Mátészalka, Szabolcs-Szatmar-Bereg, Northern Great Plain Region, Hungary

🇭🇺 Mátészalka is a town in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary. It is on the Kraszna River, 52 km from the city of Nyíregyháza.

Geography It covers an area of 41.81 km² (16 sq mi) and has a population of 17,015 people (2011).

Mátészalka District borders with Vásárosnamény District to the north, Fehérgyarmat District and Csenger District to the east, the Romanian county of Satu Mare to the south, Nyírbátor District and Baktalórántháza District to the west. The number of the inhabited places in Mátészalka District is 26.

Municipalities The district has 3 towns, 3 large villages and 20 villages: • Fábiánháza (1,718) • Fülpösdaróc (316) • Géberjén (496) • Győrtelek (1,615) • Hodász (3,349) • Jármi (1,280) • Kántorjánosi (2,150) • Kocsord (2,893) • Mátészalka (17,144) – district seat • Mérk (2,171) • Nagydobos (2,142) • Nagyecsed (6,524) • Nyírcsaholy (2,210) • Nyírkáta (1,975) • Nyírmeggyes (2,622) • Nyírparasznya (982) • Ököritófülpös (1,859) • Ópályi (2,968) • Őr (1,451) • Papos (830) • Rápolt (139) • Szamoskér (398) • Szamosszeg (1,955) • Tiborszállás (1,019) • Vaja (3,639) • Vállaj (965).

Population In 2001, the population of Mátészalka was nearly 96% Hungarian, 3% Romani, and 1% German.

History Mátészalka was created from the merger of two large villages: Máté, founded in 1231 and Szalka, created in 1268. From the fifteenth century, Mátészalka was a market settlement. From 1920 - 1950 it was the seat of the authorities of some of the committees Szatmár, Ugocsa and Bereg remaining in Hungary after the Trianon Treaty. In 1969 Mátészalka received city rights. The city is the seat of the regional Szatmári Múzeum.

The actor Tony Curtis was born Bernard Schwarz, and his parents were from Mátészalka. His daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis, helped to refurbish the synagogue, which is where her grandparents worshipped. She also attended the opening of the Tony Curtis Memorial Museum and Cafe, which is located in Mátészalka. About 1,500 Jews from the town were taken to Auschwitz in 1944, after the Nazis occupied Hungary that March. In 1946, about 150 Jews returned, but many left after the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.