Zalaegerszeg
developed in the south-western part of Hungary, on the edge of the hilly
Zala County, on ridges rising above the former marshy valley of the River
Zala at an average height of 156 m above sea level. Owing to the terrain
configurations, it had been a small L-shaped town until the middle of the
20th century. Its highest point was in the vicinity of the parish-church.
One main street was running towards south, the other towards west, and one
side of the triangular main square was separated from the marshy fields by
the church-yard. During the 2nd half of the 19th century new streets were
constructed with bundle-wood placed in the mud every year so that
pedestrians and carriages were able to move.
The low-lying parts were
embanked and the brook running through the town was controlled with its
bed covered up. The southern and western districts of the expanding city
reach the gentle slopes of North-Göcsej's hilly landscape. Even the
residential areas show more variety and are more suitable for people
living here reaching the hillside full of vineyards surrounding the city.
The name of the city comes
partly from the River Zala, which is quite a small river with a length of
138 km and with an average flow rate of 6 m3/min. Although the
river formed the boundary of the city for centuries, now it is running
through the inner ity as a result of annexations and constructions.
The second part in the name
of city originates from the alder which could be found everywhere on the
marshy fields surrounding the place. 'Szeg' means corner or recess
obviously referring to the former geographical situation of the city.
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Special thanks to Laszlo
Zentai for this map. |
The county capital had
63130 inhabitants in 1995. The majority of the older generation was not
born here, since there were some 13500 people living here half a century
ago. On today's territory of the city there were only 20000 people living.
The number of inhabitants increased between the 50-s and 70-s, due to
immigration.
Most people speak Hungarian
as their native language. Only the gipsys, most of them living in the
suburbs of Csácsbozsok and Pózva mainly in financially sound
circumstances, have an own minority administration.
The majority of people work
in services or industrial plants. The number of people making a living in
farming is negligible, whereas the number of civil service workers is
high, due to the county capital status.
The place of the
competition will be the Zrínyi Miklós secondary
school, in the center of
the town. (Address: Zalaegerszeg, Rákóczi street 30., Tel.:
+36-92-312079)
The competition itself will
be in the secondary school, the accomodation will be in the college
buildings situated 400 m from the school.
Please
find below the most important venues of CEOI:


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