View source for Nagykanizsa

{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2015}}
{{Infobox settlement
|name = Nagykanizsa
|settlement_type = [[Town with county rights|City with county rights]]
|official_name = {{lang|hu|Nagykanizsa Megyei Jogú Város}}
|image_skyline = Nagykanizsa2.jpg
|image_caption = 
|image_shield = HUN Nagykanizsa Címer.svg
|image_flag = Flag of Nagykanizsa.svg
|nickname = 
|timezone = [[Central European Time|CET]]
|utc_offset = +1
|timezone_DST = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
|utc_offset_DST = +2
|leader_title = [[Mayor]]
|leader_name = [[Horváth Jácint (politician)|Horváth Jácint]] ([[ÉVE-DK-Jobbik-LMP-Momentum-MSZP]])
|pushpin_map = Hungary Zala#Hungary
|pushpin_relief = 1
|pushpin_label_position = 
|pushpin_map_caption = Location of Nagykanizsa
|pushpin_mapsize =
|image_map = {{infobox mapframe | zoom = 9 | stroke-width = 2 }}
|subdivision_type = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name = {{HUN}}
|subdivision_type1 = [[Counties of Hungary|County]]
|subdivision_name1 = [[Zala County|Zala]]
|subdivision_type2 = [[Districts of Hungary|District]]
|subdivision_name2 = [[Nagykanizsa District|Nagykanizsa]]
|area_total_km2 = 148.40
|population_total = 47349
|population_footnotes = <ref name="KSH">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ksh.hu/apps/hntr.telepules?p_lang=EN&p_id=30933|title=Detailed Gazetteer of Hungary|website=www.ksh.hu}}</ref>
|population_as_of = 2017
|population_rank = [[List of cities and towns in Hungary|20th in Hungary]]
|population_density_km2 = auto
|population_demonym = kanizsai, nagykanizsai
|demographics_type1 = [[Demographics of Hungary|Population by ethnicity]]
|demographics1_footnotes = <ref name="KSH" />
|demographics1_title1 = [[Hungarians]]
|demographics1_info1 = 85.1%
|demographics1_title2 = [[Romani people in Hungary|Roma]]
|demographics1_info2 = 1.3%
|demographics1_title3 = [[Hungarian Germans|Germans]]
|demographics1_info3 = 1.0%
|demographics1_title4 = [[Croats in Hungary|Croats]]
|demographics1_info4 = 1.0%
|demographics1_title5 = [[Romanians in Hungary|Romanians]]
|demographics1_info5 = 0.1%
|demographics1_title6 = Others
|demographics1_info6 = 0.6%
|demographics_type2 = [[Demographics of Hungary|Population by religion]]
|demographics2_footnotes = <ref name="KSH" />
|demographics2_title1 = [[Catholic Church in Hungary|Roman Catholic]]
|demographics2_info1 = 56.7%
|demographics2_title2 = [[Hungarian Greek Catholic Church|Greek Catholic]]
|demographics2_info2 = 0.1%
|demographics2_title3 = [[Reformed Church in Hungary|Calvinists]]
|demographics2_info3 = 1.9%
|demographics2_title4 = [[Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Hungary|Lutherans]]
|demographics2_info4 = 1.7%
|demographics2_title5 = [[Hungarian Jews|Jews]]
|demographics2_info5 = 0.1%
|demographics2_title6 = Other
|demographics2_info6 = 0.8%
|demographics2_title7 = [[Non-religious]]
|demographics2_info7 = 11.1%
|demographics2_title8 = Unknown
|demographics2_info8 = 27.6%
|postal_code_type = [[Postal codes in Hungary|Postal code]]
|postal_code = 8800
|area_code_type = [[Telephone numbers in Hungary|Area code]]
|area_code = (+36) 93
|blank_name = Motorways
|blank_info = [[M7 motorway (Hungary)|M7]]
|blank2_name = Distance from Budapest
|blank2_info = {{convert|214|km|abbr=on}} Northeast
|website = {{URL|https://nagykanizsa.hu/}}
|coordinates = {{coord|46|27|18|N|16|59|33|E|region:HU|display=inline,title}}
}}
'''Nagykanizsa''' ({{IPA|hu|ˈnɒckɒniʒɒ}}; {{langx|hr|Velika Kaniža/Velika Kanjiža}}, or just ''Kaniža/Kanjiža''; {{langx|de|Großkirchen, Groß-Kanizsa}}; {{langx|it|Canissa}}; {{langx|sl|Velika Kaniža}}; {{langx|tr|Kanije}}), known colloquially as '''Kanizsa''', is a medium-sized city in [[Zala County]] in southwestern [[Hungary]]. It is a [[city with county rights]].

It lies not far from [[Lake Balaton]] at the meeting point of five routes. For centuries the town has been a connecting link. Goods from [[Slavonia]] were transported to [[Graz]] via Nagykanizsa, and the town played an important role in the trade from the [[Adriatic Sea]] to the [[Alps|Alpine]] region, [[Vienna]], and [[Budapest]].

==History==
{{Unreferenced section|date=February 2017}}
The city's oldest Roman-era ruins were excavated in the 1960s. During the Middle Ages, Nagykanizsa became one of the most important strongholds of the [[Kingdom of Hungary|Hungarian Kingdom]]. The fortress had a significant role in the southern shield-line of Hungary, guarding the whole of Western Europe against attacks by the [[Ottoman Empire]].

The name ''Kanizsa'' was first mentioned in a document in 1245. The Kanizsai family continued building the castle and constructed a rectangular castle with an enclosed back yard on an islet in the River Kanizsa. The town and the castle were in their prime in the first half of the 16th century, when Kanizsa became a centre of trade with Italy and [[Styria (duchy)|Styria]].

Szigetvár and Kanizsa became the most important strongholds in southern Hungary. In 1600, the Turkish army occupied the castle. This castle was the center of [[Kanije Eyalet|an Ottoman eyalet]] including the [[sanjak]]s of [[Szigetvar|Sigetvar]], [[Törökkoppány|Kopan]], [[Valpovo|Valpuva]], [[Siklos]], Nadaj, and [[Beltinci|Balatin]] until 1690 (see [[Ottoman Hungary]]), when the city was invaded by the Habsburg armies.

In 1601, during the [[Long Turkish War|Ottoman-Habsburg War of 1593–1606]], a siege began on September 9 and ended on November 18. The Habsburg forces were commanded by [[Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand, the Archduke of Austria]], and [[Tiryaki Hasan Pasha]] commanded the defence of the castle. Hasan Pasha won the fight against the ten-times larger army of Austrians with many cunning military ploys, and was raised to the rank of Vizier.

At the beginning of the 18th century, the holder of the castle moved German, Croatian, and Serbian settlers into the deserted town. A particularly mixed ethnic group lived in a suburb called Kiskanizsa. After the Turks were driven out (1690), the town lost its strategic significance, so the [[War Council (Austria)|Vienna war council]] demolished the castle in 1702.

Business became lively, [[trade]] became important again, and crafts developed significantly. In 1765 the [[Piarists|Piarist order]] started to provide elementary and secondary education' supported by [[Lajos Batthyány (palatine)|Lajos Batthyány]], palatine of Hungary. The first business school of Transdanubia opened in Nagykanizsa, and in 1895 it was made into a college.

Many people who had attended Nagykanizsa's schools became famous: [[Benedek Virág]], Pál Király, [[Ferenc Deák (politician)|Ferenc Deák]], Károly Kaán, Sándor Hevesi, and [[Ferenc Mező]] all studied in the ancient buildings of Nagykanizsa's ''almae matres''.

Nagykanizsa started a new phase of large-scale development in the 1860s. The railway connecting Nagykanizsa with Vienna, [[Budapest]], and [[Rijeka]] was constructed at that time. There was rapid development in industry as well. Industrial and commercial development resulted in the foundation of banks. Besides the four local banks, an Austro-Hungarian and an Anglo-Hungarian bank also opened branch offices in town. Telephone lines were established and the town was connected with a long-distance system in 1895. At the same time, a 70-bed hospital was opened.

During [[World War I]], military barracks were built in the town. This necessitated the construction of a municipal water-network. Kanizsa became a modern town; drainage-system construction and paving of streets began. World War I caused grave consequences - changes in international boundaries isolated Kanizsa, which lost its markets in the south and west.

Oil helped the town to survive. After successful exploration by the American corporation ''Eurogasco'', Hungarian-American Oil Inc. ({{langx |hu| Magyar Amerikai Olajipari Reszvenytarsasag}} - MAORT) was formed in 1938.<ref>
{{cite book
 |year                 = 1949
 |title                = Standard Oil Company (New Jersey) and Oil Production in Hungary by MAORT, 1931-1948
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=3iDKAAAAMAAJ
 |publisher            = European Gas & Electric Company, Standard Oil Company (New Jersey)
 |page                 = XIII
 |access-date          = 5 January 2023
 |quote                = [...] Magyar Amerikai Olajipari Reszvenytarsasag (better known as MAORT) was organized under the laws of Hungary in 1938 as a wholly owned subsidiary of European Gas & Electric Company [...].
}} 
</ref>
Nagykanizsa became the centre of the Hungarian [[oil industry]]. Near the end of [[World War II]], the Nagykanizsa oil-fields were the last remaining ones available to the Germans, and to protect these fields the ''[[Wehrmacht]]'' launched the last German offensive of the war, [[Operation Spring Awakening]], on 6 March 1945.<ref>
{{cite book
 |last1                = Anderson
 |first1               = Thomas
 |date                 = 18 May 2017
 |chapter              = ''Bagration'': The Soviet Advance
 |title                = The History of the Panzerwaffe
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=VMsvDgAAQBAJ
 |volume               = 2: 1942-45
 |publisher            = Bloomsbury Publishing
 |page                 = 293
 |isbn                 = 9781472814500
 |access-date          = 5 January 2023
 |quote                = Unternehmen Frühlingserwachen (Operation Spring Awakening) to capture oil fields in the vicinity of Lake Balaton was launched on 6 March 1945. 
}} 
</ref>{{citation needed|date=March 2021|reason=We do have a source: Duffy, Christopher. ''Red Storm on the Reich: The Soviet March on Germany, 1945''. Edison, NJ: Castle Books. ISBN 0-7858-1624-0, https://books.google.com/books?id=qYa3AwAAQBAJ. However, we can't access it so we can't use it here.}} This failed (15 March 1945) and the town soon fell to the Soviet and Bulgarian [[Nagykanizsa–Körmend Offensive]] of March to April 1945.

Beer brewed in Kanizsa Brewery regained its reputation as one of the best Hungarian beers, carrying off the palm at more and more international competitions – at the beginning of the century{{which|date=January 2023}} the brewery was closed as demand for beer fell drastically. Kanizsa Trend Ltd. grew out of the company, with its furniture products gaining a high reputation all over Europe. The predecessor of the present-day Tungsram Plc, now belonging to [[General Electric]], started operations in 1965. It is now one of the biggest light-bulb factories in the world.

Károlyi Park, City Park, and large squares like Kossuth, Eötvös, and Erzsébet squares were extended after 1962. A boating lake was formed, becoming a popular recreation centre. In the 2010s Nagykanizsa attracts thousands of [[Dental tourism|dental tourists]].

== Climate ==
Nagykanizsa's climate is classified as [[oceanic climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]] ''Cfb''). The annual average temperature is {{Convert|10.5|C}}, the hottest month in July is {{Convert|20.9|C}}, and the coldest month is {{Convert|0.0|C}} in January. The annual precipitation is {{Convert|733.1|mm}}, of which September is the wettest with {{Convert|83.9|mm}}, while January is the driest with only {{Convert|31.6|mm}}. The extreme temperature throughout the year ranged from {{Convert|-22.9|C}} on December 31, 1996, to {{Convert|38.4|C}} on July 20, 2007.
{{Weather box
|location = Nagykanizsa, 1991−2020 normals
|width = auto
|metric first = yes
|single line = yes
|Jan record high C = 17.4
|Feb record high C = 21.4
|Mar record high C = 23.6
|Apr record high C = 29.8
|May record high C = 32.9
|Jun record high C = 35.2
|Jul record high C = 38.4
|Aug record high C = 38.3
|Sep record high C = 32.3
|Oct record high C = 26.9
|Nov record high C = 23.6
|Dec record high C = 17.9
|year record high C = 38.4
|Jan high C = 3.9
|Feb high C = 6.7
|Mar high C = 11.7
|Apr high C = 17.4
|May high C = 21.8
|Jun high C = 25.7
|Jul high C = 27.3
|Aug high C = 27.3
|Sep high C = 21.7
|Oct high C = 16.4
|Nov high C = 9.8
|Dec high C = 4.4
|year high C = 16.2
|Jan mean C = 0.0
|Feb mean C = 1.7
|Mar mean C = 6.0
|Apr mean C = 11.0
|May mean C = 15.4
|Jun mean C = 19.2
|Jul mean C = 20.9
|Aug mean C = 20.3
|Sep mean C = 15.2
|Oct mean C = 10.3
|Nov mean C = 5.5
|Dec mean C = 0.8
|year mean C = 10.5
|Jan low C = -3.3
|Feb low C = -2.6
|Mar low C = 0.7
|Apr low C = 4.7
|May low C = 8.9
|Jun low C = 12.6
|Jul low C = 14.1
|Aug low C = 13.5
|Sep low C = 9.6
|Oct low C = 5.1
|Nov low C = 1.7
|Dec low C = -2.4
|year low C = 5.2
|Jan record low C = -18.7
|Feb record low C = -21.9
|Mar record low C = -19.2
|Apr record low C = -7.5
|May record low C = -1.9
|Jun record low C = 2.0
|Jul record low C = 4.3
|Aug record low C = 3.9
|Sep record low C = -0.3
|Oct record low C = -9.2
|Nov record low C = -11.5
|Dec record low C = -22.9
|year record low C = -22.9
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 31.6
|Feb precipitation mm = 42.7
|Mar precipitation mm = 38.7
|Apr precipitation mm = 47.2
|May precipitation mm = 68.9
|Jun precipitation mm = 79.7
|Jul precipitation mm = 81.4
|Aug precipitation mm = 74.3
|Sep precipitation mm = 83.9
|Oct precipitation mm = 69.3
|Nov precipitation mm = 62.9
|Dec precipitation mm = 53.4
|year precipitation mm = 733.1
|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm
|Jan precipitation days = 5.6
|Feb precipitation days = 6.0
|Mar precipitation days = 5.9
|Apr precipitation days = 6.9
|May precipitation days = 8.7
|Jun precipitation days = 9.0
|Jul precipitation days = 8.0
|Aug precipitation days = 6.9
|Sep precipitation days = 7.7
|Oct precipitation days = 6.7
|Nov precipitation days = 8.1
|Dec precipitation days = 7.1
|year precipitation days = 86.6
|Jan humidity = 84.0
|Feb humidity = 76.1
|Mar humidity = 70.9
|Apr humidity = 67.7
|May humidity = 71.3
|Jun humidity = 72.4
|Jul humidity = 72.6
|Aug humidity = 74.7
|Sep humidity = 80.7
|Oct humidity = 84.6
|Nov humidity = 86.1
|Dec humidity = 85.9
|year humidity = 77.3
|source 1 = NOAA<ref name=NOAA9120r>{{cite web
|url = https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/1.1/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Hungary/CSV/Nagykanizsa_12925.csv
|title = Nagykanizsa Climate Normals 1991-2020
|publisher = [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]]
|access-date = September 17, 2023
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230917003453/https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/1.1/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Hungary/CSV/Nagykanizsa_12925.csv
|archive-date = 2023-09-17}}</ref>
}}

==Education==
===High schools===
Batthyány Lajos High School <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.blg.hu/|title=Kezdőlap - Batthyány Lajos Gimnázium|website=www.blg.hu}}</ref>

Dr. Mező Ferenc High School <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mfg.hu/|title=Kezdőlap - Dr. Mező Ferenc  Gimnázium|website=www.mfg.hu}}</ref>

== Politics ==
The current mayor of Nagykanizsa is [[László Balogh (politician)|László Balogh]] (''Fidesz-KDNP'').

The local Municipal Assembly, elected at the [[2019 Hungarian local elections|2019 local government elections]], is made up of 15 members (1 Mayor, 10 individual ward members and 4 compensation-list members) divided into these political parties and alliances:<ref>{{cite web|title=Városi közgyűlés tagjai 2019-2024 - Nagykanizsa (Zala megye)|url=https://www.valasztas.hu/telepules-adatlap_onk2019?_onknavigacio_WAR_nvinvrportlet_formDate=32503680000000&p_p_id=onknavigacio_WAR_nvinvrportlet&p_p_lifecycle=1&p_p_state=normal&p_p_mode=view&p_p_col_id=column-2&p_p_col_pos=1&p_p_col_count=5&_onknavigacio_WAR_nvinvrportlet_prpVlId=294&_onknavigacio_WAR_nvinvrportlet_prpVltId=687&_onknavigacio_WAR_nvinvrportlet_prpMegyeKod=20&_onknavigacio_WAR_nvinvrportlet_prpTelepulesKod=134&_onknavigacio_WAR_nvinvrportlet_settlement=nagykanizsa|agency=valasztas.hu|access-date=2019-11-24}}</ref>

{|class="wikitable"
! style="background:#ccc" colspan="2" |Party
! style="background:#ccc" |Seats
! style="background:#ccc" colspan="8" |Current Municipal Assembly
|-
|style="background-color: #2D68C4  |&nbsp;
|Opposition coalition{{efn|name=opposition|Coalition of ÉVE-[[Democratic Coalition (Hungary)|DK]]-[[Jobbik]]-[[Hungarian Socialist Party|MSZP]]-[[Politics Can Be Different|LMP]]-[[Momentum Movement|Momentum]].}}
|style="text-align: right" |'''8'''
|style="background-color: #2D68C4 |&nbsp;
|style="background-color: #2D68C4 |&nbsp;
|style="background-color: #2D68C4 |&nbsp;
|style="background-color: #2D68C4 |&nbsp;
|style="background-color: #2D68C4 |&nbsp;
|style="background-color: #2D68C4 |&nbsp;
|style="background-color: #2D68C4 |&nbsp;
|style="background-color: #2D68C4 |&nbsp;
|-
|style="background-color: {{party color|Fidesz}}  |&nbsp;
|[[Fidesz]]-[[Christian Democratic People's Party (Hungary)|KDNP]]
|style="text-align: right" |'''7'''
|style="background-color: {{party color|Fidesz}} |<span style="color:white;">'''M'''</span>
|style="background-color: {{party color|Fidesz}} |&nbsp;
|style="background-color: {{party color|Fidesz}} |&nbsp;
|style="background-color: {{party color|Fidesz}} |&nbsp;
|style="background-color: {{party color|Fidesz}} |&nbsp;
|style="background-color: {{party color|Fidesz}} |&nbsp;
|style="background-color: {{party color|Fidesz}} |&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|}

==Sport==
*[[Nagykanizsa FC]], association football club

==Notable people==
*[[Kanijeli Siyavuş Paşa]], [[Grand Vizier]] of the Ottoman Empire
*[[Edmund Gutmann]], known Hungarian-Croatian wholesaler and industrialist
*[[Elizabeth Jaranyi]], Holocaust survivor and author
*[[Leopold Wittelshöfer]] (1818–1889), physician
*[[Ferenc Fejtő]], journalist and political scientist
*[[Kornél Dávid]], [[NBA]] player
*[[Lajos Balázsovits]], Hungarian film actor
*[[Győző Zemplén]], physicist
*[[Ferenc Farkas]], composer
*[[Szabina Tálosi]], football player
*[[Ferenc Mező]], olympic gold medalist
*[[János Rózsás]], writer, [[Gulag]] survivor and later expert
*[[Johann Schnitzler]], Austrian Jewish [[laryngologist]]
*[[Gyula Wlassics]], Hungarian Minister of Religion and Education between 1895 and 1903

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Nagykanizsa3.jpg|Lake Csónakázó (boating)
Image:Felsővárosi római katolikus templom, légi, Nagykanizsa1.jpg|Deák Square
Image:Nagykanizsa Vasember ház.jpg|The Iron Man, the sign of the former ironmonger's shop on the wall of the House of the Iron Man
Image:17 hosszusagikor.jpg|The 17th eastern longitude monument erected by the Town Supporting Association
Image:Nagykanizsa Inkey kápolna.jpg|The baroque Inkey chapel
Image:Spomenik u Nagykanizsi.jpg|Monument to the [[Greater Hungary (political concept)|Greater Hungary]] 
</gallery>

==Twin towns – sister cities==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Hungary}}
Nagykanizsa is [[Sister city|twinned]] with:<ref>{{cite web |title=Testvérvárosok|url=https://www.nagykanizsa.hu/varos/testvervarosok|website=nagykanizsa.hu|publisher=Nagykanizsa|language=hu|access-date=2021-03-24}}</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
*{{flagicon|ISR}} [[Acre, Israel|Acre]], Israel
*{{flagicon|BIH}} [[Bihać]], Bosnia and Herzegovina
*{{flagicon|CRO}} [[Čakovec]], Croatia
*{{flagicon|ROU}} [[Covasna]], Romania
*{{flagicon|AUT}} [[Gleisdorf]], Austria
*{{flagicon|SRB}} [[Kanjiža]], Serbia
*{{flagicon|BUL}} [[Kazanlak]], Bulgaria
<!--Ptuj - not twinning-->
*{{flagicon|GER}} [[Puchheim]], Germany
*{{flagicon|FIN}} [[Salo, Finland|Salo]], Finland
*{{flagicon|CHN}} [[Shijiazhuang]], China
*{{flagicon|RUS}} [[Tolyatti]], Russia
{{div col end}}

==Bibliography==
* Claire Norton, "The Remembrance of the Sieges of Kanije in the Construction of Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish Nationalist Identities," ''Parergon'', 21,1 (2004), 133–154.

== References ==
{{reflist}}

;Notes
{{notelist}}

== External links ==
{{commons category}}
{{Wikivoyage|Nagykanizsa}}
* {{Official website|http://www.nagykanizsa.hu}} in Hungarian
* {{Cite Collier's|wstitle=Kanizsa|short=x}}

{{Nagykanizsa District}}
{{Zala}}
{{Principal cities of Hungary}}
{{Cities with county rights (Hungary)}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Nagykanizsa|Nagykanizsa]]
[[Category:Populated places in Zala County]]
[[Category:Historic Jewish communities]]
[[Category:Cities with county rights of Hungary]]