Bezenye

phone district code:

population:

1492 person

area:

3004 km²

Bezenye is a village in Győr-Moson-Sopron county, Hungary. It is also known by its Croatian name "Bizonja". It is situated 6km from the Slovak border and just 9km from the Slovak capital Bratislava.

The population of 1600 consists largely of a Croatian-speaking community, with some ethnic Hungarians, Slovaks and Germans. Consequently the inhabitants communicate in a mixture of languages, none of which are used in their standard forms.

Archaeological investigations reveal that the earliest inhabitants of the area were Germanic tribes. Many artifacts can be seen in the Hanság Museum in the town of Mosonmagyaróvár which is 25km away, near Győr.

Later on Magyar people settled in Bezenye until it was sacked by Turkish troops. Gradually the village was repopulated, this time largely by Croatian communities from Dalmatia, as well as by Germans. The Germans called it "Palersdorf", the Croatians called it "Bizonja". The origin of the name Bezenye comes from a Slav word meaning "elder" tree ("baza").

The Germans occupied themselves with the production of saltpeter.

After World War II many of the poorer Germans were displaced to Germany. Several Hungarian families came to live in Bezenye, some of whom had been displaced from Slovakia.

The village has a small museum which chronicles the history of the village. The Roman Catholic church of the Blessed Virgin Mary holds services in Croatian and Hungarian. The village has a Croatian self-administration.