Gyor, 123km (76mi.) west of Budapest and 51km (32mi.) from the Austro-Hungarian border town of Hegyeshalom, lies at the confluence of the Mosoni-Duna (Danube), Rába and Rábca rivers, in the middle of the Little Hungarian Plain. It is the administrative capital of the Gyor-Moson-Sopron region and a
major industrial, transport and cultural center.
The Old Town, with Cathedral Chapter Hill (Káptalan domb) and the Royal Town, is one of the most beautiful Renaissance and Baroque townscapes to be found anywhere in Hungary; 170 old buildings and other monuments are officially listed.
History
Founded by the Celts and named Arrabona, the original settlement developed under the Romans to become one of the major towns in the province of Pannonia. It remained of importance during the Magyar period, and King Stephen made it a diocesan town. After a conflagration in 1566 it was rebuilt on Italian Renaissance lines. During the Turkish Wars its citizens held out until the castle governor betrayed them to the Turks in 1594, and for the next four years it remained in Turkish hands and was allowed to deteriorate. In the 17th C, the town blossomed once again; mainly because of its port on the Danube it was an ideal center for trade in cattle and corn between Hungary and the Austrian Empire. The beautiful Baroque buildings date from this period. From the mid-19th C, Gyor became the major industrial town in northern Transdanubia; the "Rába" engineering combine, which manufactures railroad engines and trams, is well known, and there are also some important textile and leather factories.
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