The village of Derenk was founded back in the Middle Ages. Its name, of Slavic origin, refers to the cornucopia, a plant abundant in the area. Over the years, Derenk, originally functioning as a royal estate belonging to Szádvár Castle, changed hands several times. In the early 18th century it belonged to the estate of the Dukes of Esterházyh. At that time, the population of the village decreased significantly due to wars and the plague epidemic. Thanks to a settlement campaign organised by the Esterházyh, Polish peasants from the borderland of Spiš and Podhale appeared there in 1717. The first Polish settlers came to Derenk mainly from three villages: Bukowina Tatrzańska, Białka Tatrzańska and Czarna Góra. Ethnographer Janusz Kamocki identifies the parish of St Apostles Simon and Jude Thaddeus in Białka Tatrzańska as their mother parish (a chapel of the same name existed in Derenek). The population of Derenk was around 500 people. They lived in relative isolation and their culture slowly evolved as a result of incidental contacts with their Hungarian or Slovak neighbours. Thanks to , they preserved their archaic 18th century highlander speech and the memory of their Polish origins, which they cultivated in traditions, customs and songs.

In 1938, at the behest of Hungarian regent Miklós Horthy, the government hunting grounds were expanded to include Derenk. The population (almost 450 people in Derenk at the time) was resettled in several surrounding settlements located in what is now the Miskolc region. Demolished houses and the village chapel were moved to the new settlements. A relatively large group of families ended up in Istvánmajor, others in Ládbesenyő-Andrástanya or Sajószentpéter, among others. Derenk ceased to exist in 1943. Only a few Derenkans resisted the resettlement. István Babarcsik remained in the village with his wife, the last resident of Derenk, who rang the funeral bell every afternoon for the rest of her life. Today, traces of houses, feral orchards and a modest cemetery bear witness to Derenk's former history.

The uniqueness of Derenk's inhabitants is due to the fact that they resisted assimilation into the Hungarian nation. This was due to the village's peripheral location, far from centres of foreign culture. This was conducive to the cultivation of customs and speech brought over from the country of their ancestors. The beginning of the development of Derenk's current legend took place after the First World War, when it was the only Polish village on the territory of the Hungarian state, which had been reduced by the Treaty of Trianon. Although the population of Derenk dispersed, a strong sense of community remained in the minds of the displaced inhabitants and their descendants. Since the 1990s, they have met annually in the second half of July for the indulgenced feast, which has become one of the most important events for the Hungarian Polish community. Thanks to her efforts, the former school building was renovated in 2004 and now houses a permanent documentary and photographic exhibition entitled 'Memory of Polish Derenk'. In recent years, the cemetery has been renovated, and the sites of former farms have been marked with plaques bearing the names of their former owners.