Pilis

Pilis (Piliš) is a town in Pest County, Central Hungary Region, Hungary.

History
It was inhabited in prehistoric times, but it was abandoned at the end of the Roman rule. The town was then first mentioned in 1326. It was destroyed during the Ottoman rule in the 16th century, and was reestablished only in 1711, by János Beleznay, the local landlord. He brought Slovak settlers from Upper Hungary, and built a palace in 1717 for himself and his family. The Beleznay family sold the town and its surroundings in the 19th century to the Nyári family, who renamed the palace to "Beleznay-Nyári palace".

However the ethnic composition of the town changed during the centuries, there is still a sizable Slovak minority which has its own local government, which is responsible of keeping the Slovak traditions and memories of Pilis.

Notable residents

 * Pál Csernai (1932 - 2013), football player and manager
 * Tibor Csernai (1938 - 2012), football player and brother of Pál