Pilis

Pilis
The Beleznay-Nyári Palace from the air
Pilis Location of Pilis
Coordinates: 47°17′04″N 19°32′36″E / 47.28438°N 19.54347°E / 47.28438; 19.54347Coordinates: 47°17′04″N 19°32′36″E / 47.28438°N 19.54347°E / 47.28438; 19.54347
Country	Hungary
County	Pest
Area
• Total	47.33 km2 (18.27 sq mi)
Population (2004)
• Total	11,432
• Density	230.4/km2 (597/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	2721
Area code(s)	29

Pilis is a town in Pest County, Hungary.

The town was inhabited in prehistoric times, but it was abandoned at the end of the Roman rule. Pilis 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".

Even though the town's ethnic composition has changed in the last centuries, there is still a sizable Slovak minority which has its own local government that is responsible for keeping the Slovak traditions and memories of Pilis.

There are various explanations for the name of the village. On the basis of a few written documents, it is believed that Pylis was the name of a Hungarian family arriving in the region during the Magyar Conquest. The name „Pilis”, however, may also allude to the typical hairstyle of monks or to the arid land without vegetation, in which latter case the word would be of Slavic origin.