KALOCSA

town, Bcs-Kiskun megye (county), central Hungary, located just east of the Danube River. It was one of the bishoprics founded by the first king of Hungary, Stephen I, and was a thriving medieval town until it was sacked by the Turks, rising again in the 19th century as an agricultural centre. Kalocsa has perhaps the richest folk art in all Hungary; the motifs painted by the town's writing women are distinguished by inventiveness of design and a wealth of colour. The House of Folk Art museum and the Kroly Visky Museum display local work. The Kalocsa motifs are also reproduced in much-sought-after embroidery work, which is exported. Abundant sunlight permits paprika to thrive, and the town is well known for that crop. Pop. (1991 est.) 18,209.