Diósgyőr
1533954
208738914
2008-04-28T12:33:39Z
212.92.8.13
/* External links */
'''Diósgyőr''' is a historical [[town]] in [[Hungary]], formerly a city of heavy industry.The city today is a district of [[Miskolc]], with a population of around 60,000 (about one third of the population of the larger city of Miskolc.) The [[medieval]] [[castle]] in Diósgyőr was a favourite holiday residence of Hungarian kings and queens; today it is a popular [[tourist attraction]]. The [[football (soccer)|football]] (i.e. soccer) team of Miskolc is also named after Diósgyőr; the [[soccer stadium]] lies within the district.
==Origin of the name==
''Dió'' means walnut, referring to the abundant walnut trees in the area. ''Győr'' is an archaic version of the word ''gyűrű'', meaning "ring". It probably refers to the rounded shape of the first castle erected on the hill.
==The history of Diósgyőr and the castle==
[[Image:DiosgyorCastle.jpg|300px|thumb|The castle]][[Image:Diósgyőr - Castle.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Aerial photo: Diósgyőr - Castle]]
''Main article: [[Castle of Diósgyőr]]''
The area has been inhabited since ancient times, as the remains of a settlement found near the castle testify. The name of the town was first mentioned by the anonymous author of [[Gesta Hungarorum]] around [[1200]], as ''Geuru'', the archaic spelling for ''Győr'': "After our leader [[Árpád]] left [[Szerencs]] with his army (...) he gave the land between [[Miskolctapolca|Tapolca]] and the river [[Sajó]], called Miskolc at the time, and the town named Győr to Böngér, father of Bors."
The first castle was probably built in the [[12th century]], but destroyed during the [[Batu Khan|Mongol invasion]]. The castle that stands today was most likely erected in the times of King [[Béla IV]], in the 13th century.
The castle had its prime during the reign of [[Louis I of Hungary|Louis I]] (Louis the Great). In [[1364]] the nearby town Miskolc was annexed to the Diósgyőr estate. Diósgyőr lost some of its importance when the political union between Hungary and Poland ended.
After the Battle of [[Mezőkeresztes]] in 1596, the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]] occupied the area; Diósgyőr remained under Turkish occupation, ruled by the Pasha of Eger until [[1687]], when this part of the country was freed from Turkish rule. By this time the castle lost all of its military importance.
Even though Miskolc and Diósgyőr were connected by a bus line (from [[1903]]), and by tramway (from [[1906]]), a travel guide dated from [[1922]] still mentions Diósgyőr as a separate town. On [[January 1]], [[1945]], the two towns officially joined, and Greater Miskolc came into existence. At first they were connected only by the new factory that was built between them, but the two former towns soon grew together, and today it's hard to pinpoint the boundaries of the historical Miskolc and the historical Diósgyőr.
==The Pauline monastery of Diósgyőr==
The Pauline [[monastery]] was founded by Palatine István at the end of the [[13th century]],with his support until his death. The monastery also had a [[scriptorium]]; one of the [[Codex|codices]] created here had been copied by a monk named László for the [[Gothic Protestant Church of Avas|Church on the Avas Hill]], now held in the archives of Eger.
In [[1526]], when Hungary was divided into three parts (the Western territories were occupied by the [[Habsburg]]s, [[Transylvania]] was an independent state, and the rest was under Turkish occupation). Gáspár Serédy, one of the lords loyal to King [[Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand]], ravaged the monastery, on the grounds that the abbot was supposedly a follower of Ferdinand's rival King [[John Zápolya]]. In [[1549]] Zsigmond Balassa, the new owner of the Diósgyőr estate, destroyed the monastery and occupied its estates. In [[1700]] the Order of Pauline rebuilt the monastery, but [[Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor|Joseph II]] dissoluted the religious orders in the country and secularised their wealth. From this time the building of the monastery was used by the Forestry Department of Diósgyőr.
In [[1973]], before the building of a large housing estate began, [[Archaeology|archaeological]] excavations were carried out in the area. According to their findings, it seemed the monastery was a rectangular building around a rectangular courtyard, with a cloister. The remains of the place of worship haven't been found, but the archaeologists uncovered a four-room building that had been destroyed by fire. According to medieval sources, Palatine István built the monastery next to his villa, and it is possible that the building the archaeologists uncovered was part of Palatine's private quarters. The recovered artifacts can be seen in the museum in the northeastern tower of the castle. The Gothic statue called "the Diósgyőr Madonna" can also be seen here.
[[Image:HUF 200 1998 reverse.jpg|300px|thumb|The castle of Diósgyőr is on the reverse side of the current 200 [[Forint|Hungarian Forint]] banknote]]
== Trivia ==
* The castle of Diósgyőr is on the reverse side of the current 200 [[Forint|Hungarian Forint]] banknote.
==External links==
{{wikisourcelang|la|Gesta_Hungarorum#De_egressu_zeremsu|Gesta Hungarorum}}
{{commonscat|Diósgyőr}}
* [http://www.diosgyor.hu Diósgyőr homepage]
* [http://www.holidayhungary.com/pictures/eger/diosgyor.htm Aerial view of the castle]
* [http://gyurkovics.freeweb.hu/lajos1_h.htm Pictures of the castle] and how it looked like in the Middle Ages
* [http://www.gotohungary.com/regions/northernhungary.shtml Info and pictures] - Northern Hungary, incl. Miskolc, Eger and the surrounding area
* [http://stronghold.heavengames.com/history/cw/cw75 Diósgyőr as "Castle of the Week" at Stronghold Heaven] <small>note: Stronghold Heaven's article incorrectly refers to medieval Diósgyőr as Miskolc-Diósgyőr, even though it wasn't called that until 1945.</small> With a downloadable scenario based on the castle for the game ''[[Stronghold (2001 video game)|Stronghold]].''
* [http://www.kepido.oszk.hu/attachments/images/nagy/hkro043.jpg Aerial view of Diósgyőr in the 1980s]
{{coor title dm|48|06|N|20|41|E|region:HU_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki}}
[[Category:Neighbourhoods of Miskolc|Diosgyor]]
[[de:Diósgyőr]]
[[hu:Diósgyőr]]
[[sv:Diósgyőr]]