Pilis

Pilis
The Beleznay-Nyári Palace from the air
Pilis Location of Pilis
Coordinates: 47.28438°N 19.54347°E / 47.28438; 19.54347
Country	Hungary
County	Pest
Area
• Total	47.33 km2 (18.27 sq mi)
Population (2004)
• Total	11,432
• Density	230.4/km2 (597/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	2721
Area code(s)	29

Pilis is a town in Pest county, Hungary.

History

It was inhabited in the prehistoric times, but later it was abandoned at the end of the Roman rule. The town was then first mentioned in 1326. It was destroyed during the ottoman rule in the 16th century, and was reestablished only in 1711, by János Beleznay, the local landlord. He brought Slovak settlers from Upper Hungary, and built a palace in 1717 for himself and his family. The Beleznay family sold the town and its surroundings in the 19th century to the Nyári family, whom renamed the palace to "Beleznay-Nyári palace".

However the ethnic composition of the town changed during the centuries, there is still a sizable Slovak minority which has its own local government, which is responsible of keeping the Slovak traditions and memories of Pilis.

The Pilis hills hold a special place in the collective consciousness of Hungarians as it is believed the hills have a sacred quality and were once the home of spiritually oriented monks and laymen.

External links

• Pilis.hu, the town's official homepage
• History of Pilis in English at the official homepage (pilis.hu)
• Street map (Hungarian)

Pilis is a village but it is not equal to the Pilis Mountains that can be found Northern from Budapest. Pilis, the village has nothing to do with the facts mentioned above, all these apply to the Pilis mountains.