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Eger has been inhabited since the Stone Age. During the first centuries of the Middle Ages it was inhabited by Germanic, miserly, and Slavic tribes, falling under the control of the Hungarians in the 10th century. Saint Stephen (997-1038), the first Christian king of Hungary, founded an episcopal see in the city. Its first cathedral was built on the castle hill, within the current fortified enclosure. The population grew around the first cathedral and has remained an important religious center in Hungary since its founding.



The fourteenth century represented a time of prosperity for the city. The wine industry, for which it is still famous, began to be important at that time. In the Renaissance period, the bishops of Eger promoted the construction of beautiful buildings during the reign of King Matthias (1458-1490).

Eger Minaret



During the Turkish occupation of central Hungary, Eger became a major border fortress, successfully defended by Hungarian forces at the siege of 1552 (less than 2,000 defenders, including women and children, against a Turkish army of 80,000 soldiers) .



However, it was attacked again in 1596 by the Turks, who assumed control of the castle after a brief siege. This episode began 91 years of Ottoman rule, in which the city was the seat of a vilayet (Turkish administrative division). The churches were converted into mosques, the castle rebuilt, and buildings such as public baths and minarets were erected.



Turkish rule in central Hungary began to shrink after the Ottomans' failed attempt to take Vienna. The Austrian Habsburgs, who controlled the rest of Hungary apart from Transylvania, consistently drove the Turks out of the country. Eger Castle, a coveted piece by the army led by Carlos de Lorena, was recovered in 1687, after Buda Castle had been retaken in 1686.

Eger Castle



Eger soon began to prosper again. Claimed by its bishops, this fact was fundamental for many local Protestants to leave the city. Although the city supported the Hungarian leader Prince Francis II Rákóczi in the war of independence from the Habsburgs (1703-1711), the imperial army defeated the Magyars.



Soon after, the city suffered the ravages of plagues, and the population recovered and grew notably thanks to significant immigration (from 6,000 inhabitants in 1725 to 10,000 in 1750). During the baroque, new buildings were erected, a trend that continued with the Zopf style. Several examples of these buildings are the cathedral, the episcopal palace, the County Hall, the lyceum (currently the headquarters of the Eszterházy University) and several churches, while others were claimed to stop being mosques.



The 19th century began with several catastrophes: a fire that destroyed half the city in 1800, and the collapse of the southern wall of the castle in 1801, which affected several neighboring houses. Eger became archiepiscopal see in 1804, with firm ecclesiastical control of the city despite efforts by its citizens to obtain greater freedom. In 1827 much of the city center suffered a new fire, and four years later some 200 inhabitants died from an epidemic.



The revolution of 1848 was enthusiastically supported by the inhabitants of Eger. Although it did not succeed, it meant the end of the feudal regime of landowners and serfs, also leading to the liberation of archiepiscopal rule in 1854. However, the main railway line between Miskolc and Pest could not pass through the city, but had to wait several years for a branch of the Füzesabony line to cross it.



After the First World War, economic recovery was slow, although with the publication of Gárdonyi's ´´Eclipse of the crescent moon´´ in 1899, Eger became popular as a tourist destination and the archaeological excavation of the castle began. In World War II, the city suffered under the withdrawal of the German army and the arrival of the Soviet, but managed to escape the bombardments.



Eger is today a prosperous city and a popular tourist destination thanks to a charming baroque city center.



Eger is a city in northern Hungary, in the Heves county, east of the Mátra Mountains. It is famous for its castle, thermal baths, historic buildings (including the northernmost Turkish minaret), and its wines (red and white).



The name Eger derives from the Hungarian term égerfa (alder, a kind of tree). In German it is known as Erlau, in Latin Agria, in Serbo-Croatian Jega / e 1032; e 1077; e 1075; e 1072; e 1088; or Jegra / e 1032; e 1077; e 1075; e 1088; e 1072 ;, in Czech as Jager, in Slovak as Jáger, in Polish Jagier and in Turkish E e 287; ri.



Wine



Along with its panoramic views of the old city and its thermal baths, Eger is famous for its wines. It produces high-quality reds and whites, encompassed in the Eger wine region. The most famous and traditional varieties of this region are Egri Leányka, Egerszóláti Olaszrizling, Debroi Hárslevelu (white), and Egri Bikavér (red). Recently, wines of the Chardonnay and Pinot noir varieties have appeared. It is said that the wines of the region resemble those of Burgundy.



Main attractions



(Eger has 17 Baroque churches, but tourists only visit three or four)

Széchenyi street

The Bitskey Pool

The Bitskey Pool Entrance

Plaza Dobó and the Forst house

Aerial view of the Castle and urban center, Tetemvár, Almagyar and Cifra hóstya.

Citadel



Eger Castle

Cathedral or basilica, built between 1831 and 1837 according to the classicist designs of József Hild. It is more imposing than attractive, but it contains some remarkable samples in painting and sculpture. Organ recitals are held late in the morning on many days.

Minaret, 17th century. The northernmost Turkish minaret in Europe stands 40 meters high and is one of three or four that still survive in Hungary. From its top you can see a good view of the urban center.

Város a város alatt (literally ´´City under the city´´), a network of wineries near the Cathedral.

Szépasszonyvölgy (´´The valley of beautiful women´´). A valley to the south of the city, which has numerous wineries, which have tastings for tourists. A tram from Dobó tér carries tourists in the summer months.

Dobó ter. Especially the minority baroque church (1758-67) and the Palóc museum of utensils of the regional ethnic community. The ter e and several shopping streets around it are pedestrianized.

The Lyceum (Eszterházy College), designed by József Gerl and Jakab Fellner and built in 1765-85, is a magnificent example of the restrained Zopf style. There are three remarkable paintings of the s. XVIII fresco located on the ceiling, of which only the one located in the library is accessible to the public. Painted by the Viennese artist Johann Lukas Kracker in 1778, it recreates the Council of Trent (1545-1563), which started the Counter-Reformation. Among the figures of the reformists are Luther and Zwingli, whose "heretical" books are thrown into lightning. The beautifully furnished library opened in 1793. There is a ´´camera obscura´´ or periscope at the top of the building, which projects images of the city onto a table.

Turkish baths

The minor palace of the Rector (1758), with a fresco painting by Kracker (´´The triumph of Virtue over sin´´) and notable examples of blacksmithing from the s. XVIII.

Agria Park, a shopping center opened in 2008.

The Archbishop's garden

The Fazola gate

The Minorite church

The Serbian Orthodox Church (Rác-templom), in the Zopf style (1784-86). The potentates of the Serbian community commissioned the best Viennese artists of the time to decorate it. Contains spectacular icon samples.

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