1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Miskolcz

MISKOLCZ, capital of the county of Borsod, Hungary, 113 m. N.E. of Budapest by rail. Pop. (1900), 40,833. It is situated in a valley watered by the Szinva in the east of the Bükk mountains, and opens towards the south to the plain of the Sajó, an affluent of the Hernád. Miskolcz is a thriving town, and among its buildings are a Roman Catholic church of the 13th century in Late Gothic style, a Minorite convent, and Greek Catholic, Lutheran and Calvinist churches. It manufactures snuff, porcelain, boots and shoes, and prepared leather, and has both steam and water mills. It trades in grain, flour, wine, fruit, cattle, hides, honey, wax and agricultural products, while four well attended fairs are held annually. About 5 m. west of the town in the Szinva valley is Diósgyör (pop. 11,520), which possesses important iron-works, and the ruined castle of Diósgyör, formerly a shooting residence of the kings of Hungary. About 4 m. to the south-west of Miskolcz are the baths of Tapolcza, containing warm springs. To the south-west of the town lies Onod (pop. 2087), to the south of which, on the banks of the Sajó, is the heath of Mohi or Muhi, famous as the scene of the great defeat of the Hungarians by the Mongols in 1241. About 85,000 Hungarians fell, and the whole country was devastated for the next two years by the Mongolian hordes. During the 16th and 17th centuries Miskolcz suffered much from the Ottomans, and from the troops of George Rákóczy and Emeric Tökölyi. In 1781, 1843, and 1847 it was devastated by fire, and on the 30th of August 1878 a great portion of the town was ruined by a terrific storm.