Gyöngyös lies at the meeting of the mountains and the Great Hungarian Plain. Each additional:the history, economy, community, past and present of the town is the specification, expounding and the result of this fact. geographically this region is one of the most varied areas of Hungary. Its many-sidedness extends from the mountains to the lowland plains, from the reed plot to the endless woodland. even the climate and the peculiar microclimate of the area are mainly influenced by the Mátra mountains. The preserved flora and famous fauna of the mountains covered with forest emphasizes the contrast deriving from the conditions of the lowland character of the southern part of the town.Within the border of the town 900 meter difference of level can be noticed. We, dwellers of Gyöngyös, have been living in this "Janus faced" town for one thousand and an ephemeral years. The photos of this volume have been taken this year.

During the Hungarian conquest the Aba clan ossupied the territory lying at the foot of the Mátra. In the past few years the town's landowners' castle was excavated and exposed to view by archeologists at Mátrafüred, on the former Bene-puszta (plain). In 1327 Thomas son of Farkas, voivode of Transsylvania, got hold of this land as the king's gift. King Charles Robert I raised the settlement to the rank of a town upon the application of its landowner in 1334. Both transit trade and viniculture contributed to its urbanization.

The town fell under Turkish rule between 1554-46. Being private property of the sultan its position was more favourable, its independence was greater than those of other similar settlements under Turkish rule. Industry, commerce and viniculture were flourishing, which remained the main sources of subsistence for the people living here.

During the war of independence led by Rákóczi which broke out in 1703, the town had a peculiar position, for the "kuruc" prince could be respected as one of its biggest landowners at the same time. Whereas the representative of the " labanc" ( pro-Habsburg) soldiers and policy, Pál Széchényi the archbishop of Kalocsa, was a son of the town.

Görgey's spring campaign started after the council held in Orczy Mansion ( today Mátra Museum) on 1st April 1849. It is the irony of fate that some months later Pashkievitch Russian field marshal stayed at the same place.

This Gyöngyös with its significant Gothic and varied Baroque monuments is a town which quards the traditions of medieval settlements. The crowded weekly fair and colourful trade are market-town inheritence. But the town remained the traditional educational and intellectual centre of the foot of the Mátra.. This well-shaped, many-faced settlement with its vine-growing peasant inhabitants is the trasury of the "Palóc" ( a local Hugarian ethnic group) folk art and language. The traditions of the Hungarian ethnic character can be traced in the architecture, and the arrangement of the streets. The system of the cotter's mews (narrow passageways), which can be seen even today, is the print of the former lands in villein and craftsman tenure.

Gyöngyös has nearly 40,000 inhabitants. Despite of many fires the town is rich in historical monuments and sights, it shows the peculiar unity of the gentry, clerical and folk architecture. Not only the beautiful church and monastery of the Franciscan order are known, but their art-relic library is one of the oldest book collections in Hungary. The parish church of the town St.Bartholomew's Church on Fõ tér (Main Square) is a sample of the town's former wealth. The visitors can see the third richest clerical treasure collection of the country in the Saint Crown House.

The Mátra Museum is housed in the neoclassic building of Orczy Mansion. Its collection embodies the fauna and the flora of the Mátra mountains and the history of the town as well.. From the beginnings the hunting and the history of shooting have been taken an important place in the collection of the museum.

The biggest historical vine-growing area of the country can be found on the southern slopes of the Mátra. Vine-growing is determinative in the history of the town. Volcanic and sedimentary in origin, the soil is excellent for vine-growing. This crop and wine have determined the direction of the town's development for a long time. Due to it the vine-growing town has gradually become a commercial town.

Gyöngyös, which is called the gate of the region, is in fact a resort. Mátrafüred, Mátraháza and Kékestetõ also belong to its administrative district. The famous holiday centres of the Monarchy- Palicsfürdõ, Herkulesfürdõ, Ótátrafüred, Felka, Lomnic and Abbázia - due to the Peace Treatry of Trianon got out of the country. Thus the Mátra which was even in the last century highly neglected and approachable only through forest paths suddenly became the biggest tourist centre of the country. So, taking advantage of the Mátra as a resort has a quite short history. This rang of mountains offers the highest peaks of Hungary to the visitors.( Kékestetõ is 1015m, Galyatetõ is 965m, Piszkéstetõ is 941m) The Mátra is interwoven with 480-kilometre long marked and well-kept paths. They lead us through areas having botanical, zoological, geological and landscape values which make active recreation attractive for us. Sástó, Hungary's highest-seated lake can be found here (500 m above sea level).

It may seem to the readers that we spoke about Gyöngyös too romantically, as if our town were a miniature Hungary. It is evidently not the case! Because Gyöngyös, Gyöngyös....that is something very different.