Koszeg (Güns) is a pretty little town lying about 20km (121/2mi.) north of Szombathely on the Austrian border, on the southern slopes of the Güns Mountains (KOszegi hegység).
Although most of the buildings are 18th C there are also some Renaissance houses and a romantic castle - a popular destination
for excursions.
History
After the founding of the state of Hungary the kings strengthened the town as an important link in the chain of fortresses known as the Ãrség, built to defend the country against threats from the west. A stone castle was built in the middle of the 12th C (first documented in the second half of the 13th C); in 1532 Miklós Jurisics and a small number of men held out here for 25 days against Sultan Suleiman II's army of 55,000 strong. The Turks finally withdrew before winter set in and a strong Austrian army arrived. During the 18th C, the town was of little strategic or economic importance. However, it has a proud and strong cultural tradition, and there was a grammar school here back in the 16th C.