Kecskemét is the capital of the Bács-Kiskun region as well as the cultural and economic center of the area lying between the Danube and Tisza rivers. It has few really old buildings but does boast some fine art nouveau style edifices and an extremely attractive town center. The billy goat which
appears in the town's coat-of-arms is explained by the name Kecskemét, which roughly translated means "goat walk". Kecskemét is within easy reach of Budapest and a good setting-out point for excursions into the Bugac puszta, the tourist-favored region of the Kiskunság National Park (Kiskunsági Nemzeti Park).
Boasting an impressive number of schools and training colleges as well as three university colleges, Kecskemét has become an educational stronghold. The Institute of Musical Education housed in the former Franciscan Priory promotes the new teaching methods devised by the musician and composer Zoltán Kodály (1882-1967, a native of Kecskemét. The Institute's reputation has now spread far and wide.
The area now covered by the town of Kecskemét was already settled c 3000 BC (Bronze Age urnsite). During the migration of the peoples Scythians, later Sarmatians, Goths and Avars and finally the invading Magyars all settled here. The earliest documented record of Kecskemét as a town is dated 1368. The medieval settlement had no walls, being defended solely by moats and ditches in a ring round the town (now the route followed by the E5 road). Being owned by the Pasha of Buda and subsequently by the Sultan the town enjoyed the privilege of self-government during the period of Turkish rule. The basis of its economic prosperity was cattle-rearing and trading, and this was followed by other prosperous trades such as those of furrier, shoemaker and specialist metalworker. After the Turks withdrew, Kecskemét came under Habsburg rule in 1710. In 1834 a redemption treaty freed Kecskemét from its loan burdens and enabled it to boost its economy through the cultivation of fruit, vegetables and vines. In the early 19th C, 7 million young trees were planted around Kecskemét in an attempt to bind the sandy soil, which had lain fallow for centuries. On July 8, 1911 a heavy earthquake lasting 25 minutes caused great damage to the town and the surrounding area.
Economy
As a result of the intensive system of viticulture and the growing of fruit and vegetables the area around Kecskemét has been named "The Garden of Hungary". Its horticultural products are processed in the factories in Kecskemét. Far less important are such other branches of industry as prefabricated buildings, engineering, shoe manufacture and printing.
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