Pecs. City of history, culture and tradition

200 km by expressway to the Southwest of the Hungarian capital of Budapest, lies the city of Pécs (pronounced « PETCH »), capital of Baranya province, the fith largest in the country with 170000 inhabitants.

Relatively unknown to foreign tourists, it became famous when it was selected as European Capital of Culture in 2010.

 Brief History

 It was first settled in 4000 BC and invaded by the Romans under the reign of Emperor Augustus (27 BC-14 AD). It was part of the Hungarian Pannonia Province under the name of Sopianae. 

At the end of the 2^nd century AD, Diocletian divided Pannonia into  four entities and Sopianae became the capital of Pannonia Valeria (name of Diocletian’s daughter).

In 313, Constantine the Great put an end to the persecution of Christians and the local Christian community built the old necropolis listed by Unesco on the World Heritage list in 2000.

 Between the 5th and 9th centuries, numerous Magyar tribes conquered the area.

In 1009, St Stephen, the first Hungarian King, founded the Episcopal Diocese of Pécs, and Peter, his successor, starting building a cathedral.

In 1367, the first university in Hungary was created by Louis the Great. Pécs then became a centre of Renaissance humanism in the 15th and 16th centuries.

 After the Turkish invasion in 1543, Pécs became the westernmost outpost of the Ottoman Empire until  the reconquest in 1686. Numerous German settlers then flocked to the city in the following 100 years.

In 1780, Pécs became a Free Imperial City under Maria-Theresa of Austria.

 During the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century, the city saw its prosperity soar and in 1853 came the creation of the famous Zsolnay Porcelain Manufacture which became in the 20th century the largest of its kind in the whole Austrio-Hungarian Empire.

 After 1970 began an industrial decline from which the city is still in the process of recovering.

The listing as European Capital of Culture in 2010 has helped to put the city on the tourist map and it is hoped that the flow of visitors, local and foreign, will contribute to the rebirth of Pécs.

 Discovery Tour

 The visit should ideally start on the Main Square, Széchenyi Tér (see picture), where  key buildings and structures are located.

The Mosque of Pasha Gazi Kassim, largest in Central Europe, was built in 1543-46 on the site of the former St Bartholomew’s Gothic Church (13th century). It was turned again into a Catholic Church by the Jesuits after the departure of the Turks. Nowadays, it is called the Inner City Church, a mix of catholic and muslim tradition. The Dome is topped by both a cross and a crescent moon.

On the square, there is also the Holy Trinity Column and the equestrian statue of Janos Hunyadi, general and Governor of Hungary, father of Matthias Corvinus the country’s greatest king.

Other attractive buildings not to be missed are the Provincial Headquarters and City Hall.

 Going down to the lower part of the square, do not miss the Zsolnay Fountain and St Sebastian’s church. As you proceed, you will come to Kossuth Square and the Synagogue built in the 1860s with its oak-panelled interior. At the time, 4000 jews resided in the city.

 Climbing back to the Main Square from the opposite direction, you will see the grand Main Post Office building and further up the street the remains of  old Turkish Baths, the Mosque of Jakovali Hassan (16th century) and the Franciscan Church.

 Head now for the four-tower Cathedral (see picture) on the location of the original church built in 1040 and now a neo-Romanesque reconstruction built by the Austrian architect Friedrich von Schmidt in 1883-91.

On Cathedral square you will see the Bishop’s Palace (where Frans Liszt stayed during his visit in 1846) and the Archive Building.

 And now the the vast hall of Septichora and the remains of the Christian necropolis and its burial chambers with wall paintings. The complex was listed by Unesco in 2000.

 Back to the main square, head for Kiraly (bishop 1807-25) street (also called « Promenade »), lined with sidewalk cafés and glorious buildings : the stunning Art Nouveau Palatinus Hotel, the National Theater completed in 1895, the Lyceum Church and the nicest house in town called Vasvary.

 If you have time left, go to the museum area to visit the Archeological Museum, the Klimo Library, the Zsolnay Museum (oldest building from 1324), the Vasarely Museum, the Mining Museum and the Csontvary Museum.

 You will then have visited the highlights of this charming city, but there are many other exciting sights that you will discover strolling through the streets of Pécs.

 

Jacques Campé