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"The city of rivers", called
Arrabona at Roman times, has
been an Episcopal See for
almost 1,000 years, where
Napoleon won a battle in
1809. Its atmospheric inner
city and delightful baroque
buildings make it into a
cherished and famous
university and industrial
city.
The ancient kernel of the
city is the Káptalan Hill
where three rivers - the
Danube, the Rába and the
Rábca - join together. The
residence of the bishops of
Győr, Püspökvár (Káptalan
domb 5/a.), can be
recognised from a long
distance by its broken
tower.
Cím:9021 Győr,
Káptalandomb 1.
Its oldest building is the
house tower dating from the
13th century,
and
the Gothic Dóczy Chapel,

(Dóczy-kápolna) (Püspökvár)built
in the 15th century. The
ancient Roman predecessor of
the Episcopal Cathedral
(Martinovics tér) was
erected as early as 1030,
and later was extended by th e
Saint Laszlo
Chapel(Héderváry Chapel),
built to hold
Saint Laszlo's Herma,
made
of gilded silver and
representing the pinnacle of
medieval Hungarian
goldsmith's art, produced on
the occasion of King Laszlo
I's (1077-95) canonisation.
The two ?black altars" are
distinctive adornments of
the church; and its frescos
were painted by A. F.
Maulbertsch: the rococo
frame of his devotional
painting depicting the
Virgin Mary and the Infant
is a masterpiece. The two
beautiful baroque art works
in the proximity of the
church were made in 1731:
the statue of Saint Michael
(Martinovics tér),
sculptured as an archangel,
and the Monument of the
Ark of the Covenant
(Gutenberg tér).
In the building of the
seminary (Káptalan domb
26.), the Diocesan
Collection, Treasury and
Library holds the
masterpieces of 1,000 years
of ecclesiastical art. Its
most precious pieces are the
ivory triptych, the
monstrance dating from the
16th century, another
monstrance from the 18th
century, and the Zichy
Collection consisting of
liturgical objects. The
Library boasts the largest
codex in Hungary. The works
of the greatest sculptor in
20th-century Hungarian
sculpture, Miklós Borsos
(1906-93), can be seen in
the museum bearing his name
(Apor Vilmos püspök tere
2.). In the
stone gallery
of the castle vaults (Bécsi
kapu tér 5.) the sights of
interest include sepulchres
from the ancient Roman and
modern ages, the
Kreszta
House (Rózsa Ferenc u. 1) ,
a typical classicist
building, and the ceramics
exhibition in its attic
showcasing Margit Kovács's
(1902-77) charming
figurines.
The figure on the ornamental
well in Duna-kapu tér is the
symbol of the city: the Iron
Rooster commemorates the
occupation of the castle in
1594 by the Turks. The
castle was later destroyed
by Napoleon. The famous
listed buildings in
Széchenyi
tér serve
as the scenery for the
baroque wedding organised
during the events of the
Győr Summer.
The iron trunk house (4) accommodates
the 20th-century works of
art and the applied art
works from Africa and
Oceania of the Imre Patkó
Collection. The trunk,
standing at the corner of
the house, with nails driven
in it, used to be the sign
of a 19th-century grocery
shop. The Apatúr House (5),
once the residence of the
abbot, is a splendid baroque
palace, and now houses the
János Xantus Museum
with its magnificent
exhibitions on the history
of the city, medical history
and applied arts, besides a
postal stamp exhibition.
Three significant buildings
of the Benedictine order can
also be found in the square:
the interior of Saint
Ignatius Loyola Church
was constructed to recall
the Il Gesú Church in Rome.
Its most precious decorative
element is the

pulpit.
The Széchenyi Pharmacy
Museum

(Széchenyi
Pharmacy Museum) ,
with its original baroque
furnishings and splendid
frescos, can be found on the
ground floor of the
Monastery (9).
The Benedictine Grammar
School (8) has presented
Hungarian culture with
several notabilities. A walk
in the city offers sights
such as the
Zichy
Palace (Liszt Ferenc utca
20.) - a venue for weddings
and concerts -, the old city
hall (Rákóczi u. 1.) with
its wrought-iron ornaments,
the impressive neobaroque
building of the
new
city hall (Városház tér),
the ?Hungarian Ispita" (spital)
with its courtyard adorned
by Tuscan columns, and the
richly embellished, closed
balcony of the Rozália House
(Kazinczy u. 21.), typical
of the city. The collection
of the City Museum (Városi
Múzeum, Rákóczi u. 5.)
presents ancient Greek and
Roman ornaments, renaissance
and baroque furniture,
sculptures and paintings,
and Chinese porcelains,
besides exhibitions where
pieces of contemporary
graphical art, Miklós Borsos'
sculptures and Margit
Kovács's ceramics are
displayed. The "Hab Mária"
sculpture, dating from the
18th century and situated in
the
Carmelite church (Bécsi kapu
tér), is one of the most
beautiful Hungarian
sculptures. Concerts staged
in its courtyard. There is a
collection abounding in the
works of 20th-century
Hungarian painting in the
City Gallery (Városi Képtár,
Király u. 17.), which is
housed in the Esterházy
Palace.
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Pannonhalma
( just 20 minutes from Győr by car)
(

"The most ancient Hungarian house" and a treasure-trove of the history of Hungarian architecture, the a bencés főapátság, has been standing for 1,000 years on Saint Martin's Hill, referred to as "Pannonia's Holy Hill" in medieval times. It is listed by the UNESCO, and was visited by Pope John Paul II on the 1,000th anniversary of its establishment.
There is a great number of monuments of inestimable value: the gothic, lierne-vaulted sanctuary, chapel and crypt, consecrated in 1001, of the 13th-century basilica; the monastery with the country's only medieval cloister that remained intact; the marvellous renaissance carvings of the ?porta speciosa" made of red marble; the library, which is among the largest Benedictine libraries in the world with its 360,000 volumes; the archives, where Tihany Abbey's deed of foundation, the first written record of the Hungarian language, is kept; as well as scientific and art collections. The picture gallery of the Pannonhalma Abbey (Vár 1.) hosts temporary exhibitions from time to time, and the rich collection of coins includes some Roman coins as well. Preserving traditions, the members of the Benedictine order still act as teachers: there is both a grammar school and a boarding school working in the monastery. Opposite to the entrance of the monastery, the protected abbey arboretum (Vár 1.) can be found, part of which is the park of the abbey, and the other part is a forest park with splendid walkways. The Millennium Monument was erected on the 1,000th anniversary of the Hungarian conquest, 100 years ago. |
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