THE HISTORY OF THE VILLAGE OF VASAD

Population: 1637  Area: 114 ha Outskirts: 3227 ha

        The village of Vasad can be approached from the direction of Budapest on the highway 4 at the Monor junction (4 km) or from the direction of Csévharaszt (4 km). The plain land is covered by shifting sands, and is spotted by sand mounds that the locals generally call “hills” (Gados-hill, Temple-hill, Rose-hill, and Pipis-hill). The shifting sand, which is the deposit of the ancient River Danube, serves as soil for the pines, poplars, and acacia trees in the outskirts of the village. Plenty of farms hide among the trees. Today, most of the farms are owned by people who escaped from the noise of the capital. The number of the inhabitants living in the outskirts is especially high: one in every five live around Vasad.

        The name of the settlement that was formed out of farms in the past century derives from the Hungarian first name Vasad that originates in the word “vas” which means “iron”. The name was first mentioned in charters as Wasad in 1361. Before the Turkish occupation, the land that was referred to as “puszta” in 1440 first belonged to the Halomy family, than Queen Elizabeth (the widow of Albert Habsburg) granted it to the Botos family of the village of Tahi, one of the biggest families in Pilis county. When the Botos family died out, the king gave the area to Budai György in 1444.
Under the Turkish occupation, the Muslims could easily settle down on the vast pastures. The remnants of an Ottoman cemetery were found at the edge of the village, and rumours say that there used to be a Turkish place of prayer in the village as well. When they left, the area became deserted.
The first written document referring to the area as the land of the Ráday family was from 1690, after the occupation.
At the end of the 17th century a part of the area became the property of Darvas János, than via a marriage of the Szilassy family.

        The real history of the village began in 1756, when settlers from Marcellháza of Komárom county (which can today be found in Slovakia) arrived at the farms of the Ráday and the Fáy families. These settlers were persecuted because of their belief in the Reformed Church. It is said that while they were looking for a new home, they spent one night in a neighbouring village. When they fell asleep, their horses returned to Vasad. The following day they found the horses grazing on the pastures of Vasad. They considered it a good omen and thus chose Vasad to be their new dwelling place. It is also said that some of them decided to go on to the south in hope of finding richer pastures. They went as far as Transylvania, but returned back with their and other families years later.
The predecessors of the people of the village today are the Balogh, the Édes, the Keszeg, the Marton, the Mészáros, and the Szabó families, who arrived from the village of Marcellháza, the Piróth family of the village of Áporka, and the Nánai family of the village of Lábatlan.
The Ráday and the Fáy families, who were neighbours, settled down here in the 19th century, and welcomed settlers who belonged to the Reformed church. In 1837, there were references to the village as Upper- and Lower-Vasad puszta, with 360 inhabitants. After 1848, the village of Vasad became the property of Count Ráday, Count Wartensleben, then the Darvas, the Fáy and the Lipthay families.
The farmers that leased the lands bought up the building sites, the gardens and the farms between 1855 and 1877. Ownership relationships in the village significantly changed:  …On December 17, 1855, Lipthay Sándor of Kisfalud (the guardian of Lipthay Alexandrina, who was under age at that time) made an agreement with the inhabitants of the village of Vasad to sell them the building sites and the gardens, which agreement Lipthay Alexandrina later also approved and thus sold the building sites, the gardens, the freely gifted streets and alleys, as well as the stack-yards, gardens, and fields in perpetuity to the inhabitants of the village of Vasad. The mistress gifted the village an area of 1175 and ½ square-fathoms on which the church, the school, and the principal’s house as well as the cemetery could be found…

“Since the above-mentioned agreement with the late Lipthay Sándor has not yet been approved by the court of guardians, Lipthay Alexandrina mistress, who has become of age and has enforced the said agreement, intends to fulfil her promises. The above-described two areas being the subject of the said agreement are therefore given to the buyers under the following conditions: the buyers shall bear the liabilities, taxes, and public burdens imposed on the said properties as of January 01, 1875.”

In the first part of the 20th century, the village was in the ownership of the Halmos, the Wild, and the Möller families. The first Hungarian female doctor, Hugonnay Vilma, who received her degree in Switzerland, lived here for a couple of years. The village has been of pure Hungarian nationality since the end of the last century.

The Presbyterian elementary school was established in 1758, and moved to a separate building in 1892. The Presbyterian church was built in 1904, and was refurbished with the financial support and the physical work of the state, foreign churches, and the local believers. The village is predominantly Presbyterian, and the Catholics and Evangelists practice their religion in the village of Monor.

The inhabitants traditionally grow plants and deal with horticulture, however, today most of them commute to Budapest (almost half of the population), and working on the fields and helping the old that still work in agriculture is only their second job. The average farm is four hectares in the village, but there are some farmers who have greater lands (5-80 hectares). The potato, beet, melon, and cabbage produced in Vasad are still easily sold on the markets of Budapest. Accordingly, the village has always been considered rich and the relatively high living standard remained even after the political changes.
There are three supermarkets in the village. The general practitioner, the Child Protection Consultancy, the pharmacy, the post office, the savings bank, the library, the kindergarten and one of the two elementary schools can be found in the centre of the village. The other school, which is operated by the county and which houses a youth hostel as well, is located in the outskirts. The local policeman and civil guards provide for the safety of the village.
Ninety percent of the roads are covered by concrete. The whole village is provided with gas, water, sewage system, and telephone. The Danube-Tisza Waste Management ISPA Project started to realise the waste management program of the village by means of subsidies from the European Union, and resources from the state, the local-government, and the locals. The project will have been finished by 2006.
The number of companies is growing due to the good infrastructure and tax incentives. The Komplett Kft., which employs 100 people and operates on the premises of the former Kossuth Agricultural Cooperatives, produces and exports upholstered elements for office chairs to Germany. The Screw Warehouse and Store of the Plexus Bt. has been operating in the settlement for 10 years, and trades with over 15 million stocks of screws nationwide. The Monor-based Mikla-Ker Kft. also moved its vegetable and fruit premises and warehouse to Vasad. The first animal shelter of Hungary was opened in the outskirts of the village, offering temporary home for several hundred dogs. Several family farms, food processing enterprises and field and forestry enterprises operate in the village. The proximity of the capital is a decisive factor in the life of the village.
The major sights of the village are as follows: the First and the Second World War Memorial that can be found next to the Presbyterian church, and that the locals renewed in 1988; the historical buildings of Vasad, the Szemlő castle, which houses the student hostel of Pest county and the elementary school; and the Möller Mansion. However, visitors are likely to be amazed by the extraordinary atmosphere and charm of the farms hiding among the trees.

Vasad, December 10, 2004.