History

It was inhabited in the prehistoric times, but later it was abandoned at the end of the Roman rule

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 town was then first mentioned in 1326. It was destroyed during the ottoman rule

Ottoman Hungary

History of Ottoman Hungary refers to the history of parts of the Ottoman Empire situated in what today is Hungary, in the period from 1541 to 1699.-History:...

 in the 16th century, and was reestablished only in 1711, by János Beleznay, the local landlord. He brought Slovak settlers from Upper Hungary

Upper Hungary

Upper Hungary is the usual English translation for the area that was historically the northern part of the Kingdom of Hungary, now mostly present-day Slovakia...

, and built a palace in 1717 for himself and his family. The Beleznay family sold the town and its surroundings in the 19th century to the Nyári family, whom renamed the palace to "Beleznay-Nyári palace".

However the ethnic composition of the town changed during the centuries, there is still a sizable Slovak minority which has its own local government, which is responsible of keeping the Slovak traditions and memories of Pilis.

The Pilis hills hold a special place in the collective consciousness of Hungarians as it is believed the hills have a sacred quality and were once the home of spiritually oriented monks and laymen.

External links

• Pilis.hu, the town's official homepage
• History of Pilis in English at the official homepage (pilis.hu)
• Street map

Pilis is a village but it is not equal to the Pilis Mountains that can be found Northern from Budapest. Pilis, the village has nothing to do with the facts mentioned above, all these apply to the Pilis mountains.