Érd

Érd ( ; ; , ) is a town in Pest County, Budapest metropolitan area, Hungary. It is a city with county rights.

Érd ( ; ; , ) is a town in Pest County, Budapest metropolitan area, Hungary. It is a city with county rights. ==History== The area has been inhabited since ancient times. Archaeological findings indicate that prehistoric humans lived here 50,000 years ago. Érd itself was first mentioned in documents in 1243. The name comes either from the word ('forest') or from ('stream'). During the Ottoman occupation of Hungary, Érd was captured by the Turks in 1543, after the castle of Székesfehérvár fell. The Turks built a motte castle and a mosque here. During this time, the area was called Hamzsabég (Hamzabey). In 1684, the army led by Charles V, Duke of Lorraine defeated the Turks near Érd. In 1776, Érd became an oppidum (town). It is possible that it already had been an oppidum before the Ottoman occupation. In the early 20th century, Érd became the property of the Károlyi family. The town grew, but remained mainly an agricultural town until 1972, when several new facilities were built and the tourist value of Érd grew. Érd was the fastest-growing locality in Hungary between the 1991 and 2001 censuses (up 30.6%). On November 7, 2005, the Parliament decided that Érd would be granted the rank of city with county rights from the next council election in autumn 2006. ===Coat of arms=== The coat of arms of Érd (designed by the local sculptor Emil Eőry and librarian Lajos Horváth in mid-1991) is a shield, rectangular with a conical base and a cut in the optical bisector. In the upper field of gold is a green tree with a black outline and an open, three-branched lily crown set in a five-armed canopy, the lilies of which have three petals each, making a total of nine. The tree and the crown refer to the name of the Árpád-period forest of Érd and the royal forest ranger. The three branches of the crown are reminiscent of the Ákos-házy Sárkány, Illésházy and Batthyány families, who were vital in the history of Érd. The nine petals of the three lily branches represent the nine districts of the present-day city. The lower blue field shows a red dragon curved into a wheel, with a Latin gold cross in its looping tail. It refers to the fact that the members of the Sárkány family were the soldiers of an Order founded by King Sigismund. The gold field symbolises value, ideals and harmony, while the blue represents the Danube. ==Tourist sights== Hungarian Geographical Museum, founded by geographer Dénes Balázs Saint Michael Church Turkish Érd minaret (17th century; one of only three existing minarets in the country) Remains of an ancient Roman road Fundoklia Valley with rare plant species ==Demographics== of Érd was built in Ottoman Hungary (Hungarian: Török hódoltság), which was the southern and central parts of Hungary in the late medieval period, which were conquered and ruled by the Ottoman Empire from 1541 to 1699.]] Population by nationalities: Magyars – 93.4% Romani – 1% Germans – 0.6% Others – 0.8% No answer, unknown – 4.2% Population by denominations: Roman Catholic – 49.2% Calvinist – 14.2% Greek Catholic – 2.2% Lutheran – 1.8% Others (Christian) – 1.5% Others (non-Christian) – 0.2% Atheist – 16.5% No answer, unknown – 14.3% ===List of mayors=== List of city mayors from 1990: ==Notable people== Ádám Szabó (born 1992¹), singer Fábián Marozsán (born 1999), tennis player Ferenc Miákits (1876–1924), politician, minister of finance of the Hungarian Soviet Republic Ferenc Molnár (1891–?), footballer Rudolf Pap (born 1989), animator Zita Szeleczky (1915–1999), actress ==Twin towns – sister cities== Érd is twinned with: Kolín, Czech Republic Levice, Slovakia Lubaczów, Poland Poynton, England, United Kingdom Reghin, Romania Xuzhou, China Treviso, Italy Subotica, Serbia Judenburg, Germany Yozgat, Turkey Jastrebarsko, Croatia Tokmok, Kyrgyzstan ==References== Notes Aerial photography: Érd

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