Kalocsa

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Kalocsa
Kalocsa coat of arms
Kalocsa (Hungary)
Kalocsa
Kalocsa
Basic data
State : Hungary
Region : Southern Great Plain
County : Bács-Kiskun
Small area until December 31, 2012 : Kalocsa
District since 1.1.2013 : Kalocsa
Coordinates : 46 ° 32 '  N , 18 ° 59'  E Coordinates: 46 ° 31 '31 "  N , 18 ° 58' 56"  E
Area : 53.18  km²
Residents : 17,165 (Jan. 1, 2011)
Population density : 323 inhabitants per km²
Telephone code : (+36) 78
Postal code : 6300
KSH kódja: 06442
Structure and administration (as of 2016)
Community type : city
Mayor : József Miklós Bálint (independent)
Postal address : Szent István király út 35
6300 Kalocsa
Website :
(Source: A Magyar Köztársaság helységnévkönyve 2011. január 1st at Központi statisztikai hivatal )

Kalocsa [ ˈkɒloʧɒ ] (German Kollotschau , Croatian Kaloča ) is a city in southern Hungary with 17,165 inhabitants (as of 2011), one of the oldest Hungarian cities and of great historical importance.

Location and traffic

Kalocsa is located 120 km south of Budapest on the eastern bank of the Danube . The main road No. 51 runs through Kalocsa in a north-south direction. This is where the country roads No. 5106, No. 5301 and No. 5308 meet. In 2007, passenger traffic on the railway line to Kiskőrös was discontinued. There is a small airport to the northwest of the city.

history

In 1001 King Stephan I founded a diocese in Kalocsa as part of the establishment of a clergy when he Christianized Hungary , the first bishop was Astrik-Anastas . In 1135 the diocese received the rank of archdiocese. Around 100 years later, Archbishop Benedikt built the first stone castle (the original building was made of wood).

In 1529 the Turkish troops completely destroyed the city. The episcopal castle continued to be used as a fortress and was even renovated in 1602, but the city remained in ruins, as late as 1664 the Turkish traveler Evliya Çelebi reported only about "a mosque, three grocery stores and a small inn". When they were expelled in 1686, the Turks burned the episcopal castle down, Archbishop Kollonich began the reconstruction with the renovation of the Gothic chapel, his successors extended the building to its demolition and the construction of the new residence from May 24, 1775. At the same time, there was also life the city again.

In 1784 Archbishop Ádám Patachich founded the episcopal library from the monastery's medieval book holdings and his private collection of over 17,000 volumes, which, further expanded by his successors, now comprises over 140,000 volumes, including invaluable codices.

Archbishop Lajos Haynald founded the Jesuit College and provided it with an observatory ( Haynald Observatory ) in 1877 , which was in operation until 1950.

In 1875 large parts of the city were destroyed in a fire.

The palace suffered severe damage in the Second World War , which has not yet been completely repaired. But Kalocsa is still the seat of one of the most important Hungarian dioceses. The population of Kalocsa is falling, in 1999 the city still had 17,807 inhabitants.

economy

Kalocsa is the center of an agriculturally oriented region. At the beginning of the 20th century, Kalocsa replaced Szeged as the center of the Hungarian paprika industry and is still the world's largest growing area for paprika. Other important pillars of the region are wine , fruit , flax , hemp and grain , but also fishing.

Kalocsa is also increasingly a tourist destination, especially for short excursions on Danube cruises. With this in mind, a thermal bath was opened in 2002.

Cityscape

In addition to the tourist-oriented but informative “ Paprika Museum”, the cathedral square with the canons, the Cathedral of the Assumption with the organ, on which Franz Liszt often played, and above all the archbishop's palace are of importance. In the palace, in addition to the library, the state hall, the oratory and the ceiling frescoes are particularly noteworthy. The former episcopal park is now open to the public and contains numerous dendrological rarities.

The city is the seat of seminaries for priests and teachers.

sons and daughters of the town

Town twinning

Kalocsa has the following city partnerships:

Since 2007 there has been a student exchange with the Ratsgymnasium Goslar (Germany). There is also a student exchange with the Freihof Realschule Kirchheim unter Teck (Germany).

literature

  • Balázs Dercsényi among others: Catholic churches in Hungary. Verlag Hegyi & Társa, Budapest 1991, pp. 205-209, 278f
  • Terézia Kerny: Kalocsa - Archbishop's Residence. Kalocsa 1996, ISBN 963-554-065-5

Web links

Commons : Kalocsa  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Kalocsa testvérvárosai