Komló (German: Kumlau, Croatian: Komlov) is a town in northern Baranya, the center of the Komló district. It is the second most populated settlement in the county after the county seat. The settlement was famous for its coal mining for a century; thanks to its mining treasures, it was vigorously developed in socialist times, declared a city in 1951. Today, it is the dominant economic, administrative, cultural and health center of Northern Baranya. It includes the Sikonda holiday village, since 1954 in Kisbattyán, Mecsekfalu and Mecsekjánosi, and between 1958 and 1992 it was also part of Mánfa together with Pécsbudafa.
Komló Local History and Natural History Collection
Ruins of a
13th-century Gothic (Hasmányi church) church
Komlosaurus carbonis -
Hungary's first dinosaur find, which got its name from Komló and the
coal mined there, and in 2019 it was also chosen as the fossil of the
year.
The steam horn of the thermal power plant located in the center
of the town sounds four times a day, which is a living memory of mining,
since the horn signals sound at 6, 2 and 10 p.m., i.e. during the shift
changes of the mine in the past, and at noon. Due to the location of the
power plant, the horn signal (the so-called "blow") can be heard even in
the most distant parts of the city.
Zoltán Kodály dedicated his
children's work entitled "Harasztosi Légének" to the inner-city school
in Komló (which now bears the composer's name).
The Hungarian film
The Promised Land (1961) starring famous actors of the time was filmed
in the city.
One of the main institutions serving the public culture of the city
is the József Attila City Library and Museum Collection, in which the
Local History Museum presents the history of mining illustrated with
photographs and objects, as well as documents on the development of the
settlement. In addition to butterflies and insects, the Natural Science
Collection has a rich collection of rock material and rock samples. The
Theater and Concert Hall regularly hosts well-known actors and
entertainers, and also provides performance opportunities for the city's
theater, music and dance groups, and is also a popular venue for school
events. The House of Communities provides space for professional
circles, clubs, choirs, cultural and artistic groups. In the city, you
can see some kind of temporary art exhibition almost continuously, which
is hosted by the Museum or the Theater. The city's entertainment center
is the building in the city center that houses the three-story Colosseum
Dance Club discotheque and the Zrínyi Klub, which is the center of local
fans of rock music. Among the town's events, the most significant are
the Zoltán Kodály International Children's Choir Festival, which has
been held every two years since 1972, and the Komlói Days event series,
traditionally held on the first weekend of September, which also
preserves the traditions of the former Miners' Days. Other regular
events: Sausage Maker Festival (since 2011), Mindenmás Alternative
Cultural Festival (since 2009), Europe Day - Heritage Festival and
National Day (on May 1), open-air music and dance events (TópArt on the
lake stage in Sikonda, Street Arts in the City Hall tér, Advent shows at
Városház tér), Saint Barbara's Day event series. In 2015, the Komlói
Amateur Theater Meeting (KASZT) was organized for the first time in the
city, with the aim of creating a tradition. The Hét Domb Film Festival
will be held from September 2016.
In the city of Komló, students
from the city and its catchment area can study in five elementary
schools, one special vocational school, as well as one high school, one
vocational high school and one vocational school. In addition, the Erkel
Ferenc Elementary Art Education Institute serves the cultural further
education of children and young people.
Komló Árpádian settlement. His name was first
mentioned in the charters in 1256 in the form of Villa Complov. It
was written in 1312 in Cumplow, in 1320 in Kemle, in 1321 in Komlod,
in 1329 in Komlou, between 1332 and 1335 in Konlod, Komlod, Cumulod
versions.
Hops belonged to the villages of the Pécsvárad
abbey. The diplomas described it in 1256 and then in 1329 as a
settlement bordering János with the counties of Tolna County. In
1312 and 1320 his priest was already mentioned, who according to the
papal tithes paid 30 papal tithes in 1333, 10 in 1334, and 20 in
1335.
At the beginning of the 20th century, it belonged to
the Hegyháti district of Baranya County.
In 1910, it had a
population of 1,513, of which 1,002 were Hungarians, 462 were
Germans, and 40 were Gypsies. Of these, 1449 were Roman Catholics,
29 Lutherans, 19 Israelites.
In 1951 it was granted city
status, in 1954 Kisbattyán, Mecsekfalu (whose name was Szopok until
1928) and Mecsekjánosi were added to it, then in 1954 Mánfa, which
in 1992 became an independent village again.
In 2001, out of
its 27,081 inhabitants, 26,294 were Hungarians, 419 Gypsies, 289
Germans, 29 Croats, 18 Romanians, 6 Ukrainians, 6 Poles, 5 Serbs, 5
Slovaks, 5 Slovenians and 5 Greeks.
Today's population is
declining rapidly, mainly because it is difficult to find work
locally: there were still thirty thousand people living in Komló in
the 1990s, 25,881 in 2009 and 23,604 on 1 January 2015.
Deep mining of black coal began in 1892 in three pits. The first
vertical shaft was in operation from 1898. In 1952, intensive mining
began in Dunaújváros for the Dunai Vasmű, which was handed over in 1954.
The first coal train ran between the two cities in May 1956. Mining
operations ceased on January 31, 2000. As a consequence, the
unemployment rate in the city increased.
A memorial erected in
2014 preserves the memory of the once prosperous mining industry behind
the city museum.
Between 1952 and 2000, the coal sorting and
freight station, as well as the mining railway station (Komló-Teher and
Kossuth-Bányaüzem Altáró station) operated near the railway station. It
was demolished in 2005. An industrial park was built in its place.
Mayors
1990–1994: József Tóth (independent, with the support of
SZDSZ)
1994–1998: Elemér Szarka (City Planning Association Komló)
1998–2002: Zoltán Páva (MSZP)
2002–2006: Zoltán Páva (MSZP)
2006–2010: Zoltán Páva (MSZP)
2010–2014: József Polics (Fidesz-KDNP)
2014–2019: József Polics (Fidesz-KDNP)
From 2019: József Polics
(Fidesz-KDNP)
Changes in the population of the settlement:
The city had 26,465
inhabitants in 2007. Hungarian: 93.4% Gypsy: 2.0% Croatian: 0.2% German:
1.9% Romanian: 0.1% unknown did not answer: 6.2%
Roman Catholic: 46.8%
Greek Catholic: 0.4%
reformed: 5.7%
evangelical: 1.2%
belongs to another church or denomination: 1%
does not belong to a church or denomination: 34.4%
unknown did not
answer: 10.5%
During the 2011 census, 82.4% of the residents
identified themselves as Hungarian, 4.7% as Gypsy, 0.3% as Croatian, and
2.8% as German (17.5% did not declare; due to dual identities, the total
is higher can be at 100%). The religious distribution was as follows:
Roman Catholic 30%, Reformed 3.5%, Lutheran 0.8%, Greek Catholic 0.2%,
non-denominational 35.5% (28.5% did not declare).
Highway 66, which connects Pécs and Kaposvár, passes through the
border of the city on the Sikonda side. The most important internal road
in the city is road 6542, road 6541 passes through the eastern part of
the administrative area and the Zobákpuszta district, and road 6543
leads to Mánfa, which was last renovated in the fall of 2012. The road
6546 connects Komló with the smaller settlements and Vásárosdombo in its
northwestern neighborhood, as well as with the main road 611.
Transportation within the city is provided by Volánbusz.
By
train, the city can be reached on MÁV branch line 47, which branches off
from the (Budapest–)Pusztaszabolcs–Pécs railway line after Godisa
railway station. Passenger and freight transport is regular on the line.
The railway has two stops in the city, the Komló railway station and the
Mecsekjánosi stop.
People born in Komló, living in Komló, or who lived in Komló for part
of their life
Gyula Alvics, 5th place Olympic boxer (former athlete
of Komlói Bányász)
György Árgyelán, photographer
Éva Babina,
porcelain painter
Zoltán Bachman, Kossuth-, Ybl- and Prima Primissima
prize-winning architect
László Bartha, junior national team
footballer
Róbert Bérczesi, musician, songwriter (BlaBla, Hiperkarma,
Biorobot)
György Bugyik, boxer, kickboxing amateur and professional
European champion, World Cup winner
Zoltán Czukor, walker, three-time
Olympian (2000, 2004, 2008)
Gizella Dénes (1897–1975) writer
Gábor
Farkas, patience glass maker
András Ferenczy, singer
József Füzesi
(Komló, July 21, 1966 −) painter
Football coach József Garami, former
national team captain (former athlete of Komlói Bányász)
Gábor Jenő
Dzingisz (1940-), former Dutch State Secretary for Agriculture, attended
high school in Komlo for one and a half years
István Glázer, composer
and lyricist, founder of the popular former Piros Gőzmozdony band.
Oszvald Glöckler, a senior staff member of the International Atomic
Energy Agency.
Dr. Árpád Gógl, physician, former Minister of Health
(1998–2000)
Zoltán Gyöngyösi, flutist
János Győri, two-time
Hungarian national team footballer (2001–2002)
Miklós Hasznos,
vice-president of the KDNP, then Jobbik politician (he worked in Komló
when he was young)
József Haui, graphic artist, the Hungarian folk
tales, the Water Spider-Wonder Spider, the next one please! creator of
series
Gábor Ilka
János Jegenyés (Komló, October 31, 1946 - Pécs,
August 6, 2008) Ferenczy Noémi award-winning glass designer industrial
artist
László Jovánovics is a Hungarian painter of Roma origin (1973-
Judit Karádi is a Hungarian actress
Gábor Kárpáti (Komló, December
19, 1943) archaeologist
Csaba Király, pianist and organist
Zsolt
Korcsmár, U20 World Championship bronze medalist (2009) and U19 European
Championship bronze medalist footballer (2008)
Mihály Lantos, Olympic
champion, world championship silver medalist footballer (1968-75 coach
of Komlói Bányász SK)
Tímea Leirer is a radio host
Attila Lővei,
car racer
Ferenc Megyeri, punk singer and musician, the frontman of
Hődőðőxi Csalódősok
Ferenc Mester, Rap, Hip-Hop singer, founder of
the former band Critical Points.
Writer György Moldova (worked in
Komló, then wrote a book about Komló in 1971)
Balázs Mózes, dramatist
Attila Papp (1961-) at the Cs.Í.T. the leader of the better-known rock
band Baranyai
Teréz Orsós (1956–2021) is a Hungarian-Gypsy graphic
artist and painter.
Gyöngyi Ráczné Kalányos (1965-) Hungarian-Gypsy
graphic artist and painter
Andrea Rejtőné Alföldi, walking Olympian
(1992)
Pink Pittbull band
Opera singer Kázmér Sárkány
Erzsébet
Sándor Szalayné, Deputy Parliamentary Commissioner for Fundamental
Rights (2013-)
Péter Takács, painter and drawing teacher
Tibai
Gyöngyi, poet and visual artist
Ferenc Tóth (1928–) Liszt
Prize-winning conductor
The documented sports life of Komló dates back to 1922, when the
first football team was founded in the settlement. Since the team's
founder was a mining official from Budapest who had previously played
for the MTK team, the team from Komló also got the blue and white
colors. To this day, these are the club colors of the legal successor of
the former football association, Komlói Bányász Sport Klub (formerly
Komlói Bányász Sport Kör), which today is the largest sports club in the
city. The club's greatest successes were achieved by the now
second-class men's handball players, who won the right to start in the
international cup three times (1994 - City Cup, 2006 - KEK, 2008 - EHF
Cup), the bronze medal in the Hungarian Cup (2006), the and in the
championship, they can be most proud of the 4th place they achieved in
1994. The past of the footballers currently playing in the third line
also shines beautifully: several years of first-class performance, 4th
place in the league (1963), two silver cups (1970, 1974) and an
international cup appearance (KEK, 1970). The women's basketball players
played in the NB I/B in the 1992-1993 season. The Komlói Bányász men's
table tennis team won the championship bronze medal in the highest
division (Extra Liga) in 2014 and 2015.
Among the individual
sports, athletics is outstanding: the city's two previous Olympians
(Andrea Alföldi /1992/ Zoltán Czukor /2000, 2004, 2008/) were among the
pedestrians. In the city, the following sports can be practiced
recreationally or competitively, within an organized framework: aikido,
American football, table tennis, athletics, car and motorsport, darts,
archery, bicycle (mountain bike and touring bike), handball, basketball,
kung fu, kyokushin karate, football, equestrian sports, boxing, chess,
sports aerobics, sport fishing, sector ball, bowling, tennis, nature
walks, triathlon, swimming, fencing, water polo.
The largest
sports facility in the city is the partially renovated Komlói Bányász
Sports Complex, which is located in a beautiful natural environment on
the outskirts of the city. There is a football stadium capable of
accommodating 10,000 spectators, a grass, an artificial grass and a clay
training pitch, a sports hall, a running track and a bowling alley. The
Sports Center is located in the heart of the city, with a hall with
stands for 1,000 people and a 33-meter swimming pool. In addition to the
above, smaller sports halls and school gymnasiums serve those who want
to do sports, among which the modern hall of the Gagarin Primary School,
handed over in 2010, with a 40x20 meter playing field, stands out. The
Dirtpark is located in Mecsekjános, which offers modern training and
racing opportunities for fans of motocross, enduro, mountain bike, off
road and quad genres.
The sports life of the city is further
enriched by the fact that from 2012 to 2016, the women's basketball team
of PINKK-Pécs 424 played its home games in Komló, which in its first
season in Komló won the championship bronze medal, the second season the
championship title, the third cup bronze medal, and the fourth
championship and cup bronze medal.
The city has also hosted
national team matches. On January 5, 1994, the Hungarian men's handball
team qualified for the European Championship against the Slovenians in
Komló (18-15), and on September 17, 1997, the women's football team beat
Bosnia-Herzegovina 10-0 in the Bányász stadium. team, in the World Cup
qualifiers.