Tourist Information  If you are visiting Eger, you may be in need of some handy tips and information. Below is a selection of our recommendations, grouped into the following categories, for you to browse at your leisure!
Landmarks
Accommodation
Food and drink
Words that speak volumes
Local specialities
A brief history of Eger
Landmarks
1. LyceumThe Lyceum, which was built in the second half of the 1700s, follows the Baroque style, but is mainly decorated with Rococo adornments, except for the Neoclassical main facade, which looks onto the Basilica. Stepping through one of the three entrance doors at the front of the building, you enter an oval entrance hall, leading to the double staircase. On the first floor, the ceremonial hall is situated opposite the main staircase. Its ceiling is decorated with a vast fresco by Franz Sigrist, which allegorizes the four faculties of the college. The law faculty is symbolized by the Statue of Justice and the high course known as the Excelsa Tabula Septemviralis; the philosophy faculty by images of geological surveying, astrology, military and political geography; the medical faculty by an autopsy and scenes of healing; and theology by clergymen, angels, the heavens and other allegorical pictures.
Address: Eger, Eszterházy Károly tér 1.
Telephone: +36 (36) 520-400
E-mail:
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Opening hours: Saturday–Sunday, 9.30 a.m.–1 p.m
Fax: +36 (36) 520-440
Source: www.vendegvaro.hu
2. Cathedral (Basilica)The Neoclassical cathedral was built to the designs of József Hild between 1831 and 1836. The building is 93 metres long, its cupola measures 18 metres across, and its two towers are 54 metres high. The awe-inspiring scale of the building is particularly striking from the viewpoint of the imposing steps in front of the main facade, which are flanked on both side by carved stone statues. At the front stand the Hungarian saint-kings Stephen and László, and behind them Saint Peter and Saint Paul. They are all the work of Marco Casagrande. The portico, crowned with a tympanum, is supported by eight Corinthian columns, which are 17 metres high. The reliefs on the cathedral’s external facade depict scenes from the life of Jesus. Atop the raised parapet of the facade stand three statues, allegories of Faith, Hope and Charity.
Address: Eger, Pyrker tér 1.
Telephone: +36 (36) 515-725
Opening hours: Monday–Sunday, 8 a.m.–8 p.m.
Fax: +36 (36) 515-725
Barrier-free environment: wheelchair access
Source: www.vendegvaro.hu
3. Provost’s Residence (Kispréposti Palota)The former provost’s residence was constructed in 1758, in the Rococo style. Today it is once again owned by the church, but for the time being it also houses the local branch of the National Bureau for the Protection of Cultural Heritage. Each of the alcoves, to either side of the entrance, contains a vase. The ceiling of its ceremonial hall is decorated with a fresco by Lukács Kracker, depicting the Triumph of Virtue over Sin (1774). The decorative paintwork is also the work of Kracker. The iron grilles were probably made by Henrik Fazola.
Address: Eger, Kossuth Lajos u. 4.
Telephone: +36 (36) 516-006
Source: www.vendegvaro.hu
4. Archbishop’s Gardens (Érsekkert)The park is bordered to the east by the Eger brook, with a promenade and cycle path running along its bank. It preserves the best traditions of French landscaping. It is worth exploring the park, as its trees, bridge and groves are a delight to behold at any time of year. The Liget Casino is located in the centre of the gardens, next to one of the city’s largest sports centres and indoor sports halls.
Open to the public.
Source: www.vendegvaro.hu
5. Thermal spa and water parkA walk along the bank of the stream brings you back to Klapka utca. In Pet?fi tér, you will find Eger’s thermal baths and aquatic leisure complex. The thermal spa awaits visitors with six open-air and one partially covered pool. Eger was declared a medicinal spa of national importance in 1976. Thousands of cubic metres of water pour out of the natural thermal springs every day. Next to the thermal spa is the Turkish spa. Its waters have a beneficial effect on motor organ diseases, gynaecological disorders and spinal complaints.
Source: www.egercity.hu
6. Fazola GateThe most striking feature of the county hall, and also an outstanding example of Hungarian wrought ironwork, is the semi-circular iron grille that tops the main gate, with its allegorical figures of Faith, Hope and Charity, as well as the wrought iron gates themselves, which were made by Henrik Fazola between 1758 and 1761.
Address: Eger, Megyeháza, Kossuth u. 9.
Source: www.vendegvaro.hu
7. Eger CastleEger Castle, and the István Dobó Castle Museum within, is one of the most visited and well-known monuments in the country. It owes much of its popularity to the fact that it is one of the best-preserved of Hungary’s border castles of old. Construction of the castle began after the Mongol invasion, and in the centuries that followed it always played an important strategic role in the country’s defences. However, it achieved true fame in 1552 when, under the command of Captain István Dobó, the 2,000-strong population of Eger beat back a besieging Turkish army numbering tens of thousands. The story of the castle and its defenders was immortalised in the 20th century in Géza Gárdonyi’s novel Eclipse of the Crescent Moon. Upon his death the writer was laid to rest in the castle.
Even today, walking through the battle-worn bastions and along walls with arrow slits, it is still possible to gain access to the inner castle, which is the oldest and most important part of the fortress. The castle courtyard is dominated by the single-story bishop’s residence, which was built prior to 1475. This is the oldest building in the castle and in the city of Eger.
Address: Eger, Vár 1.
Telephone: +36 (36) 312-744
E-mail:
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Opening hours: 1 April–31 August: 8 a.m.–8 p.m.; 1–30 September: 8 a.m.–7 p.m.; March and October: 8 a.m.–6 p.m.; 1 November– 28 February: 8 a.m.–5 p.m.
Fax: +36 (36) 312-450
Source: www.vendegvaro.hu
8. The MinaretThis fourteen-sided tower, constructed from carved sandstone, is 40 metres high. It is Europe’s northernmost monument from the era of the Turkish occupation. The mosque constructed on its eastern side was demolished in 1841 for reasons of urban planning. Within the tall tower, a spiral staircase with 97 steps leads up to the circular lookout gallery, which is surrounded by iron railings, while the stone mitre is decorated with a crescent moon and cross. After a 350-year silence, since 1997 the sound of the muezzin can once again be heard from the minaret during the Eger summer festival. Of the three minarets still standing in Hungary (the other two situated in Pécs and Érd), this is in the best condition, and it is also the highest.
Address: Eger, Knézich Károly u. 1.
Telephone: 30/684-8421
Opening hours: 1 April– 31 October: Monday–Sunday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
Source: www.vendegvaro.hu
9. Dobó térAlajos Stróbl’s masterpiece, the statue of István Dobó, defender of the castle, was erected in 1907, in the square that also bears his name. The statue has become one of the symbols of the town.
Address: Eger, Dobó tér
Source: www.vendegvaro.hu
10. Roman Catholic Church of the Minorites (Minorita templom)The church was designed by Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer, a renowned architect from the Baroque period. The height of its tower is 57 metres, and it is articulated by several projecting ledges. The woodwork of the church’s furnishings is particularly impressive. The church has a single nave, and is laid out in the shape of a Latin cross. One of its most striking features is its facade, which curves outwards between the two towers. A flight of steps leads up to the main entrance, flanked on both sides by enormous pairs of columns set on high plinths, stretching up to the main parapet.
On the Rococo framework mounted on the keystone of the entrance door is inscribed the slogan PRO DEO NUNQUAM SATIS (For God, nothing is sufficient). Above this legend, in an elaborately carved frame, are a pair of crossed arms. This is the coat-of-arms of the Franciscan order. The sculpted ornaments on the facade were made by János Öreg Hössz, a sculptor from Eger. The elegant tower pinnacles are topped by wrought-iron crucifixes.
The nave is divided into three sections, rising dramatically in height. The shrine is quadrilateral, with a large altar structure at the end. In front of the main altar, to either side, stand stucco statues of Saint Lajos and Saint Bonaventura. The church also contains two side altars. The ceiling frescos were made by the painter Márton Reindl of Bratislava, in 1769–1770. The woodwork on the church’s pulpit was created by the monk Benedictus Mönch, the marble stucco work by Mihály Spórer, and the large gilded relief (John the Baptist in the Wilderness) by Jószef Móczer, in 1792. It was also in this year that the intricately carved pews in the nave were made.
The picture over the main altar was painted by Lukács Kracker in 1771, while the red marble altar itself was the work of Márton Szelecky. According to the deed placed in the foundation stone, construction of the church was initially overseen by master mason János Falk of Eger. After his death, a year later, his foreman János Nietschmann, also a local inhabitant, took charge of the building works. Relics of the Hungarian Saint Kinga and Saint Boldog Jolán, as well as Saint Hedwig, the daughter of King Louis (Lajos) the Great, are also kept in the church – the latter having been returned to Hungary from Poland.
Address: Eger, Dobó István tér 4.
Telephone: +36 (36) 516-613
Opening hours: Monday–Sunday, 9 a.m.–6 p.m.
Fax: +36 (36) 516-614
Source: www.vendegvaro.hu
11. Serbian Church (Ráctemplom)At the northern end of Széchenyi utca, on a small mound, stands a Greek Orthodox or Serbian church with a very special atmosphere. Today, this former presbytery houses a room devoted to the memory of Serbian poet Mihály Vitkovics, as well as an exhibition of works by the Hungarian artist György Kepes, an outstandingly important artist of the 20th century. The exhibition consists of more than 200 works (paintings, photographs, photograms, plans and sketches), presenting his life’s work in all its diversity, and supplemented with a wide range of documentation. Walking back along Széchényi utca towards the city centre, you can also pay a visit to Hungary’s only fire-fighting museum.
12. Cistercian Church
Source: www.egercity.hu
13. Archbishop’s Residence (Érseki Palota)This Baroque mansion was built in several stages over the course of the 18th century. The walls of the chapel are adorned with Rococo stuccoes, and its altar, carved from marble from Fels?tárkány, is regarded as a masterpiece of its genre. The ornamentation on the gates of the iron fence separating the palace’s courtyard from Széchenyi utca was also a product of the Fazola family’s workshop. The Collection of the Archbishopric has a permanent exhibition entitled “1699–1943: Two and a half centuries of the history of the bishops and archbishops of Eger.” The palace itself can only be viewed from outside, although the exhibition held in what used to be the service buildings of the residence is naturally open to the public.
Address: Eger, Széchenyi u. 1.
Telephone: +36 (36) 517-589
E-mail:
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Fax: +36 (36) 517-751
Source: www.vendegvaro.hu
14. The wine cellars of Szépasszony-völgy The Szépasszony-völgy (Valley of the Beautiful Woman), which today has almost 200 wine cellars, has been synonymous with Eger’s famous wines over the past centuries. The valley is the subject of many legends. According to the ethnographer Ferenc Bakó, the “Beautiful Woman” was a pagan goddess, a figure similar to Venus, the goddess of love, to whom sacrifices were made here. Meanwhile, local farm workers recount tales of a famously beautiful woman who sold fine wines from Eger in one of the cellars. According to others the valley is named after the promiscuous lady of a nobleman’s house. From the document archives it is not possible to clearly establish the origins of the name, nor is it known when the first cellar was dug. The cellars were cut into the rhyolite tuffs, several hundred metres thick, which are located on the edge of the town. This material, formed from volcanic ash, is exceptionally easy to work with. An additional benefit is that it keeps the wine at a constant temperature of 10–15°C throughout the year.
15. A town below the town – the former cellars of the Archbishoprichttp://www.varosavarosalatt.hu/
Accommodation
For a list of local hotels, please visithttp://www.egercity.hu/ugyfel.eger?ugyfelek=szallashely
or
http://hungary.egerhotels.com/
Food and drink
• There’s nothing like a good…
• Just a cup of coffee and a slice of…
• "…Just think about it and drink, the world doesn’t stop forever…"
Words that speak volumes
Eger, one of Hungary’s most picturesque and ancient towns, rich in landmarks and monuments, is situated in the hilly region at the western foot of the Bükk mountain range, in the valley of the Eger brook, which flows between the Mátra and Bükk mountains. Even today, the precise origins of its name are unknown. It has been suggested that the name is derived from the word “éger,” which is Hungarian for “alder,” after the trees of this type that once grew prolifically along the banks of the stream. This explanation – that the city’s name reflects its ancient natural environment, characterized by the alder trees that once grew densely on the marshy riverbank, but have since died out – would appear to be correct. It is further corroborated by the city’s German name of Erlau (Eren-au, or Alder grove). However, there is another theory, according to which the name of Eger is derived from the Latin word “ager” (farm). Proponents of this view look to the latest research showing that in the 11th and 12th centuries, settlers of Romanic-Walloon origin, known as Latins, made their home in Eger and the surrounding area.
Source: www.agria.hu
Local specialities
Bull’s Blood of Eger is renowned the world over as an excellent wine. Another local speciality is the “Water of Eger,” a mildly alcoholic herbal drink, as is “bujavászon,” a textile of Turkish origin, which has been manufactured here since the second half of the 18th century. Eger’s mildly radioactive thermal waters are a unique example of their kind. It was these waters that gave rise to Eger’s spa culture as far back as the Middle Ages, and in this century underpinned the city’s reputation as a centre of excellence in the field of water-based sports.
Source: www.agria.hu
A brief history of Eger
From the founding chieftains to the Eclipse of the Crescent MoonIt was at the beginning of the 10th century that the first generation of Magyar settlers occupied the area in which Eger now stands. Evidence of this is provided by the graves of armed men buried with Arabic coins, in the districts of Almagyar and Répástet?, on the outskirts of the city. Artefacts from the time of the first wave of settlers were also unearthed at the end of the last century, in the vicinity of Szépasszony-völgy.
The founding of Eger actually coincides with the state and church-building activities of Hungary’s first king, Saint Stephen. Even prior to 1009, this was one of his ten bishoprics. The settlement, as a seat of the bishopric, held an important place among the Hungarian towns as far back as the early Middle Ages. The natural topography of the area, a meeting of the lowlands and the mountains, made it possible to forge economic and cultural ties between various regions of the country. This progress was temporarily halted by the Mongol invasion of 1241, when the town, presided over at the time by bishop Kilit II, was pillaged and razed almost to the ground.
In 1248, Bishop Lambert of Eger, almost certainly as a result of the Mongol invasion, received permission from King Béla IV to build a stone castle. Thus the town, which had been almost completely destroyed, was resurrected and, in the 14th and 15th centuries, arrived at its most prosperous era of the Middle Ages. It was during this period that most of the forests on the edge of the town were felled, and grapevines planted in their place. An increasing number of houses were built in the town by local citizens. The main transportation routes were formed to the castle and the mining towns to the north. These remain as the city-centre side streets, still winding, that follow the old path of the brook. The surrounding settlements, such as Almagyar and Czigléd, were engulfed by the growing city.
The reign of King Matthias (1458–1490) brought further developments. The bishop János Bekensloer had the bishop’s palace in the castle reconstructed in the Gothic style, and this is the building that stands there to this day.
The period following the tragic battle of Mohács, after 1526, was a sad chapter in the history of Eger, too. During the twin monarchy the town came under a different authority on almost an annual basis, and the Turkish invaders were also approaching. This prompted a strengthening of the castle’s fortifications. In the autumn of 1552, the castle’s commander István Dobó and his handful of soldiers succeeded in holding the castle, and with it the whole of northern Hungary, against the onslaught of the burgeoning Turkish empire. This battle of 1552 is the subject of Géza Gárdonyi’s immortal novel Eclipse of the Crescent Moon, which has since been translated into several languages.
From the Turkish occupation to Rákóczi’s freedom fightersWhile Dobó and his soldiers managed to defend the castle in 1552, in 1596 the foreign mercenaries manning it under the direction of its subsequent commander surrendered the castle, with the result that the Turks ruled in Eger for the next 91 years. The memory of this era is preserved by the elegant minaret built at the end of the 17th century, which is the northernmost structure of its kind dating back to the former Ottoman empire.
After the expulsion of the Turks, the liberated town was regarded as the property of the imperial government, and in 1688 King Lipót I declared Eger to be a free royal town. This freed it from the obligation to pay feudal taxes. However, the town only retained this status until 1695, when the returning bishop György Fenessy persuaded the monarch to reinstate it as a bishopric.
During the period of the Rákóczi-led uprising against Austrian Habsburg rule, from 1703 to 1711, the town was the centre of the liberated half of the country. Prince Ferenc Rákóczi II resided within the walls of the town on several occasions, making it his headquarters.
For Eger, the 18th century was a period of prosperity and advancement. Eger’s bishops, especially Ferenc Barkóczy and Károly Eszterházy, were largely responsible for creating the Baroque cityscape that it retains to this day. The most notable of the Baroque buildings dating back to this period are the Lyceum (today the main building of the Eszterházy Károly Teacher Training College), the Church of the Minorites, the Provost’s Residence, the County Library, the County Hall with its two beautiful wrought-iron gates by Henrik Fazola, and the Serbian Church. The population grew rapidly, from only 1,200 inhabitants in 1688, to more than 17,000 in 1787. At this time, in terms of the size of its population, Eger was the sixth largest town in the country. This was also the golden age of its grape industry, with the area of the town’s vineyards growing twelve-fold.
Culture, libraries and schoolsAnother reason that the 18th century was such an important period of Eger’s history was the fact that the bishop Barkóczy, and then the bishop Eszterházy, wanted to establish a university along the lines of those in Nagyszombat (now Trnava in Slovakia) and Vienna. The university opened in 1744, but only took on the name of its inceptor, Károly Eszterházy, in 1989. The institution consists of several buildings, giving space to Hungary’s most beautiful Baroque library, the County Library, where the only letter by Mozart to be kept in Hungary is displayed. Besides this, the building of the Lyceum also contains an observatory and a camera obscura. Even prior to the founding of the Lyceum, Eger already had a tradition of higher education, as in 1700 the bishop István Telekessy, a follower of Ferenc Rákóczi II, inaugurated a theological training institute, which now operates under the name of the Eger Theological College. In 1740, György Foglár founded a school of law, while in 1754 the bishop Barkóczy set up a college of philosophy. In 1769, the country’s first medical school was opened in Eger, under the directorship of Ferenc Markot. It operated until 1775.
Flowering and stagnationThe Hungarian reform period from 1825 to 1848 left its enduring marks on Eger, particularly in terms of its cultural life. László János Pyrker, the archbishop of the time, established a picture gallery which he donated to the Hungarian National Museum in 1844 after the city of Eger itself was unable to provide a suitable place for it. Pyrker’s gift formed the backbone of the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest, opened in 1900. Pyrker was also responsible for the foundation of the first Hungarian-language teacher training college in the city in 1828, as well as for the construction of the basilica, Hungarian’s second largest ecclesiastical building, built in the neoclassical style according to the designs of József Hild. In addition, in 1837, János Joó, a teacher of drawing, launched Hungary’s first technical periodical under the title “Héti Lapok” (“weekly pages”).
In 1854, as an achievement of the revolution and freedom struggle of 1848-49, the city of Eger, by agreeing to have its ecclesiastical tributes commuted for a price of 50,000 forints, was freed from the economic authority of the Church. Unlike in other cities, however, Eger’s civic progress did not accelerate either after 1849 or following the Compromise of 1867. It was unable to establish a mainline rail connection, while the sum total of industrial development was represented by a mill already built in the reform period, the tobacco factory and a sheet-metal works.
From “Hungarian Athens” to city of industry In the decades following the turn of the 20th century, the dominant character of Eger was that of a seat of learning. Its schools and other cultural institutions earned it the title of a “Hungarian Athens.” The beginning of the new century, in 1904, saw the opening in Eger of an independent permanent theatre, the launch of drainage works and provision of public utilities in the city. In 1933, Eger was one of the first cities in Hungary to receive a licence to operate a public spa.
In the decades after 1945, as a consequence of the change of political system, Eger’s industrialization began, as a result of which its earlier role and lustre as a cultural centre began to fade.
Hild the city protector Luckily, in 1968 the Baroque city centre was declared a protected zone, and thus spared from dilapidation or the trend for construction of modern, inappropriate buildings that affected several other cities. In 1978, the city was awarded the Hild Medal, in recognition of its outstanding efforts in preserving local monuments. Also in recognition of the city’s efforts at preserving its heritage, the Hungarian headquarters of ICOMOS (the International Council on Monuments and Sites) was located in Eger.
Source: www.agria.hu
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