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Visegrad Castle |
The first recognizes one of Hungary's foremost tourist attractions and repositories of its cultural heritage, the famous Visegrad Castle. Visegrad Castle is a good half hour's hike uphill from the Danube. Its impressively large walls provide some incredible views of the surrounding river valley. The town of Visegrad is situated in a picturesque and strategic location north of Budapest at the bend of the Danube River. It was used by the Romans as a military fortress in the 4th century and became a Slavic settlement in the 9th century when they named it Visegrad, the Slavic word for "high castle." The citadel was protected by a moat carved from the rock and its Treasury Tower was where the royal insignia were stored.
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Esztergom |
Esztergom is 66 km from Budapest, very famous for medieval royal palace and the biggest Cathedral of Hungary. Beautifully situated in a crook of the Danube facing Slovakia, Esztergom is dominated by its basilica, whose dome is visible for miles around. The sight is richly symbolic, since it was here that the locally bom St Stephen, king of Hungary, converted his subjects to Catholicism in 1000 AD - the city has remained a centre for Catholicism ever since. Mongol invasion forced the royal court to move to Buda. 'Me capture of the town by the Turks in the sixteenth century curtailed the Church's influence until the nineteenth century, when a concerted campaign was started by the Catholic Church to restore Esztergom as its center. |
Szentendre |
This small city with about 20000 of population is really fascinating. The history of this city is very rich and the names of this placer changed few times. From the first appearance it was called Ulcisia Castra (wolf camp). The town stretches along the river shore, but wide parts of the old town tower over the river Danube on the top of a hill. The train station is outside the old town in the south. From there, visitors first have to pass an underground passage and than walk along Kossuth Lajos utca. The old town mainly consists of very narrow and scenic lanes and many churches. And even more tourists. Day by day, countless hordes of tourists flock through the ppr old town. Because of that, there are also many souvenir shops and other appropriate facilities. Szentendre shouldn't be missed, but many travelers will be glad when they can leave this overcrowded place. |
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Balaton |
Balaton is a little town on the nothern shore of Lake Balaton surrounded by the southern slopes of Tamás Hill and by the Tihany peninsula. The number of its population is 13.500. Since 1971 Balatonfüred is the first spa in Hungary. It has also gained the title of "International Town of Grapes and Wine". The town became famous mostly because of the curative springs and its mediterranean-like climate. Tihany is a peninsula on the northern side of Lake Balaton, the largest shallow lake in the Central European region. Tihany is also the name of the village located on the top of the hill. Both Tihany peninsula and the village has many historical interests including an early Iron Age fortress and the Tihany Abbey founded in the 11th century. |
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