Miskolc, Hungary

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at the foot of Mount Avas is surrounded by rather mundane suburbs and industrial estates which sprang up in the post-war years. Miskolc's main attractions are Diósgyor Castle in the district of the same name, and the holiday resorts of Miskolctapolca in the south and Lillafüred - the "Gateway to the Bükk Mountains" - in the east of the town.

History

In the caves of the Bükk Mountains outside Miskolc skeletons of Ice Age man were found, some of the oldest of such remains to be found anywhere in Europe. Scythians also settled here some 2000-3000 years ago. A Magyar tribe known as the Bors (hence the regional name of Borsod) occupied the Miskolc region in the 9th C. Protected by Diósygor Castle the settlement developed during the Middle Ages into a small town, which was plundered by the Turks in 1544 and then burned to the ground. After capturing Eger Castle in 1596 the Turks occupied the town for almost one hundred years, until 1687. Like many another north Hungarian town, Miskolc supported the fight for liberation from the Habsburgs (Ferenc Rákóczi had his headquarters in Miskolc for part of the time)and paid for this in 1706 when Austrian troops burned it down once more, from which it took years to recover.

From the late 18th C the rich iron deposits in the Bükk Mountains were processed in the countryside around Miskolc, and by the end of the 19th C there were already some industrial firms operating here. When the surrounding suburbs, Diósgyor in particular, were incorporated into the town Miskolc became an industrial conurbation of some 130 concerns.

Economy

Once just a trading town, Miskolc has developed since the 19th C, and in the post-war years, into a major center of heavy industry with giant steelworks, iron foundries and machine tool factories. A number of large electrical firms and paper factories have also set up here. The Technical University of Heavy Industry, which provides training for skilled and management staff, has been sited in Miskolc since 1949.