Szeged ( , ; see also other alternative names) is the third largest city of

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, the largest city and regional centre of the

Southern Great Plain The Southern Great Plain ( ) is a statistical ( NUTS 2) region of Hungary. It is part of Great Plain and North (NUTS 1) region. The Southern Great Plain includes the counties of Bács-Kiskun, Békés, and Csongrád-Csanád. The region is in the ...

and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Csongrád-Csanád county. The

University of Szeged The University of Szeged () is a Public university, public research university in Szeged, Hungary. Established as the Jesuit Academy of Kolozsvár in present-day Cluj-Napoca in 1581, the institution was re-established as a university in 1872 by ...

is one of the most distinguished universities in Hungary. The Szeged Open Air (Theatre) Festival (first held in 1931) is one of the main attractions, held every summer and celebrated as the Day of the City on 21 May.

Etymology

It is possible that the name ''Szeged'' is a

mutated In biology, a mutation is an alteration in the nucleic acid sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extrachromosomal DNA. Viral genomes contain either DNA or RNA. Mutations result from errors during DNA replication, DNA or viral rep ...

and truncated form of the final syllables of '' Partiscum'', the name of a Roman colony founded in the 2nd century, on or near the site of modern Szeged. In

Latin language Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

contexts, has long been assumed to be synonymous with ''Szeged''. The Latin name is also the basis of the city's Greek name ''Partiskon''. However, ''Szeged'' might instead have originated (or been influenced by) an old Hungarian word for "corner" (), pointing to the turn of the river Tisza that flows through the city. Others say it derives from the Hungarian word which means "island". Others still contend that means "dark blond" () – a reference to the color of the water where the rivers Tisza and Maros merge. Szeged has a variety of names in languages other than Hungarian. These are usually formed by the addition of a suffix ''-in'' to the Hungarian name: ; or ; /; ; ; ; ; Slovak and ; .

History

Szeged and its area have been inhabited since ancient times.

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

mentions the oldest known name of the city: ''Partiscum'' (

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

: Πάρτισκον)''.'' It is possible that

Attila Attila ( or ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in early 453. He was also the leader of an empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Gepids, among others, in Central Europe, C ...

, king of the

Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th centuries AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was par ...

had his seat somewhere in this area. The name Szeged was first mentioned in 1183, in a document of King Béla III. In the second century AD there was a Roman

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...

established on an island in the Tisza, and the foundations of the Szeged castle suggest that the structure may have been built over an even earlier fort. Today only one corner of the castle still remains standing. During the Mongol invasion the town was destroyed and its inhabitants fled to the nearby swamps, but they soon returned and rebuilt their town. In the 14th century, during the reign of Louis the Great, Szeged became the most important town of Southern Hungary, and – as the Turkish armies got closer to Hungary – the strategic importance of Szeged grew. King

Sigismund of Luxembourg Sigismund of Luxembourg (15 February 1368 – 9 December 1437) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1433 until his death in 1437. He was elected King of Germany (King of the Romans) in 1410, and was also King of Bohemia from 1419, as well as prince-elec ...

had a wall built around the town. Szeged was raised to free royal town status in 1498. Szeged was first pillaged by the

Ottoman Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire () was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. It was founded in 1299 and dissolved in 1922. Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the years ...

on 28 September 1526, but was occupied only in 1543, and became an administrative centre of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

(see

Ottoman Hungary Ottoman Hungary () encompassed the parts of the Kingdom of Hungary which were under the rule of the Ottoman Empire from the occupation of Buda in 1541 until the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699. The territory was incorporated into the empire, under ...

) during the reign of

Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I (; , ; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the Western world and as Suleiman the Lawgiver () in his own realm, was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman sultan between 1520 a ...

. The town was a sanjak centre first in Budin Eyaleti (1543–1596), after in Eğri Eyaleti. The town was freed from Turkish rule on 23 October 1686, and regained the free royal town status in 1715. In 1719, Szeged received its

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

(still used today) from

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

. During the next several years, Szeged grew and prospered. Piarist monks arrived in Szeged in 1719 and opened a new grammar school in 1721. Szeged also held scientific lectures and theatrical plays. These years brought not only prosperity but also enlightenment. Between 1728 and 1744 witch trials were frequent in the town, with the Szeged witch trials of 1728–29 perhaps being the largest. The witch trials were instigated by the authorities, who decided on this measure to remove the problem of the public complaints about the drought and its consequences of famine and epidemics by laying the responsibility on people among them, which had fraternized with the Devil. In 1720, the ethnic Hungarian population of the town numbered about 13000 to 16000, while the number of the Serb inhabitants was 1300. The first printing press was established in 1801, and the old town hall and the civil hospital were built at the same time. Szeged is known as the home of

paprika Paprika is a spice made from dried and ground red peppers, traditionally ''capsicum annuum''. It can have varying levels of Pungency, heat, but the peppers used for hot paprika tend to be milder and have thinner flesh than those used to produce ...

, a spice made from dried, powdered

capsicum ''Capsicum'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the Solanum, nightshade family Solanaceae, native to the Americas, cultivated worldwide for their edible fruit, which are generally known as "peppers" or "capsicum". Chili peppers grow on five s ...

fruits. Paprika arrived in Hungary in the second half of the 16th century as an ornamental plant. About 100 years later the plant was cultivated as an herb, and paprika as we know it. Szeged is also famous for their szekelygulyas, a goulash made with

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig animal husbandry, husbandry dating back to 8000–9000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooke ...

, sauerkraut and

sour cream Sour cream (sometimes known as soured cream in British English) is a dairy product obtained by fermenting regular cream with certain kinds of lactic acid bacteria. The bacterial culture, which is introduced either deliberately or naturall ...

. And also famous for their halászlé, fish soup made of

carp The term carp (: carp) is a generic common name for numerous species of freshwater fish from the family (biology), family Cyprinidae, a very large clade of ray-finned fish mostly native to Eurasia. While carp are prized game fish, quarries and a ...

and

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order (biology), order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Catfish are common name, named for their prominent barbel (anatomy), barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, though not ...

. The citizens of Szeged played an important part in the

Hungarian Revolution of 1848 The Hungarian Revolution of 1848, also known in Hungary as Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849 () was one of many Revolutions of 1848, European Revolutions of 1848 and was closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in ...

Lajos Kossuth Lajos Kossuth de Udvard et Kossuthfalva (; ; ; ; 19 September 1802 – 20 March 1894) was a Hungarian nobleman, lawyer, journalist, politician, statesman and governor-president of the Kingdom of Hungary during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, r ...

delivered his famous speech here. Szeged was the last seat of the revolutionary government in July 1849. The Habsburg rulers punished the leaders of the town, but later Szeged began to prosper again; the railway reached it in 1854, and the town got its free royal town status back in 1860. Mark Pick's shop – the predecessor of today's Pick Salami Factory – was opened in 1869. Today the inner city of Szeged has wide avenues. This is mainly due to the great

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

of 1879, which wiped away the whole town (only 265 of the 5723 houses remained and 165 people died). Emperor Franz Joseph visited the town and promised that "Szeged will be more beautiful than it used to be". He kept his promise, and during the next years a new, modern city emerged from the ruins, with palaces and wide streets.

20th century

After the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Hungary lost its southern territories to

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

, as a result Szeged became a city close to the

border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

, and its importance lessened, but as it took over roles that formerly belonged to the now lost cities, it slowly recovered. Following the Loss of

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

to Romania, University of Kolozsvár (now

Cluj-Napoca Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...

), moved to Szeged in 1921 (see

). In 1923 Szeged took over the role of episcopal seat from Temesvár (now

Timișoara Timișoara (, , ; , also or ; ; ; see #Etymology, other names) is the capital city of Timiș County, Banat, and the main economic, social and cultural center in Western Romania. Located on the Bega (Tisza), Bega River, Timișoara is consider ...

, Romania). It was briefly occupied by the Romanian army during Hungarian-Romanian War in 1919. It also became a center for right-wing forces which would install

Miklós Horthy Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya (18 June 1868 – 9 February 1957) was a Hungarian admiral and statesman who was the Regent of Hungary, regent of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946), Kingdom of Hungary Hungary between the World Wars, during the ...

as the country's new leader after the overthrow of the Hungarian Soviet Republic. During the 1920s the Jewish population of Szeged grew and reached its zenith. Szeged suffered heavily during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. 6,000 inhabitants of the city were killed, In 1941, there were 4,161 Jews living in Szeged. After, March 19, 1944 German occupation, they were confined to a ghetto together with the Jews from surrounding villages. In June, 1944, the ghetto was liquidated. The

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

murdered the larger part of the 8,500 and some were forced into forced labor in Strasshof Labor camp, Austria. Szeged was captured by

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front on 11 October 1944 in the course of the Battle of Debrecen. During the communist era, Szeged became a centre of

light industry Light industry are Industry (economics), industries that usually are less Capital intensity, capital-intensive than heavy industry, heavy industries and are more consumer-oriented than business-oriented, as they typically produce smaller consum ...

and

food industry The food industry is a complex, global network of diverse businesses that supplies most of the food consumed by the world's population. The food industry today has become highly diversified, with manufacturing ranging from small, traditional, ...

. In 1965, oil was found near the city. In 1962, Szeged became the county seat of Csongrád. Whole new districts were built, and many nearby villages (e.g. Tápé, Szőreg, Kiskundorozsma, Szentmihálytelek, Gyálarét) were annexed to the city in 1973 (as was a tendency during the Communist era). Today's Szeged is an important university town and a tourist attraction. The Szeged Symphony Orchestra (Szegedi Szimfonikus Zenekar) gives regular concerts at the Szegedi Nemzeti Színház.

Geography

Szeged is situated near the southern border of

, just to the south of the mouth of the Maros River, on both banks of the

Tisza River The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa (see below) is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. It was once called "the most Hungarian river" because it used to flow entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national bo ...

, nearly in the centre of the Carpathian Basin. The Hungarian frontier with Serbia is just outside the town.

Climate

Szeged's climate is transitional between humid subtropical (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Cfa'') and humid continental (Köppen ''Dfa''), with cold winters, hot summers, and fairly low precipitation. Due to the high hours of sunlight reported annually, Szeged is often called ''City of Sunshine'' (). On 23 July 2022, a maximum temperature of was registered in Szeged.

Education

The city of Szeged has 62

kindergartens Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...

, 32 elementary schools and 18 high schools. The two most prominent high schools (''Ságvári Endre Gyakorló Gimnázium'' and ''Radnóti Miklós Kísérleti Gimnázium'') are in the top fifteen in the country. Szeged is the higher education centre of the

and has built quite a reputation for itself. Thousands of students study here, many of whom are foreigners. The

is according to the number of students the second largest and the 4th oldest university of Hungary being established in 1581. Ranked as the top university of the country o
Academic Ranking of World Universities – 2005
and in the top 100 in Europe, it offers several programs on different fields of study. ELI-ALPS research center under construction

ELI-ALPS research center under construction

The '' Biological Research Centre'' of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, which was built with the help of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

funds, has also been a considerable source of advanced research. Scientists at this laboratory were first in the world to produce ''artificial heredity material'' in the year 2000. The building has served as a home to many well known conferences and continues to make contributions to the world of science. The ''Szent-Györgyi Albert Agóra'' is a cultural scientific centre of Szeged which gives home to laboratories of the Biological Research Centre and to exhibitions of the John von Neumann Computer Society especially their IT historical exposition. In 2018 the new scientific institution, the '' ELI Attosecond Light Pulse Source'' (ELI-ALPS) opened in Szeged establishing a unique facility which provides light sources within an extremely broad frequency range in the form of ultrashort pulses with high repetition rate which is needed for different kinds of physical experiments especially in the field of attosecond physics. It is also one of the main options for medical students who come from all around Europe to study Medicine in their recognized international campus.

Demographics

Ethnic groups (2001 census): *

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

– 93.5% * Romani – 0.7% *

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

– 0.5% *

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

– 0.2% *

Romanians Romanians (, ; dated Endonym and exonym, exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Sharing a Culture of Romania, ...

– 0.2% *

Croats The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

– 0.1% *

Slovaks The Slovaks ( (historical Sloveni ), singular: ''Slovák'' (historical: ''Sloven'' ), feminine: ''Slovenka'' , plural: ''Slovenky'') are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation native to Slovakia who share a common ancestry, culture, history ...

– 0.1% * No answer (unknown) – 4.7% Religions (2001 census): *

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

– 54.5% *

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

– 6.7% *

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

– 1.6% *

Greek Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Ea ...

– 0.6% * Others (Christian) – 1.3% * Others (non-Christian) – 0.4% * Atheist – 21.8% * No answer (unknown) – 13.1%

Economy

Szeged is one of the centres of food industry in Hungary, especially known for its

and companies like Pick Szeged, Sole-Mizo, Bonafarm etc. Other notable companies having their headquarters in Szeged are AMSY International, RRE – Szeged, Optiwella, Generál Printing House, RotaPack, Sanex Pro, Agroplanta, Karotin, Florin, Quadrotex and Szeplast. Others, like ContiTech, Duna-Dráva Cement, Szatmári Malom and Europe Match, are not based in the city, but have production facilities there. The Hangár Expo and Conference Centre provides space for international exhibitions and conferences.

Largest employers

Transport

Szeged is the most important transportation hub in the

. Two motorways, M5 and M43, lie along the city border. Through the

M5 Motorway The M5 is a motorway in England linking the Midlands with the South West England, South West. It runs from junction 8 of the M6 motorway, M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Brom ...

Szeged is connected to

Kecskemét Kecskemét ( ) is a city with county rights in central Hungary. It is the List of cities and towns of Hungary, eighth-largest city in the country, and the county seat of Bács-Kiskun County, Bács-Kiskun. Kecskemét lies halfway between the ca ...

, Kiskunfélegyháza and

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

to the north and to

Subotica Subotica (, ; , , ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city in Central Europe and the administrative center of the North Bačka District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. Formerly the largest city of Vojvodina region, contemporary Sub ...

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...

and

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

to the south. The M43 Motorway – which splits from the M5 Motorway near Szeged – connects the city via Makó to Arad and

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. In addition, there are other roads running from the city to Makó and Nagylak (main road 43), to Röszke (main road 5), to Kiskunfélegyháza (main road 5), to Ásotthalom and Baja (main road 55) and to Hódmezővásárhely,

Orosháza Orosháza is a city situated in the westernmost part of Békés (county), Békés county, Hungary, on the Békés ridge bordered by the rivers River Maros, Maros and River Körös, Körös. Orosháza is an important culture, cultural, educational ...

and

Békéscsaba Békéscsaba (; ; see also #Name, other alternative names) is a city with county rights in southeast Hungary, the capital of Békés County. Geography Békéscsaba is located in the Great Hungarian Plain, southeast from Budapest. Highway 44, 47 ...

(main road 47). The Budapest-Szeged-rail line is an important rail connection, as well as the railway lines 121 (to Makó), 135 (to Hódmezővásárhely), 136 (to Röszke) and 140 (to Kiskunfélegyháza). A

tram-train A tram-train or dual-system tram is a type of light rail vehicle that both meets the standards of a light rail system, and also national mainline standards. Tramcars are adapted to be capable of running on streets like an urban tramway but a ...

system was constructed and inaugurated in November 2021, connecting Szeged with the neighbouring Hódmezővásárhely, thus creating the second most populous

urban agglomeration An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...

in the country, after the capital. There was a proposal for its extension, even through the Serbian border, to

. The city is also a common stop for national and international long-distance buses.

Motorways

* M5 * M43

Railways

* 121 (to Makó) * 135 (to Hódmezővásárhely) * 136 (to Röszke) * 140 (to Kiskunfélegyháza).

Airport

Szeged Airport is the international airport of Szeged.

Public transport

Public transport in Szeged is provided by Szeged Transport Ltd. ( or ''SZKT''), owned by the municipal government, and Volánbusz, owned by the national government. Forming the backbone of SZKT's network are 5 tram lines and 6 trolleybus lines, which are supplemented by 38 bus lines. Hungarian State Railways operates regional and intercity trains, as well as international trains to

Sport

Handball

The most popular sport in the city is

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

. The city has one well-known club the 2013–14 EHF Cup-winner SC Pick Szeged playing in the

Nemzeti Bajnokság I The Nemzeti Bajnokság (, ), also known as NB I or Fizz Liga after its title sponsor, OTP Bank's webshop subsidiary, is a professional association football league in Hungary and the highest level of the Hungarian football league system. Twelve ...

. They play at the Pick Aréna, opened in 2021.

Association football

The second most popular sport is

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

in the city. Szeged had several clubs playing in the top level Hungarian league, the

. These are Szegedi AK, Szegedi Honvéd SE. The only currently operating club, Szeged 2011 play in the Nemzeti Bajnokság II. * Szeged 2011, currently competing in the 2018–19 Nemzeti Bajnokság III * Szegedi Egységes Oktatási Labdarúgó SC, currently competing in the 2018–19 Nemzeti Bajnokság III * Szegedi VSE, currently competing in the Csongrád county championship * Szegedi EAC, defunct * Szegedi AK, defunct * Szegedi Honvéd SE, defunct

Speedway

Motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four clockwise, anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that ...

has had a long association with the city. The first track was at the SZEAC athletics stadium (also known as the Felső Tisza-parti Stadion or Városi stadion), which was located where the Pick Aréna is today. The venue hosted finals of the Hungarian Individual Speedway Championship. From 1978, the Volán speedway club moved to a new track built on Napos út at Béke telepi. This venue held important events, including qualifying rounds of the Speedway World Championship in 1983 and 1984 and a qualifying round of the

Speedway World Team Cup The Speedway World Team Cup was an annual motorcycle speedway, speedway event held each year in different countries. The competition started in 1960 and was replaced with the Speedway World Cup in 2001. Format From 1960 until 1985, each team c ...

in 1988 and 1990. The track closed, partly because of noise issues in a residential area, resulting in the speedway moving out of the city, 25 kilometres west, near to Mórahalom ().

Main sights

Politics

The current mayor of Szeged is László Botka (Association for Szeged). The local Municipal Assembly, elected at the 2019 local government elections, is made up of 33 members (1 Mayor, 23 Individual constituencies MEPs and 9 Compensation List MEPs) divided into this political parties and alliances:

List of mayors

List of City Mayors from 1990:

Media

The city offers a wide range of media – television and radio stations, and print and online newspapers.

TV stations

* Szeged TV * Tarjáni Kábeltévé Stúdió * TiszapART TV * Telin Televízió

Radio stations

* "Rádió 88" FM 95,4 MHz * All in Party Radio * Rádió Mi, 89,9 MHz * Lánchíd Rádió, FM 100,2 MHz * MR1 Kossuth Rádió, FM 90,3 MHz * MR2 Petőfi Rádió, 104,6 MHz * MR3 Bartók Rádió, 105,7 MHz * Dankó Rádió, 93,1 MHz
Rádió1
87,9 MHz

Daily newspapers and news portals

* Délmagyarország () * * * * *

Notable people

Born in Szeged

* Adrián Annus (1975), hammer thrower * Gábor Agárdy (1922–2006), actor * Miloš Babić (1904–1968), artist * Béla Balázs (1884–1949), writer, poet, film critic * Zsolt Becsey (1964), politician * Joseph Csaky (1888–1971) sculptor * Krisztián Cser (1977) opera singer, physicist * Attila Czene (1974), Olympic champion medley swimmer *

János Csonka János Csonka (22 January 1852 in Szeged – 27 October 1939 in Budapest) was a Hungarian engineer, the co-inventor of the carburetor for the stationary engine with Donát Bánki, patented on 13 February 1893. Life Csonka, self-educated in ...

(1852–1939), engineer, co-inventor of the carburetor * Mihály Erdélyi (1895–1979), operetta composer * Sophie Evans (1976), adult movie star * Ivan Fellegi (1935), Chief Statistician of Canada * Rajmund Fodor (1976), Olympic champion water polo player * Jenő Huszka (1875–1960), composer *

Éva Janikovszky Éva Janikovszky (April 23, 1926 in Szeged – July 14, 2003 in Budapest) was a Hungarian writer. She wrote novels for both children and adults, but she is primarily known for her children's books, translated into 35 languages. Her first book ...

(1926–2003), writer * Ferenc Joachim (1882–1964), painter * Gyula Juhász (1883–1937), poet * Esther Jungreis, Orthodox Jewish outreach speaker * Judith Karasz (1912–1977), photographer and Bauhaus graduate * Györgyi Lang (1957–2023) actress and singer, member of the Hungarian music duo Pa-Dö-Dő. * (1857?), architect * Géza Maróczy (1870–1951), chess grand master *

Anita Márton Anita Márton (; born 15 January 1989) is a Hungarian shot putter. International competitions Awards *Hungarian athlete of the Year (3): 2014, 2015, 2016 * Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary, Cross of Merit of Hungary – Golden Cross ...

(1989), shot putter * Tamás Molnár (1975), Olympic champion water polo player * Nickolas Muray (born Miklós Mandl; 1892–1965), Hungarian-born American photographer and Olympic fencer * Róbert Nagy (1967), speedway rider * László Paskai (1927–2015), Archbishop of

Esztergom Esztergom (; ; or ; , known by Names of European cities in different languages: E–H#E, alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the righ ...

* Szilvia Peter Szabo (1982), singer * Willy Pogany (1882–1955), illustrator * György Sebők (1922–1999), pianist * Julius Stahel (1825–1912),

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

general and diplomat * Hanna Tetteh (1967), Foreign minister of the Republic of Ghana * (1983), singer * Marianne Varnay (1898), architect https://architectuul.com/architect/marianne-varnay * Attila Vajda (1983), Olympic champion canoer * Vilmos Zsigmond (1930), cinematographer

Lived in Szeged

* Mihály Babits poet, writer * Lipót Fejér mathematician *

Ferenc Fricsay Ferenc Fricsay (; 9 August 1914 – 20 February 1963) was a Hungarian conductor. From 1960 until his death, he was an Austrian citizen. Biography Fricsay was born in Budapest in 1914 and studied music under Béla Bartók, Zoltán Kodály, Ern ...

conductor *

Alfréd Haar Alfréd Haar (; 11 October 1885, Budapest – 16 March 1933, Szeged) was a Kingdom of Hungary, Hungarian mathematician. In 1904 he began to study at the University of Göttingen. His doctorate was supervised by David Hilbert. The Haar me ...

mathematician * Attila József poet * László Kalmár mathematician * Katalin Karikó Nobel prize winner biochemist * Dezső Kosztolányi poet, novelist * Peter Leko chess grandmaster * Immanuel Löw rabbi, Judaic scholar, politician * Leopold Löw rabbi, historian and Judaic scholar * Kálmán Mikszáth writer * Ferenc Móra writer, archaeologist * Miklós Radnóti poet * Frigyes Riesz mathematician *

Albert Szent-Györgyi Albert Imre Szent-Györgyi de Rapoltu Mare, Nagyrápolt (; September 16, 1893 – October 22, 1986) was a Hungarian biochemist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1937. He is credited with first isolating vitamin C and disc ...

Nobel prize winner chemist and biologist *

Béla Szőkefalvi-Nagy Béla Szőkefalvi-Nagy (29 July 1913, Kolozsvár – 21 December 1998, Szeged) was a Hungarian mathematician. His father, Gyula Szőkefalvi-Nagy was also a famed mathematician. Szőkefalvi-Nagy collaborated with Alfréd Haar and Frigyes Riesz ...

mathematician * Philip Wodianer communal worker * Adele Zay (1848–1928), teacher and feminist

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Szeged is twinned with: *

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, United Kingdom (1987) *

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...

, Germany (1990) *

Kotor Kotor (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian language, Italian: ), is a town in Coastal Montenegro, Coastal region of Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has ...

, Montenegro (2001) * Larnaca, Cyprus (1994) *

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

, Belgium (2001) *

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

, Poland (2004) *

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million Odesa Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...

, Ukraine (1957) *

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

, Italy (1988) *

Pula Pula, also known as Pola, is the largest city in Istria County, west Croatia, and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, seventh-largest city in the country, situated at the southern tip of the Istria, Istrian peninsula in western Croatia, wi ...

, Croatia (2003) * Rakhiv, Ukraine (1939, renewed 1997) *

, Serbia (1966, renewed 2004) * Târgu Mureș, Romania (1997) *

, Romania (1998) * Toledo, United States (1990) *

Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...

, Finland (1971) * Weinan, China (1999)

Partner cities

, Serbia (2001)

Gallery

Klauzal ter - panoramio.jpg, Klauzál Square Szeged nagy posta.jpg, Postal Palace A szeged-alsóvárosi ferences rendház és templom légi felvételen.jpg, Franciscan monastery and church Hungary szeged dome night 5.jpg, Votive Church at night Szeged-Alsóváros, ferences templom 2021 11.jpg, Relief of King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary Szeged IV. Béla szobra Somorjai 006.jpg, Statue of King

Béla IV of Hungary Béla IV (1206 – 3 May 1270) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia between 1235 and 1270, and Duke of Styria from 1254 to 1258. As the oldest son of Andrew II of Hungary, King Andrew II, he was crowned upon the initiative of a group ...

Szeged, Kárász utca 16., Magyar Ede 16KJ.jpg, Unger–Mayer House (1911) Klebelsberg1.JPG, Statue of Kuno von Klebelsberg Szeged - Milkó-palota (29738098347).jpg,

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

architecture Szeged, Árvízi emlékmű SF.jpg, The Great Flood (1879) Statue Szegedi Tudományegyetem.jpg, Rector's Building,

Szeged-egyetem5.jpg, Institute of Informatics & IT Department, University of Szeged Szeged-egyetem4.jpg, Faculty of Sciences (the chemistry building), University of Szeged Hungary szeged dom2.jpg, View from the Votive Church Dome Megyeszékhely - Csongrád megye - Szeged.jpg, Aerial photography Tisza-szeged1.jpg, Belvárosi bridge on the Tisza river Szeged-paprika1.jpg, Capsicum fruits in Szeged AnnafürdőSzeged06.jpg, Anna Thermal-Bath Szeged, Hungary. Suspended bridge.jpg, Szeged bridge on Tisza Szegedi Fekete-ház.jpg, Fekete-house

Notes

References

External links

Official site with webcam
{{Authority control County seats in Hungary Cities with county rights of Hungary Populated places in Csongrád-Csanád County Roman settlements in Hungary Serb communities in Hungary Tourism in Hungary