Kispest

For the football team originally formed as Kispest AC, see Budapest Honvéd FC.

Kispest (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈkiʃpɛʃt], lit. Little Pest) is the 19th (XIX) district of Budapest, Hungary. It lies south-southeast of the historical Pest city. It was founded in 1871 on rural land as a village at the borderline of Pest, so it was named Kispest.^[3]

19th District of Budapest Budapest XIX. kerülete Kispest
District of Budapest
District XIX
Flag Coat of arms
Location of District XIX in Budapest (shown in grey)
Coordinates: 47°27′N 19°08′E
Country	Hungary
Region	Central Hungary
City	Budapest
Established	1 January 1950
Quarters[1]	List Kispest Wekerletelep
Government
• Mayor	Péter Gajda (MSZP)
Area [2]
• Total	9.38 km2 (3.62 sq mi)
• Rank	18th
Population  (2016)[2]
• Total	60,731
• Rank	15th
• Density	6,480/km2 (16,800/sq mi)
Demonym	tizenkilencedik kerületi ("19th districter")
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	1191 ... 1196
Website	uj.kispest.hu

History

From 1880 to 1990 Kispest's population increased from 1820 to 72,838.^[4] Kispest became part of Greater Budapest in 1950. When the Soviet troops re-entered Budapest to subdue the civil uprising in October/November 1956, they approached the city centre from the south-east, up the Üllői Street, with some of the first street clashes taking place in Kispest.

The huge panel housing estate (Kispest microdistrict) was built between the 1960s and the 1980s (12,100 flats, c. 33,000 inhabitants, making it the sixth-biggest housing estate/microraion in Budapest).^[5]

Wekerletelep

Wekerletelep is Kispest's suburb with detached houses and green areas. It was named after the Hungarian premier at the time of the development in the 1900s, Sándor Wekerle. Its central square, Kós Károly Tér, has two characteristic architectural gateways designed by the architect Károly Kós and based on Transylvanian building style. In May every year a festival called Wekerle Days (Hu: Wekerle Napok) takes place. This involves fun run, sports events, concerts and various other cultural and family oriented programs for all age groups.

Public transport

The district is served by the Metro 3 (Kőbánya-Kispest and Határ út stations), so there is direct connection with the city center. Határ út underground station is the third-busiest in the city (after Deák Square and Örs vezér tere) with an estimated 40,000 passengers using it (often twice) on a typical workday.

Sport

Ferenc Puskás played football for Kispest F.C. (then called Kispest Honvéd FC) in the 1950s.

• Budapest Honvéd FC, football team
• Kispesti Textil SE, defunct football team

Kispest NKK, women's handball team, NB1/B second league

List of mayors

Member		Party	Date
	Levente Lévay	SZDSZ	1990–1994
	Gábor Zupkó	Fidesz	1994–1998
	Béla Timár	Fidesz	1998–2002
	Katalin Steinerné Török	MSZP	2002–2006
	Péter Gajda	MSZP	2006–

Party		Seats	Current District Assembly[6]
	Opposition coalition[a]	12	M
	Fidesz-KDNP	4
	MKKP	1

Twin towns – sister cities

Kispest is twinned with:^[7]

• Krzeszowice, Poland
• Pendik, Turkey
• Smolyan, Bulgaria
• Sombor, Serbia
• Tășnad, Romania
• Vrbovec, Croatia

Gallery

• 
  The church of Saint Mary of the Assumption in Kispest
• 
  Kispest housing estate
• 
  A panel block next to Kőbánya-Kispest metro station

Notes

1. Coalition of Momentum–DK–MSZP–Dialogue–LMP.