Twin towns
Szécsény
Szécsény lies in Hungary, in the Northern part of Nógrád county, on the Slovakian border, in the valley of the river Ipoly. Two other settlements belong to Szécsény administratively: Pösténypuszta, located right on the bank of the river Ipoly and Benczúrfalva, found 4 km from the town. The population is not much over 6.000. Archeological findings attest that the Ipoly valley and its broadening Szécsény basin have been inhabited since the Neolithic age. The first written document about the town dates back to 1229. Szécsény’s flourishing fell in the first half of the 14th century, when it took on an agricultural character, and became the centre of the surrounding settlements. In 1332 Chief Justice Tamás Szécsényi got permission from Pope John XXII to establish a Franciscan monastery. King Charles Robert gave Szécsény the order of the market town in a diploma of 5 May 1334. Thereafter the building of the church and the monastery was completed and the fortified castle was also built. In 1552 the settlement passed under Turkish rule. After more unsuccessful attempts the town, which was also important because of the Upper Hungarian mining towns, was reoccupied in 1593. In 1663 Szécsény came under the rule of the Turkish again, then in 1683 the Polish king Jan Sobieski’s troops - on their way back from Vienna - liberated the town once and for all. Later a plague broke out and the town became almost uninhabited. The resettlement was initiated by the Franciscans who sent, among others, János Bárkányi, Ferenc Rákóczi II’s tutor into the town. In 1705 Ferenc Rákóczi II, changing the original plan, convened the Diet into Szécsény, where he was elected the Prince of Transylvania and commander-in chief of the Hungarian insurgent forces. At the end of the 18th century the town was ravaged by a fire. After the fall of the 1848/49 Revolution and War of Independence Szécsény was occupied by imperial troops. Szécsény was deprived of its town status in 1886. The pace of development did not increase significantly after the turn of the century and it was also hindered by the Trianon Peace Treaty, the Second World War and the 1956 revolution. Development began in the 1960s, in consequence of which Szécsény got back its town status in the January of 1986. From this time on, Szécsény has lived its everyday life as a town and as the most significant educational, cultural and touristic centre of the area. In the past decade Szécsény came to life again. The historical centre of the town has got a new look thanks to EU resources: public institutions such as the kindergarten, the school, the community centre, the library, the mayor’s office and the health centre have been renovated. With EU resources these institutions can also be reformed in content.
Contacts:
Town Hall - Szécsény Városi Polgármesteri Hivatal, 3170 Szécsény, Rákóczi út 84.
Tel.: +36-32-370-199; +36-32-370-237, fax: +36-32-370-170,
email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., www.szecseny.hu