We are in Budapest for most of
April and May. Mid-month we took a three-day trip south to Pécs with plans for
a few outings from there. The city is the fifth largest in Hungary with a
population of about 150,000. The Romans pushed out the Celts in the 3rd century and set up a provincial capital here, then called Sopianae. The Magyars
arrived and developed Pécs into a regional diocese in 1009; Hungary’s first
university was started here in 1367.
The invading Ottoman’s turned
things upside down in the 1500’s. Most Christian inhabitants were driven from
the city, the churches transformed into mosques. In 1686 Louis of Baden
liberated Pécs from the Turks and it was slowly repopulated with immigrants
from Germany and Bohemia. There was a cultural renaissance in the 18th century; Hungary’s first public library was established here in 1774. Pécs
continues to be a centre of learning.
It is an easy 2 ½ hour drive
south from Budapest down the well maintained M6, we arrived just after noon.
Our base here is a very nice, recently refurbished boutique hotel, the Adele,
at Mária utca, 15.
PÉCS
One enters the old town from
the north, along the well restored walls, down Hunyadi ut to the
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| Prayer Niche |
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| Széchenyi ter |
We were last in Pécs in the 1990s when the area around
the mosque was still a haphazard roundabout. It has since been replaced by the
very pleasant traffic free square and the promenade of Irgalmasok, which flows
southward. We stopped for lunch at the much raved about Hotel Platatinus on
Király utca. If one squints, you can see the beauty of this art deco edifice,
but it is rather shabby on inspection – the scruffy food and service in perfect
harmony.
Afterward, we viewed the
exquisite Holy Trinity and János Hunydai Monuments that share pride of place
with the mosque in Széchenyi ter; and further down Irgalmasok, the Secessionist
1853
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| Zsolnay Fountain |
The neo-Renaissance synagogue, constructed in the 1860s stands in Kossuth Ter as a sad memorial; 5,000 were herded from here in 1944 by the Arrow Cross government and went to their deaths in Auschwitz. West from here, we also saw the 16th century Jakovali Hassan Mosque, converted into a Catholic Church in 1714, but the original minaret still stands in silent defiance. In 1975 it was transformed into a museum documenting the Turkish occupation.
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| St. Peter's Cathedral |
Heading back to Széchenyi ter
it was then to the northwest corner of the old town wall and Dóm tér. St.
Peter’s Cathedral stands majestically centre stage. A church has been on this
site since 1009, and through fires, looting by the Mongols and other
catastrophes has morphed from Romanesque to Baroque to its now Gothic
appearance; four corner towers reach for the sky. The interior has elegant
chapels in each tower, and wonderful frescos along the ambulatory walls
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| St. Peter's - Interior |
The adjacent Szent István tér
is another peaceful square, with two tranquil fountains and a wonderful tree
shaded walk.
Dinner was simple and adequate
at Jókai Bisztró in Jókai ter. After one more stroll in the in Széchenyi ter’s
antique street lamp lit twilight, it was off to bed.
SIKLÓS – VILLÁNY - MOHÁCS
We were up to a nice day and a
good buffet breakfast. Our first stop was outside of Siklós, which is the
southernmost town in Hungary and a half hour further south of Pécs. The Siklós
Castle is the best preserved medieval fortress in the country, dating to 1294.
Miraculously it survived without destruction by the Turks or the Habsburgs. There is a small Gothic chapel with two impressive frescos from the late 15tth century, and a compact museum housing a medieval collection of Battthyány
family heirlooms.
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| 15th C Fresco |
It was then east to the pretty
village of Villány, another famous wine region in Hungary; we visited producers
Gere, Bock and Malatinszky.
Our final stop was to the
battle memorial of Mohács. On August 29, 1526 over 14,000 Hungarian fighters
were annihilated by the Turks, lead by Sultan Suleiman I. This site was
finally commemorated in 1976, sixteen years after the ancient
mass graves were first discovered.
We arrived to an empty parking
lot and met the curator outside tending some flowers. This lovely and educated
woman gave us a small private tour of the museum and walked with us around the
grounds, which are punctuated with strange carved totems, and mounds marking mass
internment sites.
The history here was that the
barons had been revolting from the king’s rule; which eventually had these same landed elites fighting among themselves for power and plunder. For much of the beginning of the 16th century there was little focus on the defence
of Hungary and its common interest; taxes fell and the army and its
infrastructure deteriorated. Thus the army was understaffed and poorly equipped
against the onslaught of the well compensated, well supplied Turkish forces –
and all paid the ultimate price. Hungary sank into a long period of decline and
the defeat, even today, haunts the Hungarian psyche.
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| Mohács Memorial |
Every time I visit one of
these memorials, like our visit to Normandy, I’m filled with the sadness of
ghosts. So much waste and sacrifice.
After this visit we returned
to Pécs and took in two disappointing museums: the Csontváry and the Vasarely.
I have come to appreciate both these Hungarian masters, but the exhibits were
sparse, gloomy and very lightly attended. Public museums in lesser cities
struggle under financial pressure because they lack the mass audiences and big
benefactors that the key global art venues enjoy. Who knows if these smaller
institutions will survive in the future.
We had early evening drinks at
the Fötér Bár overlooking Széchenyi ter and then dinner, again at Jókai Bisztró.
We were quickly to sleep.
KUTAS – TIHANY
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| Hertelendy Kastély |
After breakfast we decided to
take one more excursion instead of going directly back to Budapest. We had read
about a Relais & Chateaux property in Kutas-Kozmapuszta that we were
curious about; it was less than 100 kilometres northwest of Pécs; just south of
Lake Balaton. Hertelendy Kastély has only 14 rooms and offers a complete array
of luxury amenities in the heart of the Somogy hills: a wonderful pool, a spa
and wellness centre with medicinal thermal waters, horse stables, a grass
airstrip, an Olympic quality skeet field, tennis courts and more.
Unfortunately, we learned from the general manager that it no longer is a hotel
or within the Relais & Chateaux brand; it now only hosts banquets, weddings
and other larger private parties. Too bad, it would have provided a great
weekend break.
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| Lake Balaton |
After the visit, we continued
north to Szántód on the south shore of the Balaton and took the car ferry
across to the picturesque town of Tihany. The town sits on an elevated
peninsula jutting into the lake, it forms its narrowest point and provides postcard
panoramic views. The site dates to 1060
and King András. The current Abbey Church, built in the middle of the 18th century, still holds his tomb; the interior is laid out in the Baroque and
Rococo styles and is exquisite. The adjacent museum is also worth a visit.
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| Abbey Church - Tihany |
We drove along the northern
shore until we reached the M7 and were back to Budapest by the early evening –
in all a wonderful trip.
