Szerencs

Szerencs is a town in Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen County, in northern Hungary, about 35 kilometers from Miskolc and 205 kilometers from Budapest. Known as the Gate of Hegyalja, it had a population of 10,184 at the 2001 census, with more recent estimates around 9,100. In 1605 the Hungarian parliament convened at Szerencs on the estate of Istvan Bocskai, who was elected governor of Transylvania there, and in 1606 he granted the town royal privileges. In the nineteenth century Szerencs became an industrial center, home to what was then the largest sugar factory and refinery in Europe, built in 1889. Today it serves as the cultural and economic center of Southern Hegyalja, with Rakoczi Castle and the Zemplen Museum among its notable sites.