Körmend (German: Kirment, Slovenian: Kermendin, Vendian: Karmadén) is a town on the bank of the Rába in Vas County, the seat of the county's Körmendi district, and the scene of significant historical events. Due to the main road No. 8 passing through the town center, there is a strong road traffic. There are many local and regional service organizations in the city center. Geographically, the outskirts of Western Hungary, and within it the Vas – Sopron plain, form part of the Rábai terraced plain.
Körmend is locate in the Rába Valley, near the mouth of the Pinka. Available on Highways 8, 76, and 86; and on the Szombathely-Szentgotthárd railway line. There is a major road traffic junction near the western border.
The
origin of his name
A charter from 1238 mentions the earliest
Villa Curmend terra regist, or the village of Körmend, which was
then a royal estate. Its name can be traced back to the Turkish word
kärmän - castle or fortified water crossing.
Middle Ages
After the Tartar invasion IV. In a charter issued on October 28,
1244, Béla granted the privileged settlement, whose castle (Arx
Körmend) and church were mentioned at that time, granted city
privileges, which were confirmed by István V. in 1270 and Károly
Róbert in 1328 for duty-free and judicial election. , together with
points concerning the law of succession. In 1345, King Louis I
confirmed the duty-free status of its citizens. Twelve years later,
a written source referred to him as a “civitas,” that is, a royal
city, at which time he was a judge, a council of sworn citizens. The
medieval cityscape was primarily defined by the church buildings in
its area. The church of St. Martin could be erected by the natives,
while the church of St. Elizabeth stood in the district of the
hospes, the German settlers. The convent of the Virgin Mary of the
Augustinian Order was one of the defining structures of Körmend for
centuries. There was also a parish school in Körmenden in the Middle
Ages.
During the reign of King Sigismund Körmend, it ceased
to be a royal estate. At that time it was owned by János Ellerbach,
then in 1412 Péter Szécsi asked to be enrolled in the oppidium, ie
market town, but in 1430 it was already owned by the Széchényi
people. In 1497 II. Ulászló provides duty-free treatment to the
merchants living here throughout the country, and by then
considerable national fairs are already held, which presupposes the
presence of a significant layer of handicrafts. In this age, the
city becomes a fortified place, an important center. In 1514 the
castle and the town belonged to Tamás Bakócz Erdődi.
After
Mohács
In 1548, Körmend became the property of András Tarnóczy,
but the Erdődys repurchased it in 1565, and theirs remained for a
long time. In the 16th century, the cityscape of Körmend was
thoroughly transformed to reflect the changed situation. The city
was surrounded by backboards and ditches. In the north-eastern
corner of the settlement, the castle built by the Ellerbachs or the
Szécs in the previous century was fortified with bastions, a wall
and a gate. The town was the personal property of János Joó
Kaszaházi in 1595, from whom, II. It was confiscated by King Rudolf
and then donated in 1604 to Ferenc Batthyány, the chief horseman.
The history of the castle and the town is connected to the history
of the Batthyány family for almost 300 years from this year onwards.
Due to the increase in the Turkish threat, Ádám Batthyány declares
Körmend a border fortress, giving its inhabitants a privileged
privilege, but at the same time obliging them to military service.
Significant date in the history of Körmend July 26-27, 1664, the day
of the Battle of Körmend. Grand Vizier Ahmed Köprülü wanted to
occupy the passages of the Rába to push his huge army towards
Vienna. On July 26, the defensive army (French, Croatian, German,
Austrian and Hungarian troops) occupied these points and fired
cannon fire from the castle on the right bank of the Turks. The next
day, the crossing was thwarted. The battle was not significant from
a military point of view, but it had an impact on the outcome of the
battle of Szentgotthárd.
Körmend II. He also took part in the
war of independence led by Ferenc Rákóczi. The town, now deprived of
its backboard, changed hands several times, while its houses and
castle were burned to the ground. The year 1716 was a turning point
in the life of the settlement. The Batthyánys made Körmend the
center of the majorate, from where they controlled their dominions
in Körmend, Németújvár, Kanizsa, Dobra and Trautmansdorf. This is
when the expansion of the castle into an aristocratic castle complex
begins, which is connected to the name of the national palatine
Lajos Batthyány. The armies marching during the Napoleonic Wars did
not escape Körmend either, various French regiments occupied the
city. In 1809, the easternmost point of the French Empire was the
city of Körmend. In 1848 no special military events took place here,
he was in the city for only a few days with General Nugend's army of
10,000 men and 36 cannons.
Following the compromise, it lost its former city status in 1871,
but retained its leadership within the area and remained the
administrative center of the district. At this time, however, it was
a city with significant trade, but its industrial development was
lagging behind. The railway line between Szombathely and Grác was
opened in 1872, which ran through Körmend, then in 1899 the railway
traffic started between Körmend-Németújvár and in 1907
Körmend-Muraszombat.
20th century
Smaller agricultural
processing plants were built. There is also a steam saw, steam mill,
vinegar factory, meat processing plant, brick factory, farm
machinery factory and cement factory in Körmend. Electrification of
the city began in 1911.
After the First World War, Körmend's
natural catchment area narrowed, and its becoming borderless became
a factor hindering development. Between the two world wars, the
development of the settlement slowed down. After World War II,
initially due to its location in the western border area, this
continued. From the beginning of the seventies - partly due to the
economic development of the country, partly due to the easing of
international tensions and the boom in tourism - the settlement
started to develop dynamically. With the creative cooperation of the
local and county leading bodies sensitive to the socio-economic
changes indicated above, the planning works for the development of
the settlement at the urban level have started. The design team of
ZALATERV, under the guidance of Chief Engineer Tamás Kiss, examined
the micro-regional and settlement conditions (features,
opportunities and condition) of Körmend, and based on them developed
development and development plans for both the region and Körmend.
As part of this, the development program for the city of Körmend and
the plan for the future city center (1973) were prepared. On
December 31, 1978, Körmend was declared a city. The main ideas of
the development and zoning plans (such as roadside reconstruction
No. 8, transport and utility developments, etc.) have already been
realized, while others - with some modernization modifications -
serve the further planned development of the city. On August 20,
1980, the bypassing section of the main road 86 was handed over and
the new Rába Bridge was inaugurated. The ribbon was cut by István
Cseri, Deputy Minister of Transport and Posts. On behalf of the
people of Körmend, the city councilor Imre Illés symbolically took
over the objects from the director of Zoltán Szabó county road
(KPM), who said that the 86 bypass and the new bridge cost 115
million forints at that time. The new floodplain and Rába bridge and
relieved the single-track downtown Rába bridge.