Situated 40km (25mi.) southeast of Pécs on the right bank of the Danube, Mohács became famous in sad circumstances as a result of the battle of 1526 in which the Hungarian troops suffered a devastating defeat at the hands of the superior Turkish army. For Hungary that meant the beginning of some 150
years of Turkish occupation and the end of the independent Magyar kingdom; for many years Mohács symbolized the threat which the Ottoman empire posed to western Europe.
History
In Roman times there was a camp on the banks of the Danube near Mohács; later the invading Magyars also settled here. After the Turkish wars the region went into decay until in the 18th C. the Habsburgs offered protection to Catholic immigrants from Germany who became known as the "Danubian Swabians"; Greek Orthodox Serbs also settled here in considerable numbers. From 1840 the border town had a harbor on the Danube. Traditional trades include fishing and silk-spinning.
The annual Busójárás carnival is held every Spring in Mohács.