National and historical symbols of Hungary

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Gara

(Bács-Kiskun County)

The community of Gara is located in the south-western side of the county Bács-Kiskun, along the Serbian-Montenegro borther.

The shield: In the blue surface of the standing renaissance shield, drifts an uprooted tree with a golden trunk and green foliage. On the right side of the tree, seven green leafs are falling down, while six leafs are falling down on the left side. On the upper edge of the shield is a silver helmet with black lining and a strap, turning to the right side. Up on the helmet is an open, ruby decorated crown, with five branches.

Shreds: Blue and gold from the right side, green and silver from the left.

The main symbol of the shield of Gara is the uprooted tree. Although is loses its leaves, it is still green and flowering. This ancient tree is a symbol in the Holy Bible, but it can be dated back to the earlier times (we can find this symbol from an unknown artisan in the cript of Pécs, on the Samson relief from the 11th century, the so called „wood-devastater” which become part of the hungarian tale history) and it showes the pressuress displacements, which took place in the village of Gara.

People settled in this region in the early neolith times. Later the people of szarmata lived here, and we can find signs (excavation in Cernahát), that the first settlers of Hungary also lived in this region. The region filled up with people after the Tartarian invasion. Andrew the III. gave the land to valiants (serfs who became valiants after the Tartarian invasion). Families, like Garai (from the county Valkó), Blinai from Zagreb, Maróti from Gutkeledek, the dukes from Szekcső from the Héder ethnic, and Várdai from Kisvárda obtained land in the region.

In the Middle Ages there were many communities in the area of Gara (Bark, Bezen, Kayand, Naualyad, Timok), but they all got vanished.

In the turkish times the village depopulated, but later the „rác” nationality settled here and moved away then, to Esztergom. Brutal fights continued for this small deserted region between the croatian border fortresses (Mihajlkovics, Aszalay, Komjáthy, Bory, Dvornikovics, Szalatnai). It became property of Urbanecz Mihály, but in 1727 the land were given to Czobor Mark, who could prove, that the land belonged him before the turkish war.

Shortly he sold it, and from 1750 it was property of the Grassalkovich family. In the 18th century bunyevác, slovakians, germans and a minority of hungarians lived in the region. After the First World War the region became under Serbian occupation, after the Second World War 40 % of the german population were resettled, almost 500 man were carried of to forced labour to the Sowjetunion. Szeklers from Bukovina, mostly from Hadikfalva and exiled hungarians from the South and from Slovakia arrived. Gara became home of these multinational, homecoming, escaped, wiith force removed families. The community became a melting-pot of people who suffered from many blows. Gara became a place with many sympatiazing men-in-the-street, who are from different ethnic groups, but are fighting together for a nicer, better, less violent future.

The tree is growing green today as well, it is not denying its roots, its falling leaves remember of those, who had not got the power of surviving the blows and sufferings. The helmet shows the sacrifices, the inhabitants from now and yesterday, made for their land on the battlefield, in the labour camps, in their dayly work. It also points to those, who carry on the traditions.

The crown indicates the autonomy, the right of self-government, the shreds symbolize the agricultural character of the region, the luxuriant, fast growing land.