The citiens of Balassagyarmat first revolted on January 29, 1919 against the occupation of the Czech legionaries who had been there for two weeks by then. The revolt was supported by the Hungarian military who were stationed nearby. Due to the courage of railway workers, citizens and soldiers of Balassagyarmat, the town remained part of Hungary after the Treaty of Trianon, in fact, as tthe result of the uprising, Czechoslovaks gave up on their ambitions to conquer the Borsod coal basin.

Balassagyarmat, after the feats in January 1919, has been known as the "bravest of the towns,". After the initiative of patriots who became active again after the change of social system, the Parliament in 2005 commemorated the heroism of the Balassagyarmat people.

Keeping Civitas Fortissima however, served as an excellent example for posterity as the example of Balassagyarmat clearly showed that such an isolated place could achieve considerable success with little bloodshed against states that took Hungary to pieces.