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Eger
Eger is one of the most beautiful
towns of Hungary with lots of historic buildings.
It lies in the valley of
the Eger Stream, in the hill-country.
The basin of Eger and the hilly region around
it have always been very suitable for human
settlements, and there are many archaeological
findings from the early ages of history, which
support this fact.
According to these findings the first generation
of the conquering Hungarians occupied the area
of Eger at the beginning of the 10th century.
Actually Eger's establishment coincides with
the church - founding activity of Hungarian
first king, Saint Stephen. He established here
one of the ten bishoprics that were organized
before 1009.
This development was blocked for a short time
by the Mongol invasion in 1241, when the town
was ransacked and burned down during the episcopacy
of Kilit the Second.
During the reign of King Matthias (1458-1490)
Eger began to develop again. The gothic-styled
Bishops Palace which can be seen at the present
time was reconstructed by the order of Bishop
János Bekensloer. Building operations
continued during the bishoprics of Orbán
Dóczy and Tamás Bakócz.
After the Mohács
Disaster (1526) a sorrowful period began in
the history of Eger.
During the dual kingship the town changed hands
almost every year and the Turkish army came
closer as well.
This circumstance provided the reason for reinforcing
the fortress.
In the autumn of 1552, Captain István
Dobó and his handful of soldiers were
successful in defending the fortress and northern
Hungary from the expanding Turkish Empire.
Despite the fact that Dobó and his soldiers
successfully defended the fortress, it was destroyed
during the siege, so it was essential to wholly
rebuild it.
The reconstruction process of the fortress took
place between 1553 and 1596 and Italian artificer
officers planned the renovations.
While Dobó and his
soldiers managed to defend the fortress in 1552,
in 1596 the captain at that time and the foreign
mercenaries under his rule handed it over.
This was the beginning of the 91 year long Turkish
rule in Eger.
The graceful minaret which was built at the
end of the 17th century preserves the memory
of this period.
Among all the buildings of this type, the minaret
of Eger is found in the northern-most point
of the former Ottoman Empire.
During the Turkish occupation Eger became the
seat of a vilayet which is a Turkish domain
including several sanjaks.
Eger was relieved from Turkish rule in December,
1687. Although the reoccupation was effected
by a siege (which starved out the defenders)
and not by a bombardment, the town fell into
a very poor state.
According to the ... records there were only
413 houses in the area within the town walls
which were habitable and most of these were
occupied by left over Turkish families.
In the history of Eger
the 18th century was the period of development
and prosperity.
The bishops of Eger, out of special respect
for Ferenc Barkóczy and Károly
Eszterházy, created that baroque towns
scape which has been characteristic of Eger
since that time.
The most spectacular ones among the baroque
buildings are the "lyceum" (central
building of Károly Eszterházy
Teachers Training College), the Minority Church,
the Small Provost's palace, the Great Provost's
palace (the County Library), the County Hall
with Henrik Fasola's two wonderful, wrought-iron
gates in it and the Serbian Church.
In 1804 a significant change
occurred in the organization of Eger's bishopric.
The monarch made this town a center of archbishopric,
but the bishoprics of Szatmár and Kassa
separated from it.
At the beginning of the
century, in 1904, the first independent theatre
of stone was opened and the canalization and
the provision of public utilities began as well.
In 1933 Eger was one of those towns that first
got the permission for opening a spa.
In the decades after 1945, industrialization
of the town commenced because of the change
of regime. As a consequence, Eger's former character
of a cultural center began to fade, which diminished
the patina of the settlement.
It was a great good fortune that in 1968 the
baroque inner city was preserved.
So it was saved from the deterioration. In 1978
the town was rewarded with a Hild-medal for
its excellent work in protecting the local monuments.
It was also in appreciation of the town's protection
of its heritage that the Hungarian seat of the
ICOMOS (International Council for Monuments
and Sites) was located into Eger.
Eger City Tour:
We are providing you also with
Eger city tour on your request. To Eger every
30 minutes going train from Keleti station
and it is about 1 hour and 50 minutes by train
from Budapest.
The price for Szentendre tour is 60 Euro, no
mater how many person going.
Online Reservation Request
for Eger City Tour:
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