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Name:
Esztergom. The former German name of the town, used during the Habsburg monarchy, is Gran.
Location:
Esztergom lies in the central part of Northern Hungary and marks the western entrance to the Dunakanyar (Danube Bend).
A few kilometres east of Esztergom, the Danube bends sharply before it flows to the south. Esztergom stretches along the right (eastern) bank of the Danube.
The left side of the river is already →Slovakian territory.
Around 60 kilometres downstream starts the capital →Budapest.
Population: about 30,000.
Orientation:
Esztergom is clearly dominated by the giant cathedral on the top of a hill next to the
rivershore. To cut a long story short: The town itself is not really interesting. The train station
is far away from it all in the south of the town. From there it's a 10 minutes walk northwards to the bus station.
And another 15 minutes to the centre of town. The cathedral can't be missed. Between the town and the Danube, there's
the 'small Danube' and a large island, connected to the town with a bridge. There are some campsites on the island and a
ferry pier. From there, ferries cross the river to the Slovakian side.
History:
Esztergom appears to be a very old town. Chronicles say that Marcus Aurelius, one of the most famous
politicians of the ancient Rome, wrote the 12th book of the Meditations in present-day Esztergom. The town itself wasn't
really important before the year 1000 AD. The father of St Stephen, prince Géza, chose the place as his residence.
And so his son St Stephen was born, baptized and crowned in Esztergom. The first Hungarian church was
built here, and Magyar tribes were christianized from here. At that time, the rulers lived on the top of the hill and the clergy
in the lower town.
After the devastating Mongolian invasionin 1241, the rulers decided to move to →Buda, but the
clergy remained in Esztergom and showed great interest in the vacant properties. So they moved to the place which is
occupied by the cathedral today. Esztergom became the seat of archbishop for many centuries.
Later on, the Ottomans destroyed Esztergom, but most of the town was rebuilt in the 18th and 19th century.
Getting there:
Several daily trains connect Esztergom with →Budapest Nyugati pu.. By train, it takes 1½ hrs,
the fare is around 400 Ft. There are also many buses, some of them run via Visegrád and →Szentendre.
The fare to the latter is 450 Ft.
Several ferries a day cross the Danube and stop at Stúrovo in →Slovakia.
It takes less than 5 minutes. In summer, it's also possible to go to Budapest by boat.
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