Szolnok [key], city (1991 est. pop. 78,700), E central Hungary, at the confluence of the Tisza and Zagyva rivers. It is a river port and a road and rail junction. Manufactures include furniture, textiles, chemicals, and paper. An old settlement, Szolnok was a flourishing salt-trading center from the onset of Arpad rule (late 9th cent.) until the 19th cent. The city also gained historical importance as a fortress disputed between the Magyars and the Turks. Szolnok has a large Franciscan convent, a college of engineering, and an artists' colony, founded in the 19th cent. Nearby are medicinal baths.
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