Vízvár

It lies northwest of Barcs, along the Gyékényes-Pécs Railway Line. Its surroundings are part of the Duna-Dráva National Park.

Ferenc Tahy built a castle on the banks of the River Drava on a place protected by marsh and water. Miklós Zrínyi urged the installation of a mercenary guard of the castle in his letters on November 17, 1555. But after the Fall of Szigetvár its defenders left the fortress, moreover they set it on fire. The population fled into the rest of the country to be save for the Turks. Vízvár stayed uninhabited for 150 years.

In 1720, several years after the Treaty of Karlowitz the settlement had 300 peasant fields. At that time Zsitfapuszta and Csütörtökhely were already part of Vízvár, however the second had still his own parish.

From 1733 the Festetics family owned the village until the 20th century. During the 18th century Croatian settlers arrived from the other side of the River Drava. According to records they all speak Croatian and had their own Catholic priest. They established their first school in 1742. In the middle of the 19th century it had 800 residents. In 1881 almost 1000 people lived there of which the half were already Hungarian.

The cultural life started to flourish in the 20th century when the population reached 1500. Reading, farming clubs, a library and a cultural house were established. In the First World War 45 and in the Second World War 35 residents died. For their memory the village raised a monument and a plaque in 1989.

• Festetics Mansion
• Roman Catholic Church (dedicated to John of Nepomuk)

• Street map (Hungarian)