Abony is a town in Pest County, Hungary.

Geography

Abony is a town in the south-east of, between the Danube and Tisza rivers. It is 16 km from Cegléd and 85 km from Budapest, at an elevation of 90 to 100 m. The area is on the River Tisza's wide floodplain which approximates 13000 ha. Its rich black soil contains some sand.

Name

The name of the town developed from the diminutive form of the name Aba, which is of Turkic origin. It was attested as Abon in 1466.

History

The Jewish community

Jews lived in the city from the 18th century. The synagogue was established in 1756, and in 1788 the Jewish school was founded. In 1840, 912 Jews lived in the city. In May 1944, a ghetto was established by order of the German army, where the Jews of the city and the surrounding area were concentrated. In June, ghetto Jews were deported in two transports to the Auschwitz extermination camp.

In literature

On 12 June 1847 Sándor Petőfi spent a night in the village pub on his way from Nagyszalonta (where he visited János Arany) to Budapest. It is mentioned it in his Journey letters. Lajos Abonyi, a writer who lived in Abony, recorded a famous folk-song "In Nagyabony there are only two towers" from Zoltán Kodály's Braggadocio. In the song Nagyabony means this village. There is another Nagyabony in Slovakia, called in Slovak Veľké Blahovo. The song's tune is from Upper Hungary.

Economy

The local economy is mainly based on agriculture: most people are crop farmers, but some grow grapes and fruit.

Landmarks

Famous people

International relations

Twin towns — sister cities

Abony is twinned with: