Érd

Érd
City
Ottoman minaret in Érd
Coat of arms
Country	Hungary
County	Pest
Government
• Mayor	András T. Mészáros (Fidesz-KDNP)
Area
• Total	60.54 km2 (23.37 sq mi)
Population  (2011)
• Total	65,043
• Rank	15th
• Density	1,041.9/km2 (2,699/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	2030
Area code	23

Érd (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈeːrd]; German: Hanselbeck, Croatian: Andzabeg) is city and urban county in Pest County, Budapest metropolitan area, Hungary.

History

The area has been inhabited since ancient times. Archaeological findings indicate that prehistoric men lived here 50,000 years ago.

Érd itself was first mentioned in documents in 1243. The name comes either from the word erdő ("forest") or from ér ("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 djami (mosque) here. In these times, the place 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 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 touristic 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 will be granted the rank of city with county rights from the date of the next council election in autumn 2006.

Transport

The mass transit are operated by Volánbusz, with five bus lines. A lot of buses depart to nearby cities, such as Sóskút, Pusztazámor, Százhalombatta, and Budapest.

In the city, there are five railway stations (Érd, Érd alsó, Érd felső, Tétényliget, and Érdliget). Passengers can travel to Budapest, Pécs, Nagykanizsa, etc.

Tourist sights

• Hungarian Geographical Museum, founded by geographer Dénes Balázs
• Saint Michael Church
• Turkish minaret (17th century; one of only three existing minarets of the country)
• Remains of ancient Roman road
• Fundoklia Valley with rare plant species

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1870	3,027	—
1880	3,188	+5.3%
1890	3,343	+4.9%
1900	3,480	+4.1%
1910	3,953	+13.6%
1920	3,990	+0.9%
1930	5,632	+41.2%
1941	14,523	+157.9%
1949	16,444	+13.2%
1960	23,047	+40.2%
1970	31,205	+35.4%
1980	41,330	+32.4%
1990	43,327	+4.8%
2001	56,567	+30.6%
2011	63,631	+12.5%
2015	63,993	+0.6%
2021!	67,000	+4.7%
2031!	72,000	+7.5%

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 notable people

• Ádám Szabó (1992 - ), singer
• Ferenc Miákits (1876 - 1924), politician, former minister of finance of the Hungarian Soviet Republic.
• Ferenc Molnár (1891 - ?), former footballer.
• Rudolf Pap (1989 - ), animator.
• Zita Szeleczky (1915 - 1999), actress.

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Hungary

Twin towns — Sister cities

Érd is twinned with:

City	Country
Poynton	United Kingdom
Reghin	Romania
Lubaczów	Poland
Suzhou	China

External links

• Official site (Hungarian only)
• Aerial photography: Érd