Győr Province, Ottoman Empire
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Győr ( , ; german: Raab, links=no; names in other languages) is the main city of northwest Hungary, the capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron County and Western Transdanubia region, and – halfway between Budapest and Vienna – situated on one of the important roads of Central Europe. It is the sixth largest city in Hungary, and one of its seven main regional centres. The city has county rights.


History

The area along the Danube River has been inhabited by varying cultures since ancient times. The first large settlement dates back to the 5th century BCE; the inhabitants were Celts. They called the town ''Ara Bona'' "Good altar", later contracted to ''Arrabona'', a name which was used until the eighth century. Its shortened form is still used as the German (''Raab'') and Slovak (''Ráb'') names of the city. Roman merchants moved to Arrabona during the 1st century BCE. Around 10 CE, the Roman army occupied the northern part of Western Hungary, which they called ''
Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. Pannonia was located in the territory that is now wes ...
''. Although the Roman Empire abandoned the area in the 4th century due to constant attacks by the tribes living to the east, the town remained inhabited. Around 500 the territory was settled by
Slavs Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...
, in 547 by the Lombards, and in 568–c. 800 by the Avars, at that time under Frankish and Slavic influence. During this time it was called ''Rabba'' and later ''Raab''. Between 880 and 894, it was part of Great Moravia, and then briefly under East Frankish dominance. The
Magyars Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Uralic ...
occupied the town around 900 and fortified the abandoned Roman fortress. Stephen I, the first king of Hungary, founded an episcopate there. The town received its Hungarian name ''Győr'', which likely derives from Old Hungarian personal name Győr, who could be the county's first count. The town was affected by all the trials and tribulations of the history of Hungary: it was occupied by Mongols during the Mongol invasion (1241–1242) and then was destroyed by the Czech army in 1271. After the disastrous
battle of Mohács The Battle of Mohács (; hu, mohácsi csata, tr, Mohaç Muharebesi or Mohaç Savaşı) was fought on 29 August 1526 near Mohács, Kingdom of Hungary, between the forces of the Kingdom of Hungary and its allies, led by Louis II, and those ...
, Baron
Tamás Nádasdy Baron Tamás Nádasdy de Nádasd et Fogarasföld (I), called the ''Great Palatine'' (1498–1562), was Hungarian nobleman, great landowner and a statesman. Early life Born into the House of Nádasdy, he was the son of Ferenc I Nádasdy de Ná ...
and Count György Cseszneky occupied the town for King
Ferdinand I Ferdinand I or Fernando I may refer to: People * Ferdinand I of León, ''the Great'' (ca. 1000–1065, king from 1037) * Ferdinand I of Portugal and the Algarve, ''the Handsome'' (1345–1383, king from 1367) * Ferdinand I of Aragon and Sicily, '' ...
while John Zápolya also was attempting to annex it. During the Ottoman occupation of present-day central and eastern Hungary (1541 - late 17th century), Győr's commander Kristóf Lamberg thought it would be futile to try to defend the town from the Turkish army. He burned down the town and the Turkish forces found nothing but blackened ruins, hence the Turkish name for Győr, ''Yanık kale'' ("burnt castle"). During rebuilding, the town was surrounded with a castle and a city wall designed by the leading Italian builders of the era. The town changed in character during these years, with many new buildings built in Renaissance style, but the main square and the grid of streets remained. In 1594, after the death of Count
János Cseszneky Count János Cseszneky de Milvány et Csesznek (ca. 1535-1593) was a Hungarian magnate, member of the Cseszneky family. János Cseszneky was mentioned as one of the neighbour nobles in a charter that installed Palatine Tamás Nádasdy and Orsoly ...
, captain of Hungarian footsoldiers, the Ottoman army occupied the castle and the town. In 1598 the Hungarian and Austrian army took control of it again and occupied it. During the Turkish occupation the city was called Yanık Kala (burned place, as a reference to the enormous damages caused by the siege). In 1683, the Turks returned briefly, only to leave after being defeated in the
Battle of Vienna The Battle of Vienna; pl, odsiecz wiedeńska, lit=Relief of Vienna or ''bitwa pod Wiedniem''; ota, Beç Ḳalʿası Muḥāṣarası, lit=siege of Beç; tr, İkinci Viyana Kuşatması, lit=second siege of Vienna took place at Kahlenberg Mou ...
. During the following centuries, the town became prosperous. In 1743 Győr was elevated to
free royal town Royal free city or free royal city (Latin: libera regia civitas) was the official term for the most important cities in the Kingdom of Hungary from the late 12th centuryBácskai Vera – Nagy Lajos: Piackörzetek, piacközpontok és városok Magy ...
status by
Maria Theresa Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' (in her own right). ...
. The religious orders of Jesuits and Carmelites settled there, building schools, churches, a hospital, and a monastery. On 14 June 1809, during the War of the Fifth Coalition, this was the site of the Battle of Győr (
Battle of Raab The Battle of Raab or Battle of Győr ( Hungarian: ''győri csata'') was fought on 14 June 1809 during the Napoleonic Wars, between Franco-Italian forces and Habsburg forces. The battle was fought near Győr (Raab), Kingdom of Hungary, and en ...
), where the army of Eugène de Beauharnais defeated the Hungarian "noble insurrection" (militia) and an Austrian corps under the Archdukes Joseph and Johann. Napoleon's forces occupied the castle and had some of its walls blown up. The leaders of the town soon realized that the old ramparts were not useful any more. Most of the ramparts were destroyed, allowing the town to expand. In the mid-19th century, Győr's role in trade grew as
steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...
traffic on the River Danube began. The town lost its importance in trade when the railway line between Budapest and Kanizsa superseded river traffic after 1861. The town leaders compensated for this loss with industrialisation. The town prospered until World War II when several buildings were destroyed. Some large-scale strategic bombing devastated industrial and residential areas as well as the airport. It was targeted because the Rába factory was a main tank ( Turán) and aeroplane (
Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...
) producer. One of these raids destroyed some parts of the maternity hospital. The 1950s and '60s brought more change: only big blocks of flats were built, and the old historical buildings were not given care or attention. In the 1970s the reconstruction of the city centre began; old buildings were restored and reconstructed. In 1989 Győr won the European award for the protection of monuments. A 100-year-old Raba factory on the River Danube close to the historical centre is to be replaced by a new community called Városrét. The mixed-use community will have residential and commercial space as well as schools, clinics and parks. The city's main theatre is the National Theatre of Győr, finished in 1978. It features large ceramic ornaments made by
Victor Vasarely Victor Vasarely (; born Győző Vásárhelyi, ; 9 April 1906 – 15 March 1997) was a Hungarian-French artist, who is widely accepted as a "grandfather" and leader of the Op art movement. His work entitled ''Zebra'', created in 1937, is consi ...
. The city has several historical buildings, for example the castle, and the Lutheran Evangelic church.


Climate


Main sights

The ancient core of the city is Káptalan Hill at the confluence of three rivers: the Mosoni-Danube, Rába, and Rábca. Püspökvár, the residence of Győr's bishops, can be easily recognized by its incomplete tower. Győr's oldest buildings are the 13th-century dwelling tower and the 15th-century Gothic Dóczy Chapel. The cathedral, originally in Romanesque style, was rebuilt in
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
and
Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
style. Other sights include: *Town Hall *Benedictine church of St. Ignatius of Loyola *Carmelite church *Museum of Roman Archaeology The Pannonhalma Archabbey is located some outside the town.


Renovation

After the year 2000 the city started many big construction and renovation projects. The bigger changes include: * The Nádor-underpass, which relieved the Downtown's traffic infrastructure, and made the renovation of the Baross-Bridge possible. * Renovation of the Baross-Bridge. * Renovation of the old Soviet barracks and Bus Station by the company Leier. * Development of the
Széchenyi István University The Széchenyi István University (SZE), also known as the University of Győr, is located in Győr and Mosonmagyaróvár, Hungary. The university was established in 1968. In cooperation with Audi Hungaria Motor Kft, one of the University ...
, which is in close connection with AUDI Hungária ZRT. * Newly built Parking Houses which take off the high traffic load of the Downtown area. (e.g. József Attila and Dunakapu garage) * Renovation of the inner-downtown district. Széchenyi-square, Dunakapu-square, the territory next to the Moson-Danube and Rába. * Free City Bus which can used by everyone to get anywhere in the Downtown Area. * The Győr Arcade at Városliget. * The Kálóczy Square near the Széchenyi István University. * The Jedlik Bridge, which enabled traffic & transport between Sziget and Révfalu district. * The Rába Quelle thermal spa


Economy

Audi AG subsidiary company
Audi Hungaria Zrt. Audi Hungaria Zrt. is the Hungarian subsidiary of Audi, the world's largest engine factory. It was founded in 1993 with a share capital of 2 million Deutsche Mark (DM). The company is managed by 5 board members, the supervisory board and the gen ...
has a large factory in Győr, where the Audi TT sports car, the A3 Cabriolet, A3 Limousine, and many engines (1,913,053 engines in 2007) are built. The factory opened in 1994, at first producing inline-four engines for the Audi marque. Business then grew to assembling the Audi TT Coupé and TT Roadster. Eventually, V6 and V8 engines were also included, and after the acquisition of
Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. () is an Italian brand and manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs based in Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its subsidiary Audi. Ferruccio Lamborghini (1916–1993), ...
, Audi then began to build V10 engines. The V10s for Audi vehicles are fully assembled here, but only the
cylinder block In an internal combustion engine, the engine block is the structure which contains the cylinders and other components. In an early automotive engine, the engine block consisted of just the cylinder block, to which a separate crankcase was attac ...
s for the Lamborghini V10. Engines are also supplied to other Volkswagen Group marques, but over 90% of Audi vehicle engines are made here. By 2020, the factory has a 12 MW solar roof, producing 9.5 GWh/year.


Politics

The current mayor of Győr is Csaba András Dézsi (''Fidesz-KDNP''). The local Municipal Assembly, elected at the 2019 local government elections, is made up of 23 members (1 Mayor, 16 Individual constituencies MEPs and 6 Compensation List MEPs) divided into this political parties and alliances:


List of mayors

List of City Mayors from 1990:


Notable people

* Tamás Bakócz, archbishop * Miklós Borsos, sculptor * György Cseszneky, count, castellan *
János Cseszneky Count János Cseszneky de Milvány et Csesznek (ca. 1535-1593) was a Hungarian magnate, member of the Cseszneky family. János Cseszneky was mentioned as one of the neighbour nobles in a charter that installed Palatine Tamás Nádasdy and Orsoly ...
, count, infantry commander * Josef Dobrovský * Freddie *
Erzsébet Galgóczi Erzsébet Galgóczi (27 August 1930 – 20 May 1989) was a Hungarian writer, playwright, and screenwriter. Her work is often described as realist fiction. Personal life Galgóczi attended primary school in Ménfőcsanak, the small village where ...
, writer * Anita Görbicz, handball player *
Izidor Guzmics Izidor Guzmics (April 7, 1786 – September 1, 1839), Hungarian theologian, was born at Vámos-Család in the county of Sopron. At Sopron he was instructed in the art of poetry by Pál Horváth. In October 1805 he entered the Benedictine order, ...
* Stanley Jaki * Ányos Jedlik *
Andrew Karpati Kennedy Andrew Edmund Karpati Kennedy (born Kárpáti Andor Ödön; 9 January 1931 – 20 December 2016) was a Hungarian-born British author, literary critic and academic with a passionate interest in the language of drama. Biography Early years Born i ...
, author and literary critic * Tamás Kiss, footballer *
Gyula Kőnig Gyula Kőnig (16 December 1849 – 8 April 1913) was a mathematician from Hungary. His mathematical publications in German appeared under the name Julius König. His son Dénes Kőnig was a graph theorist. Biography Gyula Kőnig was active lite ...
*
Margit Kovács Margit Kovács (1902–1977) was a Hungarian ceramist and sculptor. Life Margit Kovács was born in Győr, Hungary on 30 November 1902. She originally wished to become a graphic artist but she grew interested in ceramics in the 1920s and we ...
*
Raimondo Montecuccoli Raimondo Montecuccoli (; 21 February 1609 – 16 October 1680) was an Italian-born professional soldier, military theorist, and diplomat, who served the Habsburg monarchy. Experiencing the Thirty Years' War from scratch as a simple footsoldier ...
* Árpád Orbán (1938–2008), footballer * Desiderius Orban, painter, one of The Eight; emigrated in 1939 to Australia *
Antal Pusztai Antal (Tony) Pusztai (born 7 May 1978) is a classical guitarist who is known as both a jazz musician and a classical guitar The classical guitar (also known as the nylon-string guitar or Spanish guitar) is a member of the guitar family used in ...
*
Alexander Raab Alexander Raab (14 March 18822 October 1958) was a Hungarian-American pianist and distinguished piano teacher. Alexander Raab was born in Győr (also known as Raab), Hungary. He studied at the Vienna Conservatory under Hans Schmitt (1835–1907) ...
, pianist * Hans Richter, conductor * Frigyes Riesz, mathematician * Marcel Riesz, mathematician * Samuel Aba, king of Hungary * József Szlávy, prime minister of Hungary * Miklós Takács de Saár, silviculturist, politician * Tibor Varga * Garcilaso de la Vega, poet *
Paul von Werner Johann Paul von Werner (11 December 1707 in Raab – 25 January 1785 at Gut Bilschin in the district of Toszek) was chief of the Prussian Hussar Regiment No. 6 (Brown Hussars); he also received the Prussian Order Pour le Mérite. Initially in A ...
, Prussian Lieutenant General *
Emil Zuckerkandl Emil Zuckerkandl (1 September 1849 in Győr, Hungary – 28 May 1910 in Vienna, Austria) was a Hungarian anatomist. Biography Zuckerkandl was born in Győr on 1 September 1849, to a Jewish family. He had two brothers: the industrialist V ...


Transport

The city is a national hub for rail and road traffic. The transport-geographical position of Győr is excellent. The most important railway connections are the Vienna-Budapest railway line, but the Győr-Sopron railway line owned by the Győr-Sopron-Ebenfurt railway company, as well as the Győr-Celldömölk railway line and the Győr-Veszprém railway run by MÁV. In Győr, several main transport routes meet each other (M1, M19, 1, 14, 81, 82, 83, 85), and the motorway is accessible from several parts of the city. Győr-Pér Airport can be reached from the city on Highway 81, 15 kilometers towards Székesfehérvár. At the 1734 km section of the Danube lies the port of Győr-Gönyű with its fully equipped 25 hectare serving terminal.


Sports

Győr is the home of the Győri ETO Sport Club, which has many sport divisions. The most popular sport in the city is handball, with the
Győri ETO KC Győri ETO KC ( hu, Győri Egyetértés Torna Osztály Kézilabda Club, lit. Concordance Gymnastics Department of Győr Handball Club) is a Hungary, Hungarian professional women's handball club from Győr. Since they are sponsored by Audi, the off ...
being the city's main team. ETO won the Champions League in
2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
,
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
,
2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
,
2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
and in
2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
and also reached the final in
2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
,
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
and in
2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
. In addition, Győr reached the final of the EHF Cup Winners' Cup in 2006 and the final of the
EHF Cup The EHF European League is an annual men's handball club competition organised by the European Handball Federation (EHF) since 1981. It is the second-tier competition of European club handball, ranking only below the EHF Champions League. Previ ...
in 1999, 2002, 2004 and 2005. WKW ETO FC Győr is a
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
team, currently (as of 2020/2021) in the Hungarian Second Division.


Twin towns – sister cities

Győr is twinned with: * Brașov, Romania *
Colmar Colmar (, ; Alsatian: ' ; German during 1871–1918 and 1940–1945: ') is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), it is ...
, France *
Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits in ...
, Germany * Ingolstadt, Germany *
Kuopio Kuopio (, ) is a Finnish city and municipality located in the region of Northern Savonia. It has a population of , which makes it the most populous municipality in Finland. Along with Joensuu, Kuopio is one of the major urban, economic, and cult ...
, Finland * Nizhny Novgorod, Russia * Nof HaGalil, Israel * Poznań, Poland * Sindelfingen, Germany * Wuhan, China *
Dunajská Streda Dunajská Streda (; hu, Dunaszerdahely; german: Niedermarkt; he, דונהסרדהיי) is a town located in southern Slovakia ( Trnavský kraj). Dunajská Streda is the most culturally significant town in the Žitný ostrov area. The town has a p ...
, Slovakia


References


Notes


External links

* in Hungarian, English, and German
Aerial photography: Győr
''civertan.hu'', ''www.legifoto.com'', ''www.latvany-terkep.hu''
Aerial view of Gyor by Volkan Yuksel
,
Panoramio Panoramio was a geo-tagging, geo-located tagging, photo sharing Mashup (web application hybrid), mashup active between 2005 and 2016. Photos uploaded to the site were accessible as a layer in Google Earth and Google Maps. The site's goal was to a ...

Győr at funiq.hu
with ' zoom in, zoom out' regional map
Things to see and do in Győr

An online exhibition about the Jews of Győr
during World War II, on Yad Vashem website. *''Jewish Encyclopedia:'
"Raab (Hungarian, Györ)"
by Gotthard Deutsch & Moritz Schwarz (1906). {{DEFAULTSORT:Gyor County seats in Hungary Cities with county rights of Hungary Populated places in Győr-Moson-Sopron County Serb communities in Hungary