Slovakia
n borders and has a population of 30,200 (as of 2004).
Mosonmagyaróvár used to be two separate towns, Magyaróvár and Moson (German: Wieselburg). The town of Moson was the original capital of Moson county
in the Kingdom of Hungary
, but the county seat was moved to Magyaróvár during the Middle Ages
. The two towns were combined in 1939, and by now almost all signs of dualism have disappeared, as the space between the two towns has become physically and culturally developed. Due to the name's length, Mosonmagyaróvár is also referred to as Óvár amongst locals and Moson by foreigners. The Hansági Museum can be found in Mosonmagyaróvár.
Musun, which means "castle in the marsh".
Magyaróvár literally means "ancient Hungarian castle" in Hungarian
, though the Magyar- prefix
was only added to the name after confusion with a similarly named town in Austria called Németóvár, which literally means "ancient German castle". The "ancient castle" being referred to is the ruins of the Roman fortress, Ad Flexum.
The names were simply combined when the two towns were administratively unified.
, but settlement of the city proper can only be traced to around the 1st century, which was when the Roman Empire
was extended to the Danube
, creating the province of Pannonia
. The Romans established a camp called Ad Flexum at the site of Mosonmagyaróvár; it is likely that the Hungarians from the Árpád era
would name the place Óvár due to the Roman ruins which would still be present during the 11th century. The purpose of Ad Flexum was to defend the Mosoni-Duna
, but the security the legions provided also drew civilian settlement, especially since a major east-west trade route
ran through the area. Circa 170 AD, Germanic
barbarians who lived north of the Danube river attacked the settlement, nearly completely destroying it. The Romans reconquered the area around the 3rd century, and the town once again prospered, likely with a population of three or four thousand people. After the Emperor Valentinianus
died in 375, Hunnic
invasions drove the populace away.
After the Honfoglalás, King Stephen ordered the building of a castle at Moson to defend the border. Settlers flocked around the wooden and then stone castle, and by the 11th century it was described as a strong fortress and bustling merchant town; by this time, it was also the county seat of Moson. However, in 1030, the Holy Roman Emperor Conrad II
was able to conquer the castle on his way to the Rába
. During the Crusades
, Kálmán, King of Győr
and Moson, was able to defeat a Swabia
n-Bavaria
n army of 15,000 men from the castle. There was significant industrial and urban development during the 13th century, when Moson once again found itself along a trade route. Mills and churches were built during this time. All advances were destroyed, however, by Ottokar II
, a Czech king, when he leveled the castle at Moson in 1271.
Béla IV
, King of Hungary
at the time, did not consider it worthwhile to try and rebuild the castle at Moson, and thus turned to Óvár as a promising site for a future fortress. The King gave a man named Conrad, who was of the Győr tribe, lands in Moson and funds to be able to accomplish this task. Though he made significant improvements to the castle, he defected to Ottokar II and Duke Albert
of Austria
. For this impunity, he was deprived of his lands, and from then on Óvár was an estate of the Hungarian queens. The first settlers to Óvár were refugees from the destroyed Moson, and in the 14th century it became a bustling city with new industry and urbanization. Mills along the Lajta became a source of employment and attention, as many were owned by the royal house. In 1354, Queen Elisabeth gave Óvár the title of "queen's town". This gave the townspeople the right to elect their own parish priest, have their own jurisdiction, inherit possessions, and pay no customs in all of Hungary. Later kings recognized these rights, but the townspeople still had to struggle to maintain them. After Louis II's marriage to Mary of Habsburg, Óvár became a key defense on the Austrian border, which would come into play during the Turkish invasion
.
In 1529, after the Turks were repulsed at the Siege of Vienna
, they destroyed Óvár almost completely, leveling all of its Medieval buildings, including the castle and the Romanesque
church. The armies of János Szapolyai and the Archduke Ferdinand
also sacked the town. However, once again the inhabitants went about rebuilding it. During the Reformation
, the town was almost completely converted to Lutheranism
, and the famous preacher Huszár Gal opened a Lutheran school at Magyaróvár in 1555. Counterreformative movements forbade Protestantism in 1672, closing down the school and the Lutheran church. Due to the lax nature of the new statutes, and the rights of the townspeople as enforced by Ferdinand and Archduke Maximilian
, however, religion did not become compulsory. During this time, Moson and Óvár alike were attacked by various armies, including Turkish and German
mercenaries. After the fall of Győr in 1594, the castle was modernized to withstand a possible future attack by Italian engineers. During the 17th century Magyaróvár enjoyed great urban development and some independence.
In 1683, the new castle was helpless against the retreating Turkish army, which had been repulsed again
at Vienna
. Both Moson and Magyaróvár were set ablaze. Though the town archives were now completely destroyed, the damage was repaired more quickly this time around, at least quickly enough to allow Rákóczi
to use the castle as a base during his war for independence from the Habsburgs
. In 1721, after the revolution was crushed, the castle at Magyaróvár lost its strategic importance, and all military materiel was transferred to Bratislava
. However, the town prospered greatly after the war, with the establishment of new guilds, a town doctor, and the Piarist school. The Austrian government wished to limit the independence of the town, but the people were able to hold on to a degree of autonomy; an agreement to this effect was signed in 1796 after delegates had been sent to Vienna and Buda
. In 1809, Napoleon's army demanded the town's provisions for his wars of conquest
, and although this impoverished the people, they saved the town from destruction.
During the revolution of 1848
, Magyaróvár and Moson both contributed to the fight for independence. On October 23 of that year, Kossuth Lajos made a recruitment speech in the town. The regiments skirmished with the Austrian troops but were sorely defeated. For the rest of the 19th century, the towns continued to grow. Factories, hospitals, schools, and other social institutions were established. In 1855, a railway station was built on the line from Győr to Bruck an der Leitha
. This was a time of relative peace. By 1908 there was already talk of unifying the two towns.
During the First World War, the Austrians maintained an armory
in Magyaróvár. As a consequence of the Treaty of Trianon
, most of Moson county was lost to non-Hungarian lands and all signs of the Hapsburg rule were destroyed. What followed was another stretch of peace, during which time Moson and Magyaróvár were administratively unified as Mosonmagyaróvár. However, cultural differences and even rivalry would persist until the later 1900s. During the Second World War, unemployment plummeted and the town's industry prospered. The town did not suffer much damage during the war; in 1946, its significant German population was deported. In 1948, bus services were created. During the later 1940s most of the town's institutions were nationalized
by the communist regime
. As many as 50 protesting civilians were killed during the revolution of '56, and the town had a slow time recovering. During the communist years, a new "town center" was developed between the existing Medieval centers of Moson and Magyaróvár, and there was significant development, including the opening of a university, new schools, and other public projects.
After the rise of the capitalist regime in 1989, the Young Democrats controlled the city government for a few years, increasing tourism and making developments to the gas
and sewage
infrastructure. Notably, the piarist school was reopened. Since 1994, the socialists
have been in power in Mosonmagyaróvár, but it is likely that this will change in the upcoming 2010 elections.
ns, who have been crossing borders to Hungary for decades. With Vienna nearby, Mosonmagyaróvár is within easy reach and official Hungarian government figures show 160,000 Austrians cross the border yearly for dental care.
Compared to economically wealthy countries where dental care is expensive, low business overheads in Hungary allow clinics to offer their services at extremely competitive rates. Especially for patients on a low income band or who are uninsured, dental tourism makes places like Mosonmagyaróvár interesting.
Due to this a whole dental tourism
service industry has grown in Mosonmagyaróvár, not only including dentists, clinics and guided tour providers, but also the local hospitality industry lives off the dental factor. With the nearby international airports Bratislava
and Vienna
, Mosonmagyaróvár even attracts patients world wide, travelling as far as from the U.S. or Canada.
Gyor-Moson-Sopron
Győr-Moson-Sopron is the name of an administrative county in north-western Hungary, on the border with Slovakia and Austria. It shares borders with the Hungarian counties Komárom-Esztergom, Veszprém and Vas. The capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron county is Győr...
county in northwestern Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. It lies close to both the 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...
n and Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
n borders and has a population of 30,200 (as of 2004).
Mosonmagyaróvár used to be two separate towns, Magyaróvár and Moson (German: Wieselburg). The town of Moson was the original capital of Moson county
Moson
Moson was a historic administrative county of the Kingdom of Hungary in present-day eastern Austria and northwestern Hungary, on the right side of the Danube river...
in the Kingdom of Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
, but the county seat was moved to Magyaróvár during the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. The two towns were combined in 1939, and by now almost all signs of dualism have disappeared, as the space between the two towns has become physically and culturally developed. Due to the name's length, Mosonmagyaróvár is also referred to as Óvár amongst locals and Moson by foreigners. The Hansági Museum can be found in Mosonmagyaróvár.
Etymology
The name Moson comes from the SlavicSlavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
Musun, which means "castle in the marsh".
Magyaróvár literally means "ancient Hungarian castle" 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....
, though the Magyar- prefix
Prefix
A prefix is an affix which is placed before the root of a word. Particularly in the study of languages,a prefix is also called a preformative, because it alters the form of the words to which it is affixed.Examples of prefixes:...
was only added to the name after confusion with a similarly named town in Austria called Németóvár, which literally means "ancient German castle". The "ancient castle" being referred to is the ruins of the Roman fortress, Ad Flexum.
The names were simply combined when the two towns were administratively unified.
History
The area around Mosonmagyaróvár has been inhabited since the 5th millennium BC5th millennium BC
The 5th millennium BC saw the spread of agriculture from the Near East throughout southern and central Europe.Urban cultures in Mesopotamia and Anatolia flourished, developing the wheel. Copper ornaments became more common, marking the Chalcolithic. Animal husbandry spread throughout Eurasia,...
, but settlement of the city proper can only be traced to around the 1st century, which was when the Roman Empire
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....
was extended to 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....
, creating the province of Pannonia
Pannonia
Pannonia was an ancient province of the Roman Empire bounded north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia....
. The Romans established a camp called Ad Flexum at the site of Mosonmagyaróvár; it is likely that the Hungarians from the Árpád era
Árpád dynasty
The Árpáds or Arpads was the ruling dynasty of the federation of the Hungarian tribes and of the Kingdom of Hungary . The dynasty was named after Grand Prince Árpád who was the head of the tribal federation when the Magyars occupied the Carpathian Basin, circa 895...
would name the place Óvár due to the Roman ruins which would still be present during the 11th century. The purpose of Ad Flexum was to defend the Mosoni-Duna
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....
, but the security the legions provided also drew civilian settlement, especially since a major east-west trade route
Trade route
A trade route is a logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. Allowing goods to reach distant markets, a single trade route contains long distance arteries which may further be connected to several smaller networks of commercial...
ran through the area. Circa 170 AD, Germanic
Germanic peoples
The Germanic peoples are an Indo-European ethno-linguistic group of Northern European origin, identified by their use of the Indo-European Germanic languages which diversified out of Proto-Germanic during the Pre-Roman Iron Age.Originating about 1800 BCE from the Corded Ware Culture on the North...
barbarians who lived north of the Danube river attacked the settlement, nearly completely destroying it. The Romans reconquered the area around the 3rd century, and the town once again prospered, likely with a population of three or four thousand people. After the Emperor Valentinianus
Valentinian I
Valentinian I , also known as Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. Upon becoming emperor he made his brother Valens his co-emperor, giving him rule of the eastern provinces while Valentinian retained the west....
died in 375, Hunnic
Huns
The Huns were a group of nomadic people who, appearing from east of the Volga River, migrated into Europe c. AD 370 and established the vast Hunnic Empire there. Since de Guignes linked them with the Xiongnu, who had been northern neighbours of China 300 years prior to the emergence of the Huns,...
invasions drove the populace away.
After the Honfoglalás, King Stephen ordered the building of a castle at Moson to defend the border. Settlers flocked around the wooden and then stone castle, and by the 11th century it was described as a strong fortress and bustling merchant town; by this time, it was also the county seat of Moson. However, in 1030, the Holy Roman Emperor Conrad II
Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor
Conrad II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1027 until his death.The son of a mid-level nobleman in Franconia, Count Henry of Speyer and Adelaide of Alsace, he inherited the titles of count of Speyer and of Worms as an infant when Henry died at age twenty...
was able to conquer the castle on his way to the Rába
Rába
The Rába is a river in southeastern Austria and western Hungary and a right tributary of the Danube. Its source is in Austria, some kilometres east of Bruck an der Mur below Heubodenhöhe Hill. It flows through the Austrian states of Styria and Burgenland, and the Hungarian counties of Vas and...
. During the Crusades
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
, Kálmán, King of Győr
Gyor
-Climate:-Main sights:The ancient core of the city is Káptalan Hill at the confluence of three rivers: the Danube, Rába and Rábca. Püspökvár, the residence of Győr’s bishops can be easily recognised by its incomplete tower. Győr’s oldest buildings are the 13th-century dwelling tower and the...
and Moson, was able to defeat a Swabia
Swabia
Swabia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.-Geography:Like many cultural regions of Europe, Swabia's borders are not clearly defined...
n-Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
n army of 15,000 men from the castle. There was significant industrial and urban development during the 13th century, when Moson once again found itself along a trade route. Mills and churches were built during this time. All advances were destroyed, however, by Ottokar II
Ottokar II of Bohemia
Ottokar II , called The Iron and Golden King, was the King of Bohemia from 1253 until 1278. He was the Duke of Austria , Styria , Carinthia and Carniola also....
, a Czech king, when he leveled the castle at Moson in 1271.
Béla IV
Béla IV of Hungary
Béla IV , King of Hungary and of Croatia , duke of Styria 1254–58. One of the most famous kings of Hungary, he distinguished himself through his policy of strengthening of the royal power following the example of his grandfather Bela III, and by the rebuilding Hungary after the catastrophe of the...
, King of Hungary
King of Hungary
The King of Hungary was the head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 to 1918.The style of title "Apostolic King" was confirmed by Pope Clement XIII in 1758 and used afterwards by all the Kings of Hungary, so after this date the kings are referred to as "Apostolic King of...
at the time, did not consider it worthwhile to try and rebuild the castle at Moson, and thus turned to Óvár as a promising site for a future fortress. The King gave a man named Conrad, who was of the Győr tribe, lands in Moson and funds to be able to accomplish this task. Though he made significant improvements to the castle, he defected to Ottokar II and Duke Albert
Albert I of Germany
Albert I of Habsburg was King of the Romans and Duke of Austria, the eldest son of German King Rudolph I of Habsburg and his first wife Gertrude of Hohenburg.-Life:...
of 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...
. For this impunity, he was deprived of his lands, and from then on Óvár was an estate of the Hungarian queens. The first settlers to Óvár were refugees from the destroyed Moson, and in the 14th century it became a bustling city with new industry and urbanization. Mills along the Lajta became a source of employment and attention, as many were owned by the royal house. In 1354, Queen Elisabeth gave Óvár the title of "queen's town". This gave the townspeople the right to elect their own parish priest, have their own jurisdiction, inherit possessions, and pay no customs in all of Hungary. Later kings recognized these rights, but the townspeople still had to struggle to maintain them. After Louis II's marriage to Mary of Habsburg, Óvár became a key defense on the Austrian border, which would come into play during the Turkish invasion
Ottoman-Hungarian Wars
The Ottoman-Hungarian War refers to a series of battles between the Ottoman Empire and the medieval Kingdom of Hungary. Following the Byzantine civil war, the Ottoman capture of Gallipoli and the decisive Battle of Kosovo, the Ottoman Empire seemed poised to conquer the whole of the Balkans...
.
In 1529, after the Turks were repulsed at the Siege of Vienna
Siege of Vienna
The Siege of Vienna in 1529 was the first attempt by the Ottoman Empire, led by Suleiman the Magnificent, to capture the city of Vienna, Austria. The siege signalled the pinnacle of the Ottoman Empire's power, the maximum extent of Ottoman expansion in central Europe, and was the result of a...
, they destroyed Óvár almost completely, leveling all of its Medieval buildings, including the castle and the Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
church. The armies of János Szapolyai and the Archduke Ferdinand
Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand I was Holy Roman Emperor from 1558 and king of Bohemia and Hungary from 1526 until his death. Before his accession, he ruled the Austrian hereditary lands of the Habsburgs in the name of his elder brother, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.The key events during his reign were the contest...
also sacked the town. However, once again the inhabitants went about rebuilding it. During the Reformation
Reformation
- Movements :* Protestant Reformation, an attempt by Martin Luther to reform the Roman Catholic Church that resulted in a schism, and grew into a wider movement...
, the town was almost completely converted to Lutheranism
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
, and the famous preacher Huszár Gal opened a Lutheran school at Magyaróvár in 1555. Counterreformative movements forbade Protestantism in 1672, closing down the school and the Lutheran church. Due to the lax nature of the new statutes, and the rights of the townspeople as enforced by Ferdinand and Archduke Maximilian
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian I , the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky...
, however, religion did not become compulsory. During this time, Moson and Óvár alike were attacked by various armies, including Turkish and German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
mercenaries. After the fall of Győr in 1594, the castle was modernized to withstand a possible future attack by Italian engineers. During the 17th century Magyaróvár enjoyed great urban development and some independence.
In 1683, the new castle was helpless against the retreating Turkish army, which had been repulsed again
Battle of Vienna
The Battle of Vienna took place on 11 and 12 September 1683 after Vienna had been besieged by the Ottoman Empire for two months...
at Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. Both Moson and Magyaróvár were set ablaze. Though the town archives were now completely destroyed, the damage was repaired more quickly this time around, at least quickly enough to allow 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...
to use the castle as a base during his war for independence from the Habsburgs
Rákóczi's War for Independence
Rákóczi's War for Independence was the first significant attempt to topple therule of Habsburg Austria over Hungary. The war was fought by a group of noblemen, wealthy and high-ranking progressives and was led by Francis II Rákóczi Rákóczi's War for Independence (1703–1711) was the first...
. In 1721, after the revolution was crushed, the castle at Magyaróvár lost its strategic importance, and all military materiel was transferred to Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
. However, the town prospered greatly after the war, with the establishment of new guilds, a town doctor, and the Piarist school. The Austrian government wished to limit the independence of the town, but the people were able to hold on to a degree of autonomy; an agreement to this effect was signed in 1796 after delegates had been sent to Vienna and Buda
Buda
For detailed information see: History of Buda CastleBuda is the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest on the west bank of the Danube. The name Buda takes its name from the name of Bleda the Hun ruler, whose name is also Buda in Hungarian.Buda comprises about one-third of Budapest's...
. In 1809, Napoleon's army demanded the town's provisions for his wars of conquest
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, and although this impoverished the people, they saved the town from destruction.
During the revolution of 1848
Hungarian Revolution of 1848
The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 was one of many of the European Revolutions of 1848 and closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas...
, Magyaróvár and Moson both contributed to the fight for independence. On October 23 of that year, Kossuth Lajos made a recruitment speech in the town. The regiments skirmished with the Austrian troops but were sorely defeated. For the rest of the 19th century, the towns continued to grow. Factories, hospitals, schools, and other social institutions were established. In 1855, a railway station was built on the line from Győr to Bruck an der Leitha
Bruck an der Leitha
Bruck an der Leitha is a city located in Lower Austria, Austria at the border to the Burgenland, which is marked by the Leitha river....
. This was a time of relative peace. By 1908 there was already talk of unifying the two towns.
During the First World War, the Austrians maintained an armory
Armory
Armory or armoury may mean:*Armory , a military location used for the storage of arms and ammunition*Armory , the study of coats of arms*Armory , a Marvel Comics character...
in Magyaróvár. As a consequence of the Treaty of Trianon
Treaty of Trianon
The Treaty of Trianon was the peace agreement signed in 1920, at the end of World War I, between the Allies of World War I and Hungary . The treaty greatly redefined and reduced Hungary's borders. From its borders before World War I, it lost 72% of its territory, which was reduced from to...
, most of Moson county was lost to non-Hungarian lands and all signs of the Hapsburg rule were destroyed. What followed was another stretch of peace, during which time Moson and Magyaróvár were administratively unified as Mosonmagyaróvár. However, cultural differences and even rivalry would persist until the later 1900s. During the Second World War, unemployment plummeted and the town's industry prospered. The town did not suffer much damage during the war; in 1946, its significant German population was deported. In 1948, bus services were created. During the later 1940s most of the town's institutions were nationalized
Nationalization
Nationalisation, also spelled nationalization, is the process of taking an industry or assets into government ownership by a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being...
by the communist regime
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...
. As many as 50 protesting civilians were killed during the revolution of '56, and the town had a slow time recovering. During the communist years, a new "town center" was developed between the existing Medieval centers of Moson and Magyaróvár, and there was significant development, including the opening of a university, new schools, and other public projects.
After the rise of the capitalist regime in 1989, the Young Democrats controlled the city government for a few years, increasing tourism and making developments to the gas
Gas
Gas is one of the three classical states of matter . Near absolute zero, a substance exists as a solid. As heat is added to this substance it melts into a liquid at its melting point , boils into a gas at its boiling point, and if heated high enough would enter a plasma state in which the electrons...
and sewage
Sewage
Sewage is water-carried waste, in solution or suspension, that is intended to be removed from a community. Also known as wastewater, it is more than 99% water and is characterized by volume or rate of flow, physical condition, chemical constituents and the bacteriological organisms that it contains...
infrastructure. Notably, the piarist school was reopened. Since 1994, the socialists
Hungarian Socialist Party
The Hungarian Socialist Party describes itself as a social democratic party in Hungary. It is the partial successor of the communist Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party , which ruled Hungary between 1956 and 1989. The decision to declare the party a successor of the MSZMP was controversial, and...
have been in power in Mosonmagyaróvár, but it is likely that this will change in the upcoming 2010 elections.
People
- Carl FleschCarl FleschCarl Flesch was a violinist and teacher.Carl Flesch was born in Moson in Hungary in 1873. He began playing the violin at seven years of age. At 10, he was taken to Vienna, and began to study with Jakob Grün. At 17, he left for Paris, and joined the Paris Conservatoire...
, born here - Richard HönigswaldRichard HönigswaldRichard Hönigswald was a well-known philosopher belonging to the wider circle of Neo-Kantianism....
, born here - Antal PusztaiAntal PusztaiAntal Pusztai is a classical guitarist who is known as both a jazz musician and a classical musician.He was born in Mosonmagyaróvár , Hungary, in 1978, and he started guitar at the age of seven...
, classical guitarist, born here - Nikolaus LenauNikolaus LenauNikolaus Lenau was the nom de plume of Nikolaus Franz Niembsch Edler von Strehlenau , was a German language Austrian poet.-Biography:...
, studied here (now Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences of University of West Hungary) - Pálinger Katalin, famous handball player, born here
- George Gruner, UCLA physicist, born here
- Bobbie Kalman, author of more than 800 children's books, born here
Dentistry
Dentistry appears to be by far the largest economical factor in Mosonmagyaróvár with approximately 150 clinics (surgeries) and 350 practicing dentists. Worldwide this is the highest number of dentists on the total population. The reason for this is found in the demand for low cost dentistry by AustriaAustria
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...
ns, who have been crossing borders to Hungary for decades. With Vienna nearby, Mosonmagyaróvár is within easy reach and official Hungarian government figures show 160,000 Austrians cross the border yearly for dental care.
Compared to economically wealthy countries where dental care is expensive, low business overheads in Hungary allow clinics to offer their services at extremely competitive rates. Especially for patients on a low income band or who are uninsured, dental tourism makes places like Mosonmagyaróvár interesting.
Due to this a whole dental tourism
Dental tourism
Dental tourism is a subset of the sector known as medical tourism. It involves individuals seeking dental care outside of their local healthcare systems and may be accompanied by a vacation.- Reasons for travel :...
service industry has grown in Mosonmagyaróvár, not only including dentists, clinics and guided tour providers, but also the local hospitality industry lives off the dental factor. With the nearby international airports Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
and Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Mosonmagyaróvár even attracts patients world wide, travelling as far as from the U.S. or Canada.