Árpádhalom
Árpádhalom is located by Mágocs-ér, between the settlements of Nagymágocs and Gádoros on the borderline of Békés County. Until as late as the mid-20th century it was only a populous farmstead of the Tiszántúl district and administratively it belonged to Nagymágocs. Local landowners included the members of the Counts Károlyi and Berchtold families. It was on July 1, 1956 that Árpádhalom gained its independence. The settlement’s area covers fields which had been carved out from the outer fields of the settlements of Nagymágocs ( Árpádhalom, Bojtártelep, Szendrei farmstead and Zoltántér), of Eperjes (Kisújváros and part of Nagyújváros) and Székkutas. Árpádhalom covers an area of 7858 acres (4522 hectares). Administratively it became part of the district of Szentes. The anterior constituent of the settlement’s name is a reference to Prince Árpád, the Conqueror and the posterior constituent is the word halom, meaning mound in English. Legend has it that near the settlement itself there were several mounds and the highest one belonged to the property of Prince Árpád, who had set up his camp here on his way to Ópusztaszer. (It was on this mound where the famous Hungarian architect, Imre Makovecz had a memorial (Tree of Life) erected in 1989). The number of local inhabitants was 1673 in 1956, in the year of the official foundation of the settlement. In 1970 there were 1116 inhabitants, in 1980 the number of inhabitants at Árpádhalom was 815. The same tendency continued, so in 1990 there were only 676 people living at Árpádhalom. This number went further down to 625 in 1995. Working-age people and their families mainly live from agriculture (66%). The settlement’s residential outer areas include Puszta, Sirom, Szendrei farmstead, Tanya and Zoltántér. From April 1, 1977 Nagymágocs and Árpádhalom had one joint local government. On October 10, 1990 the settlement once again became independent.
The castle
The one-time area of vast expanse belonged to the Károlyi family and following the death of Count Alajos Károlyi (1825-1889) the property was divided among his inheritors. The areas at Árpádhalom and Zoltántér as well as the Szendrei farmstead were inherited by the count’s daughter, Countess Ferdinanda Károlyi, who, in 1893, married a diplomat, later the minister of foreign affairs, Lipót Berchtold. The land was registered in 1891 as their property and Mrs. Lipót Berchtold undertook the managerial tasks of the estate in the mid-1890s. She turned Árpádhalom into the centre of her property. As residence she had a nice mansion built in the middle of the 23-acre local forest. The mansion itself represents neo-Classicist style and its main building is a one-storey building while its side wings have two storeys. The courtyard features a covered terrace with surrounding arcades. The 22-bedroom mansion was originally built from bricks, and its roof had double tiling. The building, well hidden in its beautiful surroundings, survived the destructions of the second world war as well. In 1947 it was nationalised. First, the mansion was used as an orphanage, and later, upon the instructions of the contemporary minister of religion and education, the mansion was turned into a school building. Today it houses the local cultural centre and library. Next to the building one can see the statue of Prince Árpád, a work of art from 1996 by Richard Fromann.
More sights of the village
1. a wooden-framed ( Fachwerk technique) Roman Catholic Chapel, which was built in 1920/21 and which is a rare architectural relic in this region of the country. It was also the countess, Mrs. Lipót Berchtold who had the chapel built. Its architect is unknown. The building, representing the special Hungarian style of architecture, was consecrated by the contemporary bishop of Vác, Dr. Árpád István Hanauer on June 14, 1921 in honour of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ.
2. Legend has it that near the settlement itself there were several mounds and the highest one belonged to the property of Prince Árpád, who had set up his camp here on his way to Ópusztaszer. It was on this mound where the famous Hungarian architect, Imre Makovecz had a memorial (Tree of Life) erected in 1989.