Abaliget Explained

Official Name:Abaliget
Settlement Type:Village
Pushpin Map:Hungary Baranya#Hungary
Pushpin Map Caption:Location of Abaliget
Coordinates:46.1442°N 18.1168°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Type1:County
Subdivision Name1:Baranya
Area Total Km2:16.09
Area Footnotes:[1]
Population Total:647
Population As Of:1 Jan 2019
Population Footnotes:[2]
Population Density Km2:auto
Timezone:CET
Utc Offset:+1
Timezone Dst:CEST
Utc Offset Dst:+2
Postal Code Type:Postal code
Postal Code:7678
Area Code:72
Subdivision Type2:District
Subdivision Name2:Pécs
Area Code Type:Area code
Blank Name Sec1:NUTS 3 code
Blank Info Sec1:HU231
Blank2 Name:HCSO code
Blank2 Info:12548

Abaliget is a village in central Baranya County, Pécs District, in southern Hungary. Until the end of World War II, the inhabitants' majority was Danube Swabian, also called locally as Stifolder, because their ancestors arrived in the 17th and 18th centuries from Fulda (district).[3] Most of the former German settlers were expelled to Allied-occupied Germany and Allied-occupied Austria in 1945–1948, pursuant to the Potsdam Agreement.[4] Only a few Germans of Hungary live there, the majority today are the descendants of Hungarians from the Czechoslovak–Hungarian population exchange. They got the houses of the former Danube Swabian inhabitants. It is located in the western Mecsek Mountains. The nearby Abaliget Cave and the area's lakes and hiking trails make it a popular tourist destination. Its population at the 2011 Census was 598.[5]

Geography

The village is located at 46° 8′ 39.08″ N, 18° 7′ 0.3″ E. Its area is 16.09km2. It is part of the Southern Transdanubia statistical region, and administratively it falls under Baranya County and then Pécs District.

It lies 12km (07miles) northwest of the city of Pécs[6] and is bordered by the villages of Husztót and Kovácsszénája to the north, Orfű to the east, Kővágószőlős and Kővágótöttös to the south, Hetvehely to the west, and Okorvölgy and Szentkatalin to the northwest.

Abaliget is located in the western Mecsek Mountains, and much of its land lies within the Western Mecsek Landscape Protection District, managed by the Danube-Dráva National Park. The village is located on Middle Triassic limestone karst, which has formed the sinkholes, springs, tufa, and caves that are common features in the surrounding area.[7]

Name

The name of the village originates from the Aba name, which is of Turkic origin and liget, which means "grove".[8]

Demographics

2011 census

As of the census of 2011, there were 598 residents, 248 households, and 159 families living in the village. The population density was 96 inhabitants per square mile (37/km2). There were 241 dwellings at an average density of 39 per square mile (15/km2).

There were 248 households, of which 64.1% were one-family households, 0.0% were multi-family households, 33.1% were one-person households, and 2.8% were other non-family households. The average household size was 2.41.

There were 159 families, of which 54.7% were couples living with children, 27.0% were couples living without children, 17.0% were single females with children, and 1.3% were single males with children. The average number of children was 1.26. The average family size was 3.08.

The age breakdown of the village was 20.1% under the age of 20, 8.5% between ages 20 and 24, 27.1% aged 25 to 44, 31.6% aged 45 to 64, and 12.7% aged 65 and older. The gender ratio was 1.00 male to every female.

In terms of educational attainment, 93.9% completed at least primary school, 44.1% completed at least secondary school with final examination, and 16.9% had a higher education degree.[9]

Religious affiliation was 55.4% Roman Catholic, 4.0% Calvinist, 1.7% Greek Catholic, 0.3% Lutheran, 1.0% other religion, and 9.5% unaffiliated, with 28.1% declining to answer.

The village had an ethnic minority Roma population of 14.4%. Other minority nationality affiliations of note were German (4.8%) and other, non-native to Hungary (3.8%), with small numbers of Poles, Croats, and Romanians totaling less than 1%. The vast majority declared themselves as Hungarian (83.9%), with 14.9% declining to answer.[10]

Local government

The village is governed by a mayor with a four-person council. The local government of the village operates a joint council office with the nearby localities of Husztót, Kovácsszénája, Kővágótöttö, and Orfű. Abaliget maintains a branch office, but the seat of the joint council is in Orfű.[11] [12]

As of the election of 2019, the village also has a local minority self-government for its Roma community, with three elected representatives.[13]

Mayors since 1990

MayorPartyTerm(s) of Office
Gábor IvádyIndependent2019-
János KisfaliIndependent2014-2019
2010-2014
2006-2010
István BaritzIndependent2002-2006
1998-2002
Lajos TaraiIndependent1994-1998
István BaritzIndependent1990-1994
[14]

Points of Interest

Transportation

Railway

Road

Sister cities

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Gazetteer of Hungary, 1 January 2019. Hungarian Central Statistical Office. 22 June 2020.
  2. Web site: Gazetteer of Hungary, 1 January 2019. Hungarian Central Statistical Office. 22 June 2020.
  3. https://www.feked.hu/etc/Stifolder_tortenet.pdf Die Stiffoller und der Stiffolder
  4. Web site: Die Vertreibung – Landsmannschaft der Deutschen aus Ungarn.
  5. Web site: 1 October 2011. Population Census 2011: Regional Data - Baranya County. 22 June 2020. Hungarian Central Statistical Office.
  6. Web site: Distance Calculator Find Distance Between Cities. 2020-06-30. Distance Calculator.
  7. Web site: Western Mecsek Landscape Protection District. 2020-06-27. Danube-Dráva National Park Directorate. hu.
  8. Book: Kiss, Lajos . Földrajzi nevek etimológiai szótára . . 1980 . 963-05-2277-2 . Budapest.
  9. Web site: 1 October 2011. Population Census 2011: Regional Data - Baranya County. 22 June 2020. Hungarian Central Statistical Office.
  10. Web site: Detailed Gazetteer of Hungary: Abaliget. 30 June 2020. Hungarian Central Statistics Office.
  11. Web site: Gazetteer of Hungary, 1 January 2019. Hungarian Central Statistical Office. 22 June 2020.
  12. Web site: Local government elections 2019 - Abaliget (Baranya County) . hu . 1 July 2020 . Hungarian National Election Office.
  13. Web site: Nationality local government elections 2019 - Abaliget (Baranya County) . hu . 1 July 2020 . Hungarian National Election Office.
  14. Web site: 29 October 2019. Download election results, 1990-2019. 1 July 2020. Hungarian National Election Office. hu.
  15. Web site: The History of the Cave. 2020-06-26. Abaligeti Barlang. 28 July 2010. hu.
  16. Web site: Caves. 26 June 2020. Hungarian Nature Conservation Office.
  17. Web site: Abaliget Cave. 2020-06-27. Hungarian Nature Conservation Office. hu.
  18. Web site: Abaliget Bat Museum. 2020-06-27. Abaligeti Barlang. 12 February 2011. hu.
  19. Web site: Duckeck. Jochen. Abaligeti-barlang. 2020-06-27. www.showcaves.com.