Veszprém (; german: Weißbrunn, sl, Belomost) is one of the oldest urban areas in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

, and a city with county rights. It lies approximately north of the

Lake Balaton Lake Balaton () is a freshwater lake in the Transdanubian region of Hungary. It is the largest lake in Central Europe, and one of the region's foremost tourist destinations. The Zala River provides the largest inflow of water to the lake, and ...

. It is the administrative center of the county (

comitatus ''Comitatus'' was in ancient times the Latin term for an armed escort or retinue. The term is used especially in the context of Germanic warrior culture for a warband tied to a leader by an oath of fealty and describes the relations between a lo ...

or 'megye') of the same name.

Etymology

The name of the city originates from a Slavic personal name ''Bezprem'' or ''

Bezprym Bezprym ( hu, Veszprém; 986–1032) was the duke of Poland from 1031 until his death. He was the eldest son of King Bolesław the Brave, but was deprived of the succession by his father, who around 1001 sent him to Italy in order to become a mon ...

'' (

Proto-Slavic Proto-Slavic (abbreviated PSl., PS.; also called Common Slavic or Common Slavonic) is the unattested, reconstructed proto-language of all Slavic languages. It represents Slavic speech approximately from the 2nd millennium B.C. through the 6th ...

''Bezprěmъ'') meaning "stubborn", "self-confident, not willing to retreat". ''Besprem'' (before 1002), ''Vezprem'' (1086), ''Bezpremensis'' (1109). The form ''Vezprem'' originates in early medieval scribal habits and frequent exchange of ''B'' and ''V'' under the influence of

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

. The city was named either after a chieftain, or the son of Judith of Hungary, who settled here after her husband Boleslaus I of Poland expelled her and her son.

Location and legend

The city can be reached via the M7 highway and Road 8. It can also be reached from

Győr 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 ...

via Road 82 and from Székesfehérvár via Road 8. According to legend, Veszprém was founded on seven hills. The seven hills are Várhegy (Castle Hill), Benedek-hegy (St. Benedict Hill), Jeruzsálem-hegy (Jerusalem Hill), Temetőhegy (Cemetery Hill), Gulyadomb (Herd Hill), Kálvária-domb (Calvary Hill), and Cserhát.

History

'' Anonymus Belæ Regis Notarius'' (the anonymous notary of King Béla III) wrote that a castle already stood here when the

Hungarians 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 Urali ...

first occupied the area. The castle was probably a 9th-century

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...

fortress. The castles of Veszprém,

Esztergom Esztergom ( ; german: Gran; la, Solva or ; sk, Ostrihom, known by alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the right bank of the river Dan ...

and Székesfehérvár, were the earliest Hungarian stone castles, which had already been built during the reign of High Prince Géza, a time when motte castles were much more common. Veszprém had an important religious role during the struggle to make

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

the official religion of

Stephen I of Hungary Stephen I, also known as King Saint Stephen ( hu, Szent István király ; la, Sanctus Stephanus; sk, Štefan I. or Štefan Veľký; 975 – 15 August 1038), was the last Grand Prince of the Hungarians between 997 and 1000 or 1001, and the ...

defeated the armies of his chief opponent, Koppány, near Veszprém. The city became the first episcopal seat of Hungary in 1009 and an archiepiscopal seat in 1993. ''Comitatus Veszprém'' was one of the earliest historical counties of Hungary. Veszprém was the favorite city of Queen Gisela, the wife of St. Stephen. For centuries, the queens of Hungary were crowned by the bishop of Veszprém. The city is still often called "the city of queens". In the year 1294 Queen Fenenna confirmed that, at that time, the former Queen Elizabeth had the privilege to collect the donations of the church in the

Veszprém County Veszprém ( hu, Veszprém megye, ; german: Komitat Wesprim (Weißbrunn)) is an administrative county (''megye'') in Hungary. Veszprém is also the name of the capital city of Veszprém county. Veszprém county Veszprém county lies in western ...

. Veszprém was among the first Hungarian cities to have a university - students studied law and arts here for several centuries. The university was destroyed by fire in 1276, when Peter I Csák invaded and devastated the

Diocese of Veszprém In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

. Veszprém became a university town again in the 20th century. Veszprém changed hands between Austrians and Ottomans until 1684 after the

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 thos ...

in 1526. It was known as 'Pespirim' and was a sanjak centre in Budin Province during Ottoman rule. The town was plundered by the Turks in 1552, but they could not maintain occupation: the region north of Lake Balaton remained in the

Kingdom of Hungary (1538–1867) The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

(captaincy between Balaton and Drava). The castle was demolished in 1706. Until 1918, ''VESZPRIM'' (also named ''WESZPRIM'' and ''WESPRIM'' near 1850, and ''WEISSBRUNN'' in German) was part of the

Austrian monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

/Austria-Hungary, Kingdom of Hungary; in

Transleithania The Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen ( hu, a Szent Korona Országai), informally Transleithania (meaning the lands or region "beyond" the Leitha River) were the Hungarian territories of Austria-Hungary, throughout the latter's entire exis ...

after the

compromise of 1867 The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 (german: Ausgleich, hu, Kiegyezés) established the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. The Compromise only partially re-established the former pre-1848 sovereignty and status of the Kingdom of Hungary ...

in the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Veszprém was captured by Soviet troops of the

3rd Ukrainian Front The 3rd Ukrainian Front (Russian: Третий Украинский фронт) was a Front of the Red Army during World War II. It was founded on 20 October 1943, on the basis of a Stavka order of October 16, 1943, by renaming the Southweste ...

on 23 March 1945 in the course of the

Vienna Offensive The Vienna offensive was an offensive launched by the Soviet 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts in order to capture Vienna, Austria, during World War II. The offensive lasted from 16 March to 15 April 1945. After several days of street-to-street f ...

Economy

The Hungarian automotive plastic spare parts manufacturer ''Videoton Plastic'' (part of Videoton), the Hungarian kiosk manufacturer ''Kiosksystems'', the Hungarian shutter manufacturer ''Roll-Lux'', the Hungarian label manufacturer ''Imprenta'', the Hungarian tool manufacturer ''Solidsteel'', the Hungarian technical ceramics manufacturer ''Bakony Ipari Kerámia'', the Hungarian furniture manufacturer ''Balaton Bútor'', the Hungarian machine manufacturer ''Flexmont'', the Hungarian watermanagement company ''PureAqua'', the Hungarian automotive spare parts manufacturer ''Win-Pres'', the Hungarian construction company ''VEMÉVSZER'', the Hungarian metal manufacturer ''Ferro-Trio'', the Hungarian ''OOK Printhouse'', the Hungarian toolmanufacturer ''Plasticor'', the Hungarian machine manufacturer ''Transmoduls'', the Hungarian ''Prospektus Printhouse'' have both their headquarters and main production facilities in Veszprém. The French pharmaceutical company ''Citoxlab'', the Austrian plaster manufacturer Lasselsberger-Knauf, the Swiss electric motor manufacturer Maxon Motor, the Austrian tile manufacturer ''Bramac'', the French automotive spare parts manufacturer Valeo, the German electromagnetical controlsystems manufacturer ''nass magnet'', the German automotive spare parts manufacturer Continental AG, the German automotive spare parts manufacturer ''Thun'', the German sensor manufacturer Pepperl+Fuchs, the Austrian chimney and ventilation system manufacturer

Schiedel Schiedel GmbH is an international supplier of chimney- and ventilation systems with headquarters in Nussbach, Austria. Schiedel offers ceramic chimneys, steel chimneys, fireplaces, and ventilation systems. It sells its products worldwide. The com ...

, the American power supply security company ''CoreComm'', the German sensor manufacturer ''Balluff'', the German automotive spare parts manufacturer ''Jost'', the German health devices manufacturer Beurer, the British-Dutch food producer

Unilever Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy dri ...

and the Hungarian dairy product manufacturer ''Pannontej'' operate production plants in the city. The Dutch

General Logistics Systems General Logistics Systems B.V., also known as GLS, is a British-owned logistics company based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The company was known as German Parcel when it was founded in 1989, by Rico Back. It was subsequently rebranded as GLS and i ...

, the Hungarian

Magyar Posta Magyar Posta Zrt. ( Hungarian for ''Hungarian Post JSC'') or Hungarian Post is the postal administration of Hungary. Besides normal mail delivery, Magyar Posta also offers logistics, banking, and marketing services. History The origin of the Mag ...

, the German Penny Market, the Hungarian ''Locargo'' and the Austrian ''Persped'' have logistics centres there. The Hungarian owned ''Vöröskő'' electrical retailer (holder of the brand

Euronics Euronics International Ltd. is an international association of over 11,000 independent electrical retailers in 37 countries. It functions as a leading international electrical retail group on behalf of its members, and is based in Amsterdam ...

in Hungary) is also based in the city. The

Veszprém Aréna Veszprém Aréna is an indoor sports and events hall in Veszprém, Hungary, known for its enthralling atmosphere. It is the home ground of the top-class handball club Telekom Veszprém KC, that regularly host the best teams of Europe. The city ...

provides place besides sport events for exhibitions and conferences.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census beside the 83.9% Hungarian majority the city has a historical German minority numbering 2.4% of the population. The second largest ethnic group is the Roma with 0.7%. The others are all marginal.KSH - Veszprém, 2011
/ref> The religious affiliation of the citizens has a Catholic majority with 38.9%

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

and 0.3%

Greek Catholic The term Greek Catholic Church can refer to a number of Eastern Catholic Churches following the Byzantine (Greek) liturgy, considered collectively or individually. The terms Greek Catholic, Greek Catholic church or Byzantine Catholic, Byzantine Ca ...

. The Calvinists (7.0%) have the second, the

Lutherans Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

(2.1%) the third largest denomination in the city. 20.6% are not religious.KSH - Veszprém, 2011
/ref> 11-es busz (REM-840)

Politics

The current mayor of Veszprém is

Gyula Porga Gyula may refer to: * Gyula (title), Hungarian title of the 9th–10th century * Gyula (name), Hungarian male given name, derived from the title ; People * Gyula II, the ''gyula'' who was baptized in Constantinople around 950 * Gyula III, the ...

(''Fidesz-KDNP''). The local Municipal Assembly, elected at the 2019 local government elections, is made up of 18 members (1 Mayor, 12 Individual constituencies MEPs and 5 Compensation List MEPs) divided into this political parties and alliances:

Public transport

The city's public transportation consists exclusively of buses, which are run by the city-funded company V-Busz. 30 bus lines run throughout the city, including lines 44 and 45 which are night buses. All buses are easily recognizable even from a distance due to their purple livery. Tickets can be purchased on the buses, from ticket machines across the city and at bus stations from the ticket desks. V-Busz took over the city's public transportation in 2018 from the regional, state-funded bus company (ÉNYKK) due to a lack of funding and an old rolling stock of buses, some of which were from the mid 80s.

Notable people

* Péter Andorka (born in 1984), footballer *

Leopold Auer Leopold von Auer ( hu, Auer Lipót; June 7, 1845July 15, 1930) was a Hungarian violinist, academic, conductor, composer, and instructor. Many of his students went on to become prominent concert performers and teachers. Early life and career Au ...

(1845–1930), violinist, academic, conductor and composer * Marian Cozma (1982–2009), handball player * Tamás Kádár (born 1990), footballer *

Attila Mesterházy Attila Mesterházy (born 30 January 1974) is a Hungarian politician, who served as the seventh chairman of the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) from 10 July 2010 to 29 May 2014. He was the party's candidate for the position of Prime Minister of ...

(born 1974), politician ( MSZP) *

Tibor Navracsics Tibor Navracsics (born Veszprém, Hungary, 13 June 1966) is a Hungarian lawyer and politician, who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade from June to September 2014. He previously served as Minister of Administration and Justice bet ...

(born 1966), politician, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth (2014–present) * Leopold Óváry (1833–1919), historian and archivist *

Csaba Vastag Csaba Vastag (born 11 February 1982 in Budapest) is a Hungarian musician, who won the first ever series of the Hungarian ''X-Faktor'' in 2010.

(born 1982), singer * Tamás Vastag (born 1991), singer * Ádám Lang (born 1993), footballer

Twin towns – sister cities

Veszprém is twinned with: * Vernier, Switzerland *

Bottrop Bottrop () is a city in west-central Germany, on the Rhine–Herne Canal, in North Rhine-Westphalia. Located in the Ruhr industrial area, Bottrop adjoins Essen, Oberhausen, Gladbeck, and Dorsten. The city had been a coal-mining and rail cent ...

, Germany * Debeljača, Serbia *

Fresagrandinaria Fresagrandinaria (locally ''Frò-išë'') is a ''comune'' and town in the province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region of southern Italy. Twin towns * Nowa Sól, Poland * Püttlingen, Germany * Saint-Michel-sur-Orge, France * Senftenberg Senftenb ...

, Italy *

Gladsaxe Gladsaxe Kommune is a municipality (Danish, '' kommune'') near Copenhagen in Region Hovedstaden on the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in eastern Denmark. The municipality covers an area of , and has a total population of 69,681 (2019). Its ma ...

, Denmark *

Haskovo Haskovo ( bg, Хасково ) is a city in the region of Northern Thrace in southern Bulgaria and the administrative centre of the Haskovo Province, not far from the borders with Greece and Turkey. According to Operative Program Regional Develo ...

, Bulgaria *

Jönköping Jönköping (, ) is a city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland. The city is the seat of Jönköping Municipa ...

, Sweden *

Kuršėnai Kuršėnai (; Samogitian: ''Koršienā''; yi, קורשאַן ''Kurshon''; german: Kurschenen; pl, Kurszany; lv, Kuršēni) is the twenty-fifth largest city in Lithuania. According to the 2020 estimate, it had 10,829 residents. History The tow ...

, Lithuania *

Nitra Nitra (; also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, situated at the foot of Zobor Mountain in the valley of the river Nitra. It is located 95 km east of Bratislava. With a population of about 78,353, it is the fifth l ...

, Slovakia *

Nový Jičín Nový Jičín (; german: Neutitschein) is a town in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 23,000 inhabitants. The historic centre of Nový Jičín is well preserved and is protected by law as an Cultural monument (Czech R ...

, Czech Republic *

Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve (; wa, Ocgniye-Li Noû Lovén) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On January 1, 2006, Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve had a total population of 29,521. The total area ...

, Belgium * Passau, Germany *

Pescara Pescara (; nap, label= Abruzzese, Pescàrë; nap, label= Pescarese, Piscàrë) is the capital city of the Province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 119,217 (2018) residents (and approxim ...

, Italy *

Püttlingen Püttlingen () is a town in Saarland, Germany, 10 km northwest of Saarbrücken. Geography The town lies in the Köller Valley, approximately 20 km to the northwest of Saarbrücken and 5 km north of Völklingen. Going in a clockwi ...

, Germany *

Rovaniemi Rovaniemi ( , ; sme, Roavvenjárga ; smn, Ruávinjargâ; sms, Ruäʹvnjargg) is a city and municipality of Finland. It is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland, and its southern part Per� ...

, Finland *

Senftenberg Senftenberg ( wen, Zły Komorow) is a town in Lower Lusatia, Brandenburg, Germany, capital of the Oberspreewald-Lausitz district. Geography Senftenberg is located in the southwest of the historic Lower Lusatia region at the border with Saxony. It ...

, Germany * Sfântu Gheorghe, Romania *

Šibenik Šibenik () is a historic city in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is a political, educational, transport, industrial and tourist center of Šibenik-Knin County, and is also the ...

, Croatia * Tartu, Estonia * Tirat Carmel, Israel *

Žamberk Žamberk (; german: Senftenberg in Böhmen) is a town in Ústí nad Orlicí District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 6,000 inhabitants. In lies on the Divoká Orlice river. The town centre is well preserved and is pr ...

, Czech Republic *

Herceg Novi Herceg Novi ( cyrl, Херцег Нови, ) is a coastal town in Montenegro located at the Western entrance to the Bay of Kotor and at the foot of Mount Orjen. It is the administrative center of the Herceg Novi Municipality with around 33,000 ...

, Montenegro Veszprém also had connections with Halle and

Nowa Sól Nowa Sól is a city on the Oder River in Lubusz Voivodeship, western Poland. It is the capital of Nowa Sól County and had a population of 38,763 (2019). History The first settlement in the region of modern Nowa Sól dates to the 14th century, w ...

in the past, but these relations were eliminated.

Tourism

* Kittenberger Kálmán Zoo & Botanical Garden

Gallery

Egyem. lakóház (10654. számú műemlék).jpg, View of the city Tüztorony (10689. számú műemlék) 7.jpg, Fire-watch tower Szentháromság-szobor (10685. számú műemlék) 3.jpg, Holy Trinity Column Veszprém panorama.jpg, View from the Castle Hill Székesegyház (10682. számú műemlék) 6.jpg, St. Michael's Cathedral, Veszprém Veszprem varabenedekhegyrol.jpg, Castle Hill Veszprem Ersekipalota2.jpg, Episcopal Palace Veszprem Varoshaza1.jpg, City hall Veszprem Megyehaza.jpg, County hall Veszprem varkapu.jpg, Castle gate Veszprem Szentharomsagter dny.jpg, Holy Trinity Square Veszprem nagyprepostipalota.jpg, Nagypréposti Palace Veszprem-County-Library-Hungary.jpg, Library of Veszprém Veszprem Sed2.jpg, Séd Stream Veszprem Gizellakapolna.jpg, Gisela Capel Székesegyház (10682. számú műemlék).jpg, The Holy Trinity Square behind St. Michael's Cathedral, Veszprém in the Castle Hill Bone of Giselle of Bavaria.jpg, Bone of Queen Gisela kept in a church in Veszprém Szt. István és Gizella Veszprém.JPG, Statue of King Stephen I and Queen Gisela

References

;Notes