Paks

Paks

Paks

Town in Tolna, Hungary

Paks is a small town in Tolna county, in the south of Hungary, on the right bank of the Danube River, 100 km south of Budapest. Paks as a former agricultural settlement is now the home of the only Hungarian nuclear power plant, which provides about 40% of the country's electricity consumption.

Quick Facts Country, County ...
Grand Hotel Erzsébet in Paks, built in 1844
Paks Nuclear Power Plant
The gold jewellery from the hoard found near Paks (1600-1200 BC)

History

The settlement was already inhabited in ancient times. It has played a role in the Ottoman Empire times and during Rákóczi's War of Independence. In the Budapest offensive in the final stages of the Second World War, Soviet troops occupied the town at great cost, followed by four decades of communist rule. Meanwhile, it was famous for its cannery, wine and fish soup. The country's only nuclear power plant was built in Paks in the 1980s, the final decade of Soviet rule within the country.

Climate

Paks's climate is classified as oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb) closely bordering on a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa). The annual average temperature is 11.1 °C (52.0 °F), the hottest month in July is 21.9 °C (71.4 °F), and the coldest month is 0.1 °C (32.2 °F) in January. The annual precipitation is 603.5 millimetres (23.76 in), of which July is the wettest with 68.5 millimetres (2.70 in), while January is the driest with only 33.4 millimetres (1.31 in). The extreme temperature throughout the year ranged from −23.3 °C (−9.9 °F) on December 25, 2001 to 40.6 °C (105.1 °F) on July 20, 2007.

More information Climate data for Paks, 1991−2020 normals, Month ...

Description

In the 19th century, several mansions were built in the center of the old town, such as those in Szent István Tér, the main square of the town. The Catholic three-isled, basilica style Sacred Heart church was consecrated in 1901. There is a tablet in the wall of the baroque Szeniczey mansion to commemorate Ferenc Deák, 'the Sage of the Country'. The Town Museum is housed in the former Cseh-Vigyázó mansion. The Calvinist and the Lutheran churches were built in 1775 and 1884 respectively.

The Catholic Holy Spirit church, built according to the design of Imre Makovecz is considered to be an outstanding work of 20th-century architecture. There is a hundred-year-old chestnut alley lining the walkway on the Danube River bank. The town hosts the Spring Festival at Whitsuntide and the International Festival of Blues, Jazz, Rock and Gastronomy.

Sport

Paksi FC is a Hungarian football club based in Paks.

Atomerőmű SE is a Hungarian basketball club based in Paks.

Bronze Age hoard

A Bronze Age gold hoard of jewelry was found between Paks and Dunaföldvár on the right bank of the Danube in the 19th century. The treasure is now in the collections of the British Museum.[2]

Twin towns – sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Hungary

Paks is twinned with:[3]

See also

  • Forró for another Bronze Age hoard from Hungary
  • Zsujta for a Bronze Age hoard from northern Hungary

References

  1. [1]
    "Paks Climate Normals 1991-2020". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on 2023-09-17. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  2. [2]
    British Museum Collection
  3. [3]
    "Testvérvárosok, partnervárosok". paks.hu (in Hungarian). Paks. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Paks.


Stub icon

This Tolna location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Paks, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.