Town with 17,758 inhabitants, an administrative, commercial and cultural centre on road No. 22 at the Slovakian border. Bálint Balassi, Imre Madách and Kálmán Mikszáth, outstanding men of letters of Hungarian literature, were attached to the town in more than one way. The former County Hall was built in neo-Classical style between 1832 and 1835. The Baroque Roman Catholic church from 1740 has a fine altarpiece by an Austrian master, while one of the side-altars is decorated with a picture of St. Anna by F. A. Maulbertsch. The romantic and art nouveau building of the former Greek Orthodox church was completed in 1910 and houses a gallery today. The Jewish cemetery is a place of reverence of international renown. Márk Rózsavölgyi, the composer of the famous csárdás was born in the town. The Palóc Museum has a significant ethnographical collection on show related to the history of the region. Next to the museum the groups of buildings of the first outdoor village museum of Hungary, the Palóc Courtyard can be seen. An outstanding event and pageant of the town is the parish festival on St. Anna's day. The most unique of the natural treasures of the region is the Duna-Ipoly National Park. The Ipolyszög alder marshland, part of the National Park itself, is an intact haven of herons and other water-fowls.