Füzesabony

Man discovered the potentials of this land as early as in prehistoric times. The marshlands with their hills, stretching between Laskó and Eger creeks meandering through the land, were ideal for the ancient man to settle. Among Neolithic finds, broken pieces of pottery depicting human faces brought to light in recent years during the construction of motorway M3, are the most significant. The complex of a prehistoric monument, a place of worship built in the Copper Age, excavated in the north-western part of the town, shows resemblance to the stone circle of Stonehenge in the South of Britain. The most famous finds are objects of the earthenware pottery collection dating from the mid-Bronze Age, after which the prehistoric civilisation got its name: the mid-Bronze Age civilisation in Füzesabony. Finds dating from the Iron Age and the era of the great migrations, remains of the Pre-Scythian, Celtic and Sarmatian civilisations, the latter including a rich collection of jewellery and objects buried with the dead, have also been found here. A testimony to migration in the 3rd and 4th centuries is Csörszárok, a trench built by the Romans as a shelter from the conquering Germanic tribes. From the age of the Árpád dynasty, a cemetery with 40 tombs containing silver coins and jewellery made during the reign of king Andrew I has been found.

In the 11th century, the land supposedly belonged to the Aba clan of the Khabar tribe, but according to etymology of proper names, native Slavic people may also have lived here in large numbers after the Hungarian conquest. The Petcheneg people, who at that time spoke their own language that differed from that of the natives, arrived in the area of and around present-day Füzesabony in the 11th-13th centuries.

Füzesabony is first mentioned in writing as Obon in 1261. In the same document, dating from the reign of king Béla IV, the name of Pusztaszikszó, today part of Füzesabony, also comes up in the form Dezmaszikszou. In the Middle ages, a number of settlements flourished and vanished in the area of present-day Füzesabony, all of them part of the Eger diocese with short or long lapses of time.
According to documents, Abony became abandoned in 1552 (Turkish invasion) and in 1686 (plundering Austrian troops), but soon, in the wake of the bishop's repopulation decrees and letters of liberation, the settlement was brought back to life, although development was slow until queen Maria Theresa issued an order to regulate socage in the mid-18th century. In administrative terms, the settlement was classified as a large village in 1773. The first census in Hungary held in 1785 revealed that the population is already 1554, out of which 44 belong to the lower nobility. These years witnessed the evolution of the rural architectural tradition whose buildings, unfortunately, disappeared by the turn of the millennia. Buildings erected in Abony and Szikszó under the auspices of the bishopric in the first half of the 19th century represented the European architectural niveau of the age.

In the years following the Compromise between Hungary and Austria in 1867, two important trends left their mark on village life in Füzesabony: large estates fragmented and plots were increasing in number, also, diversification of the population began. People who could not get by on the income from a small plot of land were compelled to find work elsewhere: more and more of them were employed in local industry and services, established to serve agriculture. In the last third of the 19th century, country-wide modernisation boosted the development of the village: railway construction and in its wake, integration into the nation's blood circulation was the soil on which bourgeoisie could develop. The internal, homogeneous village development of previous centuries was over: external factors became more and more influential. By the turn of the centuries, population became mixed and diverse, bringing about a shift in old rural traditions (architecture, customs, way of life, costumes e.t.c.).

World War I and economic recession following it plunged an enormous number of people into poverty and was a catalyst of emigration, on the other hand, culture flourished thanks to local intellectuals. A publication from 1935 lists 16 local clubs with considerable membership. The best known of these was Iparoskör (Craftsmen's Circle) and its performing group, which made itself known not only in the nearby villages but also in the capital city.
World War II devastated the village: built objects of industry, traffic and telecommunication as well as culture (bridges, rails, a 9-storey granary, telephone and telegraphic networks, a museum, a church and the library e.t.c.) were destroyed.

In 1950, when the system of councils evolved, Füzesabony became the centre of a district including 17 villages. It was this status that determined the line of future development. District offices and authorities came into being. The shaping of the network of institutes was a process. Following the landmark dates 1970 and 1st January 1984 in administrative development, Füzesabony was classified as a town, fifth in the county, on 1st March, 1989.