Szeged
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Marvellous and old-new Szeged is the third largest city of Hungary with appr. 160, 000 residents and located near the southern border, just to south of the estuary of the Maros River, on both banks of the Tisza River.
City has been inhabited since antique and geographer Ptolemy mentions it as Partiscum. The name Szeged was first mentioned in written source in 1183. During the Mongol invasion the town was destroyed but soon rebuild. In the 14th century Szeger became the administrative center of Southern Hungary. King Sigismund of Luxembourg had a wall built around the town. Szeged was raised to free royal town status in 1498.
Szeged is also a vivid university town.
Recreation
Like e.g. Budapest and Siófok, Szeged also has refreshing thermal baths. Anna fürdő (Tisza Lajos körút 24) has a Finnish-style sauna, thermal pools and an infra sauna. Entry fee is 4-5 euros.
To see
Reök Palace
This Art Nouveau-style palace situated in address Tisza Lajos krt 56 was built in 1907. Today it houses the art center with regular exhibitions of photography and visual arts.
Ferenc Mora Museum
The Palace of Education built in 1896 now houses the museum containing a colourful collection of folk art from Csongrád County as well as traditional trades. After the 1879 flood claimed many of the walls of Szeged’s riverfront castle built around 1240, the city demolished the rest. Here one can see ongoing excavations of the foundation. In Castle Museum & Lapidarium , a small gallery with some archaeological finds, are visible the ruins of ancient subterranean walls.
Dömötör Tower
This tower is the oldest building of Szeged. Its foundation allegedly laid during the 11th century, while the lower part was built in Romanesque style in the 12th century, and the Gothic upper part in the 13th century. The tower was once part of the former St. Demetrius church. On the upper part, there are 48 pointed windows in three levels (sixteen on each level, two on every side of the octagonal levels). On the lower part, a gate was cut and turned to a baptismal chapel in 1931. Above the gate there is a replica of the oldest sculpture in Szeged, the “Kőbárány” (stone lamb), an agnus dei representation from the early 12th century. The replica replaced the original sculpture in 1991.
How to get around in Szeged
City has an efficient public transportation with trams, buses and electric buses. The map of public transportation is visible here.
Taxi cabs charge usually somewhere between 1-2000 forints within the city.
How to get in Szeged
Nearest international airport is the Ferenc Liszt International Airport in Budapest. List of its airlines and destinations here.
It takes about 2 hours and 20 minutes to travel by train from Budapest Nyugati to Szeged. These trains also stop at Ferihegy, Terminal 1, meaning it isn’t necessary to travel into the centre of Budapest. Train timetable is visible here, planner for routes in Hungary is here.
There are daily frequent buses running to surrounding cities including Budapest. Bus route planner is here.
M5 highway goes from Budapest to Szeged (174 kilometres). You will need to get a sticker for your car in order to drive on the highway, which you can buy at any gas station (ask for “matrica”).
Top 5 in Szeged
- Ferenc Mora Museum
- Strolling along the Kárász Street and enjoying with a cup of coffee
- Dömötör Tower
- Thermal baths
- Open-air Festival in summer
Text: Timo Hellman
Photos: Wikipedia Commons with CC-BY licence / Ferenc Somorjai, Chmee2, Zairon[/fusion_text]
