Vác, situated on the left bank of the Danube Bend 34km (21mi.) north of Budapest, has retained the charm of an attractive small Baroque town despite the industrial development on the outskirts.
The best view of the town's silhouette with its characteristic church towers is from the Danube Island which
is accessible from Vác by car ferry.
History
There were already settlements here dating back to prehistoric and Roman times. At the beginning of the 11th C. St Stephan founded a bishopric here and it was officially documented for the first time in 1075. Favorably situated at a crossing point on the Danube, the town was a regional trading center in the High Middle Ages under the protection of a royal castle. Around the middle of the 13th C on the site of the present day town center stood the walled German town. The Turkish wars in the 16th and 17th c, brought devastation to the town and the population migrated elsewhere. Not until the end of the 17th C when the bishops settled back in Vác, was the Baroque town established north of the medieval castle, undergoing economic revival in the 18th C. This development continued into the 19th C with the first Hungarian railroad line being opened from Pest to Vác in 1846. After the Second World War various industries were established on the periphery of the town (chemicals, chalk and cement works, docks, etc).
The historic center of Vác stretches primarily between the eastern bank of the Danube between Konstantin tér, dominated by the cathedral, and Március 15 tér (March 15th Square) to the north, lined by fine patricians' houses. The road approaching the town from Budapest crosses the twin-arched bridge from 1757 with its statues which spans the Gombás river. Following Mártirok útja the visitor will reach Géza király tér (King Géza Square) with its Franciscan church.
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