Berény

Jászberény stands on the Zagyva in the Jászság, the land of the Jász people on the Hungarian plain. Berény became the seat of their district, whose communities enjoyed distinctive privileges. A Franciscan church and monastery were built here in 1472, in the fifteenth century; during Ottoman rule the monastery was turned into an Ottoman military post.

In 1702 the Jász and Cuman districts were sold by the Habsburg crown, placing their inhabitants under a new landlord despite their long-established collective liberties. The communities gathered money and petitioned to recover their rights. In 1745 Maria Theresa approved their collective redemption, restoring much of their former privileged status. Jászberény, where the petition had been drawn up, remained the administrative centre of the restored Jász district.