Kispest (lit. Little Pest) is the 19th (XIX) district of Budapest, Hungary. It lies south-southeast of the historical Pest city. It was founded in 1871 on rural land as a village at the borderline of Pest, so it was named Kispest.[3]

19th District of Budapest
Budapest XIX. kerülete
Kispest
District XIX
Flag of 19th District of Budapest
Coat of arms of 19th District of Budapest
Location of District XIX in Budapest (shown in grey)
Location of District XIX in Budapest (shown in grey)
Coordinates: 47°27′N 19°08′E / 47.450°N 19.133°E / 47.450; 19.133
CountryHungary
RegionCentral Hungary
CityBudapest
Established1 January 1950
Quarters[1]
List
  • Kispest
  • Wekerletelep
Government
 • MayorPéter Gajda (MSZP)
Area
 • Total9.38 km2 (3.62 sq mi)
 • Rank18th
Population
 (2016)[2]
 • Total60,731
 • Rank15th
 • Density6,474/km2 (16,770/sq mi)
Demonymtizenkilencedik kerületi ("19th districter")
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
1191 ... 1196
Websiteuj.kispest.hu

History edit

From 1880 to 1990 Kispest's population increased from 1820 to 72,838.[4] Kispest became part of Greater Budapest in 1950. When the Soviet troops re-entered Budapest to subdue the civil uprising in October/November 1956, they approached the city centre from the south-east, up the Üllői Street, with some of the first street clashes taking place in Kispest.

The huge panel housing estate (Kispest microdistrict) was built between the 1960s and the 1980s (12,100 flats, c. 33,000 inhabitants, making it the sixth-biggest housing estate/microraion in Budapest).[5]

Wekerletelep edit

Wekerletelep is Kispest's suburb with detached houses and green areas. It was named after the Hungarian premier at the time of the development in the 1900s, Sándor Wekerle. Its central square, Kós Károly Tér, has two characteristic architectural gateways designed by the architect Károly Kós and based on Transylvanian building style. In May every year a festival called Wekerle Days (Hu: Wekerle Napok) takes place. This involves fun run, sports events, concerts and various other cultural and family oriented programs for all age groups.

Public transport edit

The district is served by the Metro 3 (Kőbánya-Kispest and Határ út stations), so there is direct connection with the city center. Határ út underground station is the third-busiest in the city (after Deák Square and Örs vezér tere) with an estimated 40,000 passengers using it (often twice) on a typical workday.

Sport edit

Ferenc Puskás played football for Kispest F.C. (then called Kispest Honvéd FC) in the 1950s.

Kispest NKK, women's handball team, NB1/B second league

List of mayors edit

Member Party Date
Levente Lévay SZDSZ 1990–1994
Gábor Zupkó Fidesz 1994–1998
Béla Timár Fidesz 1998–2002
Katalin Steinerné Török MSZP 2002–2006
Péter Gajda MSZP 2006–
Party Seats Current District Assembly[6]
  Opposition coalition[a] 11 M                    
  Fidesz-KDNP 5                
  LMP 1                        

Twin towns – sister cities edit

Kispest is twinned with:[7]

Gallery edit

Notes edit

References edit

  1. ^ "94/2012. (XII. 27.) Főv. Kgy. rendelet - a közterület- és városrésznevek megállapításáról, azok jelöléséről, valamint a házszám-megállapítás szabályairól" (in Hungarian).
  2. ^ a b "A fővárosi kerületek, a megyei jogú városok, a városok területe, lakónépessége és a lakások száma" [The area of districts of the capital, of the towns with county's rights, resident population and number of dwellings]. Magyarország közigazgatási helynévkönyve 2016. január 1 [Gazetteer of Hungary 1st January, 2016] (PDF). Hungarian Central Statistical Office. 2016. p. 21.
  3. ^ History of Kispest (Hungarian) Archived 2009-05-21 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Historical population of Kispest (Hungarian Central Statistical Office)[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ Housing estates of Budapest (Index.hu, Hungarian)
  6. ^ "Kispest.hu - Képviselő-testület". uj.kispest.hu. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  7. ^ "Kispest Testvérvárosai" (in Hungarian). Kispest. Retrieved 10 March 2024.