Visegrád
| Visegrád | |||||
|
|||||
| Basic data | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State : | Hungary | ||||
| Region : | Central Hungary | ||||
| County : | pest | ||||
| Small area until December 31, 2012 : | Szentendre | ||||
| District since 1.1.2013 : | Szentendre | ||||
| Coordinates : | 47 ° 47 ' N , 18 ° 58' E | ||||
| Area : | 33.27 km² | ||||
| Residents : | 1,859 (Jan 1, 2011) | ||||
| Population density : | 56 inhabitants per km² | ||||
| Telephone code : | (+36) 26 | ||||
| Postal code : | 2025 | ||||
| KSH kódja: | 28413 | ||||
| Structure and administration (as of 2020) | |||||
| Community type : | city | ||||
| Mayor : | Dénes Eöry (independent) | ||||
| Postal address : | Fő utca 81 2025 Visegrád |
||||
| Website : | |||||
| (Source: A Magyar Köztársaság helységnévkönyve 2011. január 1st at Központi statisztikai hivatal ) | |||||
Visegrád [ ˈviʃɛgraːd ] (German Plintenburg ) is a town ( town charter since 2000) in the Szentendre district in the Hungarian Pest county , about 40 kilometers north of Budapest on the Danube . It is known for a castle, which was built around 1247 on a 247 m high mountain cone on the Danube Bend , the so-called "Citadel" with the Solomon Tower and the Royal Palace that was built from 1323 onwards. The Slavic place name više grad ("high castle") comes from the 9th century and referred to the late Roman fort on the Sibrik hill .
The city is the namesake of the Visegrád Group , an alliance of Slovakia , Poland , the Czech Republic and Hungary (also known as V4 ).
history
Roman foundation and subsequent changing rulers
Even the Romans recognized the strategic location of the place called Pons Navatus in antiquity and built the Visegrád-Sibrik fort at this point to monitor the Danube border of their province of Pannonia . Teutons , Slavs and Huns left their traces during the Great Migration . Visegrád was part of the Avar Empire until the 9th century . The knowledge of the old settled place of the fort, which formed the nucleus of Visegrád, which is so important for Hungarian history, was preserved for a long time in a mighty burgus from the reign of Emperor Valentinian (364-375), in addition to the Roman defensive wall that was still in use , which was repaired in the Middle Ages. At the beginning of the 10th century, Hungarian tribes took possession of the land. In 1009 Visegrád was first mentioned as a county seat under its current name, which is the official date of foundation. The remaining Roman fortifications were expanded and reinforced. After the Mongol invasion (1241), Béla IV had the Visegrád Castle expanded extensively as part of the border security along the Danube.
In 1325 Charles I moved his residence from Temesvár to Visegrád. Even when Buda became the Hungarian capital in 1408 , Visegrád retained its importance and was further expanded. The city experienced its heyday under the rule of Matthias Corvinus and his wife Beatrix of Aragón . From 1476 the castle was renovated in the late Gothic style and a splendid Renaissance palace was added by Italian artists . The crown of St. Stephen was kept in Visegrád for a long time (1310–1440 and 1464–1526) .
Turkish troops captured the castle in 1529 and almost completely destroyed it around 1685 on their retreat. Under the Habsburg rule, German families settled in the 18th century and brought Visegrád an economic boom. With the awakening of Hungarian national consciousness in the 19th century, Visegrád was rediscovered as a symbol of the country's significant history. Another economic boom in the settlement began with the Danube steamship, when the Danube Bend and the Pilis-Visegrád Mountains became popular excursion destinations.
The city from the 20th century
The population of Visegrád has not changed significantly since 1910 (1506 inhabitants): 1990: 1781 inhabitants; 2001: 1657 inhabitants. Visegrád only received city rights again in 2000.
Visegrád group
As early as 1335, Visegrád Castle was a symbol of regional cooperation. As the seat of the Hungarian king, the place was the scene of a summit meeting of the three kings Casimir III. of Poland , John of Bohemia and Charles I of Hungary . They agreed on close cooperation in the areas of politics and trade and thus inspired their successors in the 1990s to lead the region together into the EU . In the Visegrád Declaration of February 1991, the heads of state of Hungary, Poland and Czechoslovakia committed themselves to join the political-economic system of Europe and to intensify their cooperation in the areas of regional, economic and cultural affairs. They thus formed a kind of East Central European counterpart to the Benelux .
After the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993, the successor states of the Czech Republic and Slovakia formed the “ Visegrád Group ” (V4) together with Hungary and Poland . The common goal of the V4 states was membership in the EU and NATO .
Individual districts
Upper castle
In the 13th century, King Béla IV of Hungary and his wife had a new system of fortifications built on top of the destroyed structures. The most important part was the Upper Castle on the hill. The castle walls marked a triangular floor plan on five terraces and had three corner towers. The castle inside became their residence in the 14th century, at the time of the Anjou kings of Hungary. It got a new facade and additional palace buildings. Each of the following Hungarian rulers left their mark on the castle hill: around 1400 a third curtain wall was added, the palace buildings were enlarged, and at the end of the 15th century, King Matthias Corvinus had the inner part of the castle completely renovated. The royal insignia was kept in the upper castle during this time. Almost all of the buildings in the Upper Castle were gradually renovated at the end of the 20th century and can be viewed by the public.
Lower lock
The lower castle connects the upper castle with the Danube. The dominant feature here is the Salomon Tower, a 31 m high hexagonal residential tower from the 13th century. The southern part of the tower collapsed in the Turkish storm. Reconstruction only began in the 1870s. This could only be ended in the 1960s because of the two subsequent world wars. The tower now serves as a museum , in which the history of Visegrád is presented.
Royal palace
The first royal house was built under King Charles I of Hungary after 1325. In the second half of the 14th century, King Ludwig I of Hungary had the building expanded for the first time. After almost complete demolition in the last third of the 14th century, other rulers had a new, more magnificent palace built. Some parts of it have been preserved as ruins to this day. The facility had a square floor plan of 123 × 123 m². The palace served as the official residence of the kings of Hungary until the beginning of the 15th century. Between 1477 and 1484 the royal palace complex was rebuilt in the late Gothic style. The facades and smaller buildings were executed in the Italian Renaissance style. The conquest by the Turks led to the complete destruction of the palace complex. In the 18th century the ruins were completely covered by earth. Archaeological excavations began in 1934 and will continue into the 21st century. Already uncovered and reconstructed parts of the plant like the residence can be visited. The history of the castle and its reconstruction is also presented here.
Sibrik hill
A late Roman fort was located on this hill . This was part of the fortifications along the Limes. When the Romans withdrew, their camp fell into disrepair. The ancient walls of the fortifications and a large burgus existed until the Middle Ages . It was not until the 11th century that the old fortress walls were renovated and new fixtures built. It is possible that the old fort became the involuntary abode of the Hungarian King Salamon (1053-1087).
Buildings and sights of the city (selection)
- Roman Catholic Church of St. John the Baptist ; second half of the 18th century; Baroque
- Palffy Palace
- town hall
- Lepence beach thermal baths , opened in 1977
- Reconstructed Hercules Fountain
- Arcades in the main courtyard
- Görgey House, home of Artúr Görgey
traffic
Ferry connection across the Danube to Nagymaros opposite .
Town twinning
The Italian city of Lanciano in the Abruzzo region has been the twin town of Visegrád since 2006 .
Daughters and sons of the city
- Artúr Görgey (1818–1916), Hungarian general
- Attila Zoller (1927–1998), Hungarian jazz musician
See also
Web links
- Official website ( Hungarian , English , German )
- Visegrád , in: A Pallas nagy lexikona (Hungarian)
- Aerial views of the city and Visegrád Castle
- Historical illustration by Johan Sibmacher from 1665: True Contrafactur Der Vöstung Vizzegrad, Or Blindeburg In Ungern, Von Den Christenreichert, Im 1595 Iar ( digitized )
Individual evidence
- ↑ Helyi önkormányzati választások 2019 - Visegrád (Pest megye). Nemzeti Választási Iroda, October 13, 2019, accessed on July 19, 2020 (Hungarian).
- ↑ History of the city on www.visegrad.hu (German)
- ↑ Danube travel guide. From Passau to the Black Sea. , JPM Guides. (Ed.) Phoenix-Reisen, Bonn. around 2010; Page 50
- ↑ Görgey House on www.visegrad.hu