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The District Of
Beregszasz.
The
District of Beregszasz is situated on the banks of Canal Verke, on the soft slopes of
vineyards, in the north-eastern edge of the great Hungarian Lowland, in the area of
roaring oak-woods and on a plain territory surrounded by trachyte-mountains and abating
rivers. It is a real Fairy-garden, a small part of the dream which was seen by our
foremother, Emese.
Tivadar Lehoczky, the great scientist of our region has written about this area the
following: “It is a very pleasant and fertile territory, surrounded by wine growing and
alum trachyte mountains in the north-west, while in the south-west there is a great plain
streching far beyond the horizon”.
The District of Beregszasz is a comparatively new political formation: it was formed from
the territories of Tiszahat and Mezokaszony belonging to the former Bereg-country. Its
administrative centre is Beregszasz (a town having county-like rights from May 17, 2001.).
Territory : 0,7 thousand square kilometres. Population: 87,2 thousand (according to the
data of the national census of 1989). To the area the belongs 1 town with county-like
rights, 1 big settlement (a town- like one) and 44 villages governed by 30
self-governments.
Our district lies on a lowland, its height is about 115-130 metres above the sea-level.
The climate is the mildest here, the annual average temperature is +9 +11 0C.
The annual precipitation is 800 mm. The district is full of meadows, pastures,
plough-lands, fruit-gardens and pleasant oak-woods. These woods, the remains of the
enormous forests of Bereg, were the favourite hunting place of the Kings of Arpad-dinasty.
As our anscestors were short of plough-land suitable for cultivation, they drained the
territory of the marsh of Szernye.
Through this area goes the highway leading from the Ukrainian-Hungarian border to Lviv and
another one from Ungvar to Raho. Besides it, there is a railway between Ungvar and
Aknaszlatina, which connects our district with other territories of Transcarpathia. This
type of transportation plays an important role for Batyu, that has become an international
railway junction.
Characteristic features of this region are: populous settlements, former market towns
(Nagybereg, Mezokaszony, Vari) and the successors of the former bondsmen-villages being in
service of local castle domains. Some settlements came to existence due to the
settling-down policy of the Czehoslovakian government at the beginning of the 20th
century. The most of villages preserved they cadastral devision.
In the area the processing- and food-industry are developed the most, besides it the
region is famous for its manufacturing furniture and vine-growing. Moreover, great success
has been reached by the experimental plant in producing diagnostic and garage-equipment as
well as by the precision-mechanics factory, the radio factory, the sewing factory, the
majolica factory, the canning factory. The brick-processing also preserved its leading
position among the industries of the territory. The centre of the Transcarpathian
Geological Expedition was placed to Beregszasz too. For the workers of this insitution a
separate housing estate was built. Important results have been reached by the state-farm
factory of Beregszasz, whose wines won first prizes in several national and iternational
compatitions. There were 23 industrial companies in the town in the 70-s, where 13
thousand people were emloyed.
The District of Beregszasz is now a developing area. The most important industrial firms
are to be found mainly in the residence of the district, in Beregszasz. The industry is
represented first of all by light-, food- and processing industry, that give the main part
of the whole execution. Agriculture is rather characteristic for our region.
Among the social initiations the restoration of the one-time traditions of high-level
grape culture plays the leading role. Grape is the fruit, to which the territory can thank
its old good reputation. It has the feature of being grown, becoming eatable and drinkable
only by hard and industrious work.
The population of the district is multinational. Hungarians constitute the biggest part of
the inhabitants and together with the Ukrainian citizens they make up the lion’s share
of the population. There is also a very serious educational and cultural potential in our
place, which is comprised of the Transcarpathian Hungarian Teachers’ Training College,
the set-out section of the State Computering, Administrative and Law College of Ungvar,
the Hungarian National Theatre named after Gyula Illyes, as well as the centre of the
Transcarpathian Reformed Church. Besides the elementary, primary and secondary schools
there are 3 grammar schools and an agricultural school functioning here.
Finally, here are some facts about the history of the
District of Beregszasz:
1063-1095 – Foundation of the town. Its founder
was Prince Lampert, the son of King Bela I., after whom the settlement’s first name was
Lamperthaza.
1141 – King Geza II. settled down Saxons,
after which occasion the settlement was called Lampertszasz.
1241 – The invasion of Mongol-tatars to
the town.
1247 – King Bela IV. declared Beregszasz a
town.
1271 – The town became the centre of
Bereg-county.
1284 – The first mentionig of the name
Beregszasz in historical documents.
1342 – King Lajos I. (Great) gave the
sword-right to the town.
1566 – Crimean tatars plundered the town.
1657 – The Poles third occupation of the
town.
1703 – Tamas Esze unfurled the flags of
Rakoczi’s War of Independence in the market-place of Beregszasz.
1848 – Formation of national guards during
the time of the Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence.
1895 – The opening of the Grammar school.
1919 – Foundation of a formation of the
Hungarian “Red Army”.
- The Czehoslovakian Army occupied the town.
1920 – According to the Peace treaty
signed in Trianon Beregszasz and Transcarpathia were joined to Czehoslovakia.
1938 – According to the I. Vienna Decision
the town became part of Hungary again.
1944 – The Jutes’ were dragged to
concentration camps.
- The town was occupied by the “Red Army” (Szoviet Army).
- Hungarian men were taken for a “three-day” work.
1945 – The town as part of Transcarpathia
was linked to Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.
1991 – Public plebiscite on behalf of
Ukraine’s state independence.
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