Veszprém (Веспрем)

‘The city of queens’ is situated northward from Lake Balaton; it is one of the most intimate cities of Middle Transdanubia with its historic inner city. The castle, the hundreds of years old Baroque buildings, the circuitous streets going up and downhill represent one aspect of the city. On the other hand Veszprém is a lively city, probably because of the several thousand students and the tourists visiting Lake Balaton.

As for its location, Veszprém is on the border of three smaller areas. On one side are the Bakony Hills; and on the other side the Balaton Uplands and Veszprém Plateau encircle the city. A settlement existed here as early as 5000 BC.

According to tradition Veszprém was built on five hills (Várhegy, Jeruzsálemhegy, Temetőhegy, Kálvária-hegy, Benedek-hegy); although it is more likely that the population started to build their settlement in the valleys. The castle and the villages around it (szegek), which used to be separate settlements in the Middle Ages, became united gradually and now they form one city.

Veszprém could take pride in the fact that one of the oldest Hungarian stone castles was built here. During the reign of Géza there existed stone castles in Veszprém, Esztergom and Székesfehérvár; although at this period earth castles were almost always exclusively built. Because of this castle it is probable that the city resisted the Tartar attacks and they marched away from Veszprém.

Up to the end of the 13th century the castle was practically the city itself. Then a University was established here, and Béla IV educated his daughter, later St Margaret, in the nunnery near the castle.

Veszprém was the centre of one of the earliest counties; furthermore it was the favourite place of Gisela, wife of Stephen I. In the following centuries Veszprém was the location of the coronation of Hungarian queens, since the rights for this event were in the hands of the prevailing bishop of Veszprém.

The best of times for the settlement fell during the years of the Renaissance’s cultured bishop, Albert Vetési of the 15th century. Unfortunately the following century did not bring too many positive events. Veszprém could not resist the Turkish attacks, the castle had several owners and most of the population ran away.

The Castle District

After the fires and ravages, the present Baroque image of the Castle District took shape in the 18th century. There are several historic buildings inside the castle walls, e.g. the Palace of the Archbishop, the Gisela Chapel from the 13th century, the St Michael Cathedral, which was built by St Stephen and Gisela. In addition there are the St George Chapel, which is thought to be the oldest Hungarian church, and also museums, schools and other official buildings.

The Palace of the Archbishop

Its construction started in 1765 following the plans of Jakab Fellner, using the ruins of the former Gothic royal palace. Its wonderful entrance hall, the staircase and the gala dining room are just three of the sights here, but the Archiepiscopal Archives and Library are also worth a visit.

Fecskendő House, Fire Tower

Fecskendő House is located in Vár Street, it was built in 1814. Its builder was the first person to direct water to the castle from the spring under it. Furthermore, the Fire Tower is also situated here, which defines the image of the castle from the direction of Óváros Square. The Tower was built using the remains of a medieval bastion tower.