Szekszárd (, formerly also ''Szegzárd''; hr, Seksar; german: Sechshard or ; sr, Сексард) is a small city in southern
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...
and the capital of
Tolna County
Tolna ( hu, Tolna megye, ; german: Komitat Tolnau) is an administrative county (comitatus or megye) in present Hungary as it was of the former Kingdom of Hungary. It lies in central Hungary, on the west bank of the river Danube. It shares borders ...
. By population, Szekszárd is the smallest county capital in Hungary; by area, it is the second-smallest (after
Tatabánya
Tatabánya (; german: Totiserkolonie; sk, Banská Stará) is a city with county rights of 64,305 inhabitants in northwestern Hungary, in the Central Transdanubian region. It is the capital of Komárom-Esztergom County.
Location
The city is lo ...
).
Location
Szekszárd lies at the meeting point of the
Transdanubian Hills and the
Great Hungarian Plain, at the mouth of
Sió
The Sió or Sió-csatorna (''Sió-Channel'') is a fully regulated river in midwest Hungary. It is the outlet, at the eastern end, of Lake Balaton, flowing out of the lake in Siófok. It flows into the river Danube near the city of Szekszárd. Sió ...
into the flood plain of
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
.
History
Szekszárd was first mentioned in 1015. The
Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
monastery of the town was founded by King
Béla I in 1061.
During the reign of
King Matthias, Szekszárd was the estate of Bishop John, who was involved in a conspiracy against the king. Because of this, King Matthias ordered the castle of Szekszárd to be demolished.
In 1485, Szekszárd was already a significant town, holding five market days a year, but during the
Turkish ascendancy of Hungary, the town became deserted and the monastery was destroyed.
By the 18th century, Szekszárd was again a significant town, it became a county seat (of Tolna), and got a coat of arms. The town was destroyed by a fire in 1794, but it could not stop the town's development. Most of the important buildings—including the
town hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
, the
County Hall and several
churches—were built during the 19th century. By this time, Szekszárd already had 14,000 residents.
Mihály Babits
Mihály Babits (; 26 November 1883 – 4 August 1941) was a Hungarian poet, writer and translator. His poems are well known for their intense religious themes. His novels such as “The Children of Death” (1927) explore psychological pro ...
, an important Hungarian
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...
was born in Szekszárd in 1883.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, Szekszárd was captured by
Soviet troops of the
3rd Ukrainian Front on 30 November 1944 as part of the
Budapest Offensive.
In 1994, Szekszárd was granted the rank of city with county rights, in accordance with a new law stating that all county seats are cities with county rights. (Previously only cities with a population over 50,000 were granted county rights, and Szekszárd was one of only two county seats that had a smaller population than 50,000; the other was
Salgótarján).
Transportation
Szekszárd lies on a
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a p ...
line
Rétszilas -
Bátaszék
Bátaszék (german: Badeseck, sr, Батсек, Batsek) is a town in Tolna County, Hungary. The majority residents are Hungarians, with a minority of Serbs.
"The oldest tree of Bátaszék" won the title of European Tree of the Year 2016.
The Ro ...
and on a junction of main roads No. 6, 56, 63 and 65. Motorways
M6 and M9 cross each other near the city. There also are local bus lines for city transportation operated by DDKK.
Main sights
* Old county hall (
neo-Classical style)
* Augusz manor (
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...
was a guest here)
*
Deutsche Bühne Ungarn
* Birthplace of Mihály Babits, Museums
* Birthplace of Valéria Dienes
* Ruins of Benedictine monastery
*
János Garay Square and statue
Twin towns – sister cities
Szekszárd is
twinned with:
*
Bečej
Bečej ( sr-cyrl, Бечеј, ; hu, Óbecse, ) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town has a population of 23,895, while the municipality has 37,351 inhabitants. I ...
, Serbia (1975)
*
Bezons
Bezons () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris.
Population
Transport
An extension of the tramway line T2 to Pont de Bezons opened in 2012. With Bezons not served by any stations ...
, France (1967)
*
Bietigheim-Bissingen
Bietigheim-Bissingen (locally: ''Biedge-Bissenge'') is the second-largest town in the district of Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany with 42,515 inhabitants in 2007. It is situated on the river Enz and the river Metter, close to its confl ...
, Germany (1989)
*
Făget
Făget (; hu, Facsád; german: Fatschet) is a town in Timiș County, Romania, with a population of about 7,500. The town administers ten villages: Bătești, Begheiu Mic, Bichigi, Brănești, Bunea Mare, Bunea Mică (depopulated), Colonia Mică, ...
, Romania (1998)
*
Jajce
Jajce (Јајце) is a town and municipality located in the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the 2013 census, the town has a population of 7,172 inhabitants, wit ...
, Bosnia and Herzegovina (2016)
*
Lugoj, Romania (1993)
*
Province of Ravenna, Italy (1996)
*
Tornio
Tornio (; sv, Torneå; sme, Duortnus ; smn, Tuárnus) is a city and municipality in Lapland, Finland. The city forms a cross-border twin city together with Haparanda on the Swedish side. The municipality covers an area of , of which is ...
, Finland (1986)
*
Waregem
Waregem (; vls, Woaregem), sometimes known as Waereghem, is a municipality and city located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality lies in the valley of the river Leie, between Kortrijk and Ghent. It is part of the arrondi ...
, Belgium (1993)
Notable people
*
Károly Escher, photographer
*
Mihály Babits
Mihály Babits (; 26 November 1883 – 4 August 1941) was a Hungarian poet, writer and translator. His poems are well known for their intense religious themes. His novels such as “The Children of Death” (1927) explore psychological pro ...
, poet
*
János Garay, poet
*
Attila Fiola, footballer
*
János Hahn, footballer
Sport
The women's basketball team
Atomerőmű Szekszárd play in the
Nemzeti Bajnokság is the premier tier of Hungarian basketball.
Szekszárdi UFC
Szekszárdi Utánpótlásnevelő Football Club is a professional football club based in Szekszárd, Tolna county, Hungary, that competes in the Nemzeti Bajnokság III
Nemzeti Bajnokság III (''NBIII'', ''National Championship III'') is the thi ...
play in the
Nemzeti Bajnokság III, the third tier of Hungarian football.
See also
*
Gemenc forest
References
External links
* in Hungarian, English and German
Aerial photography: Szekszárd
{{DEFAULTSORT:Szekszard
County seats in Hungary
Cities with county rights of Hungary
Populated places in Tolna County
Wine regions of Hungary