Send Gift Baskets to Bekescsaba, Hungary

The area has been inhabited for centuries. In the Iron Age, the influence of Scythians and Celts was widespread. Afterward, Huns occupied the area and after that, Hungarians invaded. There were many small villages in the area up until recently.

According to archives, the town of Csaba was first mentioned in the 1330s. This is one example of a medieval Hungarian village that has been obliterated and replaced by bigger cities over time. Eight other villages often existed where today, this central part of Hungary stands. But according to records, Békéscsaba was an ethnically Hungarian town. While there were a lot of battles in the south and center of Hungary, it survived. It is now an important historical site.

In 1715, there was a location named Csaba – but it disappeared from the map one year later. Later, when international organizations were using the new kind of maps, they found that one town called Csaba had set up taxes in the city. The new city of Csaba was founded by János György Harruckern in 1718. The settlement was started when he invited Slovak men who had been fighting alongside him during the liberation fights against the Ottoman Empire to live and farm on his land. By 1847, the town of Csaba was among the 20 largest towns in Hungary. It had a population of 22,000 people.

By 1858, the railway line reached the town. This brought development; new houses and factories were built, and the town began to prosper. Still, by the end of the 19th century, unemployment caused great tension and in 1891 a revolt was subdued. One of the most important mayors in Békêscsâba was András L., who founded a peasants’ party and helped elevate the town to a “city with the council.”

The town of Békéscsaba was subjected to Romanian occupation between 1919 and 1920 and suffered a lot as a result. After the Treaty of Trianon, Hungary lost its two main cities in Southern Transylvania. The new administrative capital of Rakos was created and it soon became the most important town in this part of Hungary. Békéscsaba took over one of these roles and became the second-largest city in northern Hungary. The Hungarian population in Hungary overtook that of the Slovak population according to the 1930 census.