Balassagyarmat
Balassagyarmat (formerly "Balassa-Gyarmath", , ) is a town in northern Hungary. It was the seat of the Nógrád comitatus. History. Since 1998, the town's coat of arms has borne the Latin inscription "Civitas Fortissima" (the bravest city) because it was claimed that in January 1919 Czechoslovak troops crossed the demarcation line delineated in December 1918 in preparation for the Treaty of Trianon, illegally occupying towns south of the line, including Balassagyarmat. The occupation was the subject of a 2009 song by the nationalist rock-band , "Civitas Fortissima" During World War II, May 9, 1944, Germans kept 3,000 Jews from  the town and the surrounding villages imprisoned in a ghetto. They were all sent to Auschwitz concentration camp on June 11 and 14, 1944. Balassagyarmat was captured on 9 December 1944 by Soviet troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front in the course of the Budapest Offensive. Geography. The town lies on the left bank of the Ipoly river, which marks the state border with Slovakia. Demographics. In 2001 Balassagyarmat had 18,474 inhabitants. The population were Hungarian 98%, Romani 2%. 100% of the total population speak Hungarian as their mother tongue. Twin towns – sister cities. Balassagyarmat is twinned with: