Esztergom is one of the oldest towns in Hungary. It lies about 60km (37mi.) northwest of Budapest, on the terraces of the right bank of the Danube at the place where the river breaks through the Hungarian Central Uplands ("Hungarian Wachau"). The old residence of the Hungarian Princes and Kings has,
since 1715, been the seat of the Catholic Prince Primate of Hungary and, thanks to its many historical buildings, an important tourist center.
History
The castle hill was inhabited back in Neolithic times. After the Celts, the Romans settled here and maintained the military camp of Solva Mansio. In the 9th C the Magyars occupied the region. Grand Prince Géza chose it as his place of residence and built what was probably the oldest stone castle in Hungary. His son Vajk was born here C. 973 and some 25 years later, in 997, was crowned King Stephen I, the first King of Hungary, in the church founded by Géza and dedicated to St Stephen. Esztergom, together with Székesfehérvár, became the most important palatinate in Hungary, and it was here too that the archbishop had his see. Contrary to the normal custom among western European rulers, it was in Esztergom that King Béla III (reigned 1172-96), who had been brought up in Byzantium, established his seat of government and had the castle made into a magnificent residence. Among the guests he received there was Emperor Frederick I. Barbarossa, who stayed in Esztergom on his way to the Third Crusade in 1189. In 1241 Mongols destroyed the flourishing town, the royal court moved to Buda and the palace became the property of the archbishop. After having been captured by the Turks in 1543 the town became the scene of constant attacks and sieges during the 16th and 17th C; the castle palace was filled with rubble and covered over by a military fort. Many houses in the town were destroyed. Having been won back in 1683, Esztergom became the archbishop's residence in 1715 and also the seat of the Prince Primate of Hungary, where after it blossomed into a spiritual center. In 1856 the newly-erected Cathedral, the largest and most magnificent church in Hungary, was consecrated. After the Second World War a number of large industrial firms established themselves here.
Sights
The most important historical buildings in Esztergom are concentrated on the Castle Hill, along the Danube and on Széchenyi tér.
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