Gödöllő is a town situated in Pest county, Budapest metropolitan area, Hungary, about 30 km (20 mi) northeast from the outskirts of Budapest. Its population is 34,396 according to the 2010 census and is growing rapidly. It can be easily reached from Budapest with the suburban railway (HÉV). Gödöllő is home to the Szent István University, the main education institute of agriculture in Hungary. The palace at Gödöllő was originally built for the aristocratic Grassalkovich family, later Franz Josef, Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary and his wife Elisabeth ("Sisi") had their summer residence here.
Hungary hosted the 4th World Scout Jamboree in August, 1933 at the Royal Forest of Gödöllő, during which 25,792 Scouts from 54 nations camped together. The camp chief was Pál Teleki, a member of the World Scout Committee who later became Prime Minister of Hungary.
Communism saw much of the town's original one-storey housing leveled to make way for the blocks of flats which continue to dominate the town centre, as well as much of the Royal Forest and Elisabeth's Park leveled for industrial use
