Gödöllő (; ; ) is ödöllőa town in Pest County, Budapest metropolitan area, Hungary, about northeast from the outskirts of Budapest. Its population is 34,396 according to the 2010 census and is growing rapidly. It can be easily reached from Budapest with the suburban railway (HÉV), and national railway (MÁV-START).
Gödöllő is home to the Szent István University, the main education institute of agriculture in Hungary. The palace at Gödöllő was originally built for the aristocratic Grassalkovich family; Franz Josef, Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary and his wife Elisabeth ("Sisi") later had their summer residence here.
Communism saw much of the town's original one-storey housing levelled to make way for the blocks of flats which continue to dominate the town centre, as well as much of the Royal Forest and Elisabeth's Park levelled for industrial use.
History
Stone Age
As far back as the Stone Age, this area was populated.
Ancient times
The earliest evidence of occupation is from the Roman period. The Devil's Dykes (Hungarian: Ördögárok) is situated south from Gödöllő. It is also known as the Csörsz árka ("Csörsz Ditch") or the Limes Sarmatiae (Latin for "Sarmatian border"), are several lines of Roman fortifications built mostly during the reign of Constantine I (312–337).
Middle Ages
The earliest available written data on the property rights in Gödöllő date from the early 14th century, at which time the town was separated from the larger community of Besnyő. The settlement was then owned by families of the lesser nobility. By the middle of the 15th century, Gödöllő developed into a village.
Turkish rule
After the disastrous defeat at Mohács in 1526, the invading Turkish troops occupied Buda and then Gödöllő, too. As a result of this, the population decreased to merely a few families. No data on property rights during the 160-year-long Turkish rule remain.
By the mid-17th century, Gödöllő again became a village. Its proprietor, Ferenc Hamvay, was the first owner who resided in the locality, in his country house in the village centre. At that time, the village consisted of a few houses with walls of wattle and daub and thatched roofs in addition to the mansion and the reform church.
Habsburg rule
A decisive turn in the life of Gödöllő was brought about by Antal Grassalkovich I (1694–1771), one of the most notable noblemen of 18th-century Hungary. Grassalkovich, born of an impoverished family of the minor nobility, began his career as a lawyer in 1715. A year later he was already working with the "Hofkammer" (the Royal Chamber, a body of the Habsburg financial administration in the 16–18th centuries). In 1727, he became president of the Commission of New Acquisitions (Neoaquistica Commissio), dealing with the revision and arrangement of the chaotic ownership rights after the Turkish rule. It was in this capacity that he first came across the estate of Gödöllő, whose then proprietress, Krisztina Bossányi, could verify her ownership rights.
Increasing in political power and wealth, Grassalkovich planned the development of a large estate, having its centre in Gödöllő. This became possible after the death of Krisztina Bossányi in 1737, when Grassalkovich successively purchased the properties from her heirs. He began to build his palatial residence as early as 1741, which, as the greatest Baroque manor house in Hungary, is even today the principal landmark of Gödöllő.
Grassalkovich, who curried favour with King Charles III and Queen Maria Theresa, also managed very successfully the properties of the treasury. For his economic and political abilities, he received first the title of baron and later on became a count.
He took meticulous care in making his properties profitable and in keeping them in good order. On his estates, he built 33 churches, including the church in the holy place of Máriabesnyő, and the chapel of the mansion house in Gödöllő. In the centre of Gödöllő, he had rows of houses built and settled German artisans and craftsmen there, thereby increasing the number of Roman Catholics alongside the Reformed population. He added a storey to Hamvay House and made it operate as a retreat. In public places, Baroque works of art were also made on his initiative (such as the Calvary, the Column of the Holy Virgin, and the statue of St. John of Nepomuk). Owing to his village-planning activities, Gödöllő became a country town in 1763, with the right of holding markets.