Csepel

Budapest - Csepel
District

Country	Hungary
Region	Central Hungary
County	Budapest
Area
• Total	25.75 km² (9.94 sq mi)
Population
• Total	76,320
• Density	2,963.9/km² (7,676/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)

For the defunct Hungarian automaker see: Csepel (automobile)

Csepel (German: Tschepele) is the 21st district and a neighbourhood in Budapest, Hungary. Csepel officially became part of Budapest on 1 January 1950.

Location

Csepel is located at the northern end of Csepel Island in the Danube, and covers one tenth of the island's area. Being on an island, it is the only complete district of Budapest which is neither in Pest nor in Buda. It has approximately 85,000 inhabitants.

Csepel is most easily accessed from central Budapest by the Csepel HÉV. Bridges connect Csepel to southern parts of Pest, Ferencváros and Pesterzsébet, and a ferry links Csepel to Soroksár.

Name

The village and the island were named after the first comes (ispán) of the area, Csepel. The German and Serbo-Croatian names are derived from the older Hungarian one.

History

Csepel Island became the personal domain of Árpád after the migration of Hungarians into Pannonia in the early 10th century. It remained a favourite resort of the Hungarian kings in the Middle Ages. From 1484 onwards Csepel was the wedding-present to future Hungarian queens. The Ottoman Turks totally destroyed the village and the royal manor house in the 16th century. In the end of the 17th century Serb refugees from Turkish occupied Serbia settled here. In the beginning of the 18th century Prince Eugene of Savoy, owner of the island, re-established the settlement, and populated with German colonists. It became an independent municipality in 1742. The original village was located in the present-day Freeport (Szabadkikötő) area but it was totally destroyed by the great flood of 1838. The new village was built on higher ground, in present-day Ófalu (Old Village). The town had a population of 9462 people according to the 1910 census (the ethnic composition was 84% Hungarian and 18% German). Formerly it was a working class borough with several factories; there was even a bicycle named Csepel. During the 1956 revolution in Budapest, Hungarian fighters made their last stand in Csepel. Today, Csepel contains housing estates as well as middle class garden suburbs. The district is also home to the noteworthy sports club Csepel SC.

Population

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1870	1,356	—
1880	1,555	+14.7%
1890	2,277	+46.4%
1900	4,605	+102.2%
1910	9,752	+111.8%
1920	14,075	+44.3%
1930	23,805	+69.1%
1941	47,812	+100.8%
1949	46,621	−2.5%
1960	59,963	+28.6%
1970	73,780	+23.0%
1980	76,692	+3.9%
1990	90,197	+17.6%
2001	80,982	−10.2%
2008	76,320	−5.8%

Ethnic groups (2001 census):

Magyars - 92.4%
Germans - 0.7%
Romani - 0.7%
Others - 0.9%
No answer - 5.3%

Religions (2001 census):

Roman Catholic - 41.4%
Calvinist - 13%
Greek Catholic - 2.2%
Lutheran - 1.7%
Other (Christian) - 1%
Other (non-Christian) - 0.3%
Atheists - 25.1%
No answer, unknown - 15.2%

Landmarks

Noteworthy sights include the Baroque parish church built in 1770, the Csepel Gallery and Museum of Local History (newly moved to Szent Istvan ut. 230), and the Csepel Collection of Factory History.

Gallery

External links

Districts of Budapest

I. Várkerület II. 2nd District III. Óbuda-Békásmegyer IV. Újpest V. Belváros-Lipótváros VI. Terézváros VII. Erzsébetváros VIII. Józsefváros IX. Ferencváros X. Kőbánya XI. Újbuda XII. Hegyvidék XIII. 13th District XIV. Zugló XV. 15th District XVI. 16th District XVII. Rákosmente XVIII. Pestszentlőrinc-Pestszentimre XIX. Kispest XX. Pesterzsébet XXI. Csepel XXII. Budafok-Tétény XXIII. Soroksár

Coordinates: 47°25′N 19°05′E / 47.417°N 19.083°E / 47.417; 19.083

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Csepel.