The History of Budakeszi

The first items proving that the area of today's Budakeszi had been inhabited derive from the Stone Age, however, it was also inhabited in the Roman Times. One proof for the latter is a - world wide - very rare tomb that is under excavation in Budakeszi.
At the same time, another trace of the village dates back to the times when the Hungarian tribes settled down in the Carpathian Basin, and that is the cemetery for the general folks, used in the middle of the 10th Century. The cemetary was excavated in the Budakeszi-Barackos area. This find is one of the four of this kind that were found in the Carpathian Basin.
In 1997, in the course of the excavation under the town's baroque church - built between 1761 and 1766 - archeologists found the wall stubs of a medieval church, which was very big for the size of the village of the time. Archeologists excavated the foundation of the church, which dates back to the Roman Times, the expanded building dating back to the 15th Century, and a Gothic sacristy. The wall of the sacristy contains a tomb - from the Roman Times - displaying a hunting scene, and an altar stone also from the Roman Times. The excavation revealed that the church's surrounding and the village center have a history of a thounsand years.
A historical charter dated 1296 suggests that the name Budakeszi might derive from one generation of the ancient Hungarian Keszi tribe. The names Alkeszi and Felkeszi (former names of the village) might have emerged after the invasion of the Tartars (1241). The chapel of Alkeszi, which was located in the area of today's Roman Catholic Church, was first mentioned in an official charter dated 1267. The chapel was founded by the king of the time.
The settlement had been an important traffic junction for centuries, as it is located on the main road connecting the Buda Castle with Esztergom via Zsámbék - Székesfehérvár and Tinnye. This had largely contributed to its development as a settlement. Traders had used this line in order to avoid the payment of taxes imposed on roads leading to Visegrád.
As of 1659 Budakeszi's landowner was Count István Zichy. It was his son Péter who had invited the first German settlers - from Bavaria, the Rhine Region, Austria and the Czeh Country and Moravia - to live in Budakeszi. The Pest epidemic in 1739 killed nearly 600 Budakeszi residents. Budakeszi had become the property of the Chamber in 1765. It had been given major economic preferences, which launched it on the way of prosperity.

The turn of the century earmarked the beginning of the bourgeois civilisation. Up until the second half of the 19th Century Budakeszi residents had mostly been involved in agricultural production, primarily grape, wine and fruit production. Budapest had "only" been a market, rather than a town where the Budakeszi people worked. This, however, fundamentally changed in 1870, when the grape-louse attacked the Budakeszi vineyards. The plant disease, as well, as the large-scale construction works in Budapest, which have become increasingly frequent with the imminent millenium, compelled the Budakeszi people to seek work in the capital.
Also, Budakeszi hosted the first Hungarian Pulmonary Hospital. Its construction, initiated by Frigyes Korányi and financed by the general public, started in 1900. The hospital won  the prize "Gran Premio" in the Milan World Expo in 1906.
Ever since, the nice air and the beautiful environment have attracted several hospitals. The opening of the pulmonary hospital also earmarked the beginning of industrialisation in Budakeszi. The village founded its first board of craftsmen in 1919, and in 1930, as many as 60 different trades were pursued in the village. By the 1930's, Budakeszi boasted with several famous companies, such as the Elektromos Műszaki Rt. (Electric Technological Co.), the Márványozó Festékgyár Rt. (Halfer Marbling Paint Manufacturer Co.), and the Nattó Shoe-polish manufacturer.  The first two were also exporting overseas.
Due to its nice climate and beautiful environment, Budakeszi was popular among the Budapest middle-class people. Providing accomodation in the summer brought Budakeszi residents major revenues. Tourism was further stimulated by the launch of the "Bart" bus service in 1928, the BESZKÁRT (blue bus) service, launched in 1937, as well as the new hospitals and the various other health institutions. On Frigyes Korányi's initiative, Queen Elisabeth Hospital opened in 1901, followed by Deaconess Tábor, the Health and Recreation Center run by MD Gosztonyi and MD Kozma, as well as the Bethel Home. Budakeszi hosts three health institutes with patients from all over Hungary: Korányi Hospital, MÁV (Hungarian Railways) Hospital, and the National Medical Rehabilitation Institute.
Budakeszi has also had a thriving intellectual life with the Farmers' Circle founded in 1905, the Board of Craftsmen founded in 1919, the Casino founded in 1926, and various other clubs and associations, such as as the Levente Association, the Youth Association, the Volunteer Firemens' Association, the Red Cross Association, the Stefánia Alliance, the "Saint Joseph" Funeral Association, the Roman Catholic Farmers' Circle, the Handicap Association, the Rent Coach Industrial Association, the Construction Workers' Association, the Lyra Singing Circle, the Civic Singing Club, the Aesthetics Development Association, the MOVE King Mathias Shooting Club, and the Kossuth Sports Club. The various clubs and associations became members of a board called Cultural Club in 1936.
Budakeszi launched organised education in 1715, far before the introduction of mandatory education in Hungary. The first school building was built at the end of the 18th Century. The village built a kindergarten in 1880, and later a civic school and a convent school.
The 200 valuable and beautiful old Swabian peasant and bourgeois houses, which are under the protection of the local authorities, represent the high architectural values created over the last few centuries. Also Ferenc Erkel, the composer of the Hungarian national anthem, had a summer house in the town. His house is now marked with a commemoration plate. The famous actress Mária Mezei spent her last few years in a house that she bought in Budakeszi.
In 1946, most Swabian inhabitants were deported from Budakeszi, and their houses became occupied mostly by ethnic Hungarians from Transylvania and Sub-Carpathia. One Swabian couple compelled to move to Germany was the parents of current EU Chairman Joschka Fischer, who has been appointed for Budakeszi citizen of honor.

After World War II industrial traditions ceased to prevail in Budakeszi. The village became the host of agricultural and forest management plants. The number of inhabitants redoubled, mostly as a result of the large housing estate constructions in 1965 and later, the increasing apartment prices in Budapest, the good public transport connection, and the beautiful environment. The village maintained its feature as a tourist target and a holiday resort:; what is more, it has only allowed small industry to settle down, while it has kept its character as a green belt area.
Today's intellectual life is characterised by the club traditions of the past, the establishment of secondary-level education (in the form of a high school with special emphasis on physical education, founded in 1964), the increasing number of white collar workers moving from Budapest to Budakeszi, and the activities of the clubs, as well as the events organised by the new Ferenc Erkel Culture Center. Several self-sufficient organisations have been set up (such as the Tradition Maintenance Circle, the Aesthetics Developent Association, the Széchenyi Group of Friends, the Szekler Circle, etc.). These organisations are active communities involved in maintaining the cultural values of the new inhabitants that have moved here from various parts of Hungary, reviving the traditions of the old, ethnic village community, the exploration of Budakeszi's history, and the improvement of the village's look.
 Because Budakeszi used to have a large ethnic German community, German as a foreign language has been instructed in kindergartens and and in schools since 1974. The village inhabitants are increasingly involved in maintaining the ethnic traditions ever since the change in the political system. Budakeszi has increasingly tight relations with the descendants of the Swabians deported from Hungary and also with the Hungarians beyond the borders. These relations are institutionalised in the form of twin-towns.