Székesfehérvár (; ; ; ; Serbian: ''Стони Београд''; ), known colloquially as Fehérvár (), is a city in central

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much 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 south, Croatia and ...

, and the country's ninth-largest city. It is the

regional In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

capital of Central Transdanubia, and the centre of

Fejér County Fejér (, ) is an administrative county in central Hungary. It lies on the west bank of the river Danube and nearly touches the eastern shore of Lake Balaton. It shares borders with the Hungarian counties Veszprém, Komárom-Esztergom County ...

and

Székesfehérvár District Székesfehérvár () is a district in central-western part of Fejér County. ''Székesfehérvár'' is also the name of the town where the district seat is found. The district is located in the Central Transdanubia, Central Transdanubia Statistical ...

. The area is an important rail and road junction between

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

and Lake Velence. Székesfehérvár, a royal residence (), as capital of the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

, held a central role in the Middle Ages. As required by the Doctrine of the Holy Crown, the first kings of Hungary were crowned and buried here. Significant trade routes led to the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, and to

Buda Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...

and

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. Historically the city has come under Ottoman and

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

control, and was known in many languages by translations of "white castle" – , , etc.

History

Pre-Hungarian

The place has been inhabited since the 5th century BCE. In

Roman times In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman civilisation from the founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingd ...

, the settlements were called ''Gorsium'' and ''Herculia''. After the Migration Period

was the part of the

Avar Khaganate The Pannonian Avars ( ) were an alliance of several groups of Eurasian nomads of various origins. The peoples were also known as the Obri in the chronicles of the Rus' people, Rus, the Abaroi or Varchonitai (), or Pseudo-Avars in Byzantine Empi ...

, while the Slavic and

Great Moravia Great Moravia (; , ''Meghálī Moravía''; ; ; , ), or simply Moravia, was the first major state that was predominantly West Slavic to emerge in the area of Central Europe, possibly including territories which are today part of the Czech Repub ...

n presence is disputed. (There is no source for the name of the place before the late 10th century.) In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

its Latin name was ''Alba Regalis''/''Alba Regia''. The town was an important traffic junction between

and Lake Velence, several trade routes led from here to the

and

, and to

and

. Today, the town is a junction of seven railroad lines.

Early Hungarian

Grand Prince Géza of the

Árpád dynasty The Árpád dynasty consisted of the members of the royal House of Árpád (), also known as Árpáds (, ). They were the ruling dynasty of the Principality of Hungary in the 9th and 10th centuries and of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 to 130 ...

was the nominal overlord of all seven

Magyar tribes The Magyar or Hungarian tribes ( , ) or Hungarian clans were the fundamental political units within whose framework the Hungarians (Magyars) lived, before the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin and the subsequent establishment of the Prin ...

but in reality ruled only part of the united territory. He aimed to integrate Hungary into Christian Western Europe by rebuilding the state according to the Western political and social models. Géza founded the Hungarian town in 972 on four

moorland Moorland or moor is a type of Habitat (ecology), habitat found in upland (geology), upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and the biomes of montane grasslands and shrublands, characterised by low-growing vegetation on So ...

islands between the Gaja stream and its tributary, the Sárvíz, one of the most important Hungarian tributaries of the Danube. He also had a small stone castle built. Székesfehérvár was first mentioned in a document by the Bishopric of Veszprém, 1009, as ''Alba Civitas''. István I,

Grand Prince of the Hungarians Grand Prince () was the title used by contemporary sources to name the leader of the federation of the Hungarian tribes in the tenth century.Constantine VII mentioned Árpád in his book De Administrando Imperio as ', while Bruno of Querfurt re ...

, granted town rights to the settlement, surrounded the town with a plank wall, and founded a school and a monastery. Under his rule the construction of the Romanesque

Székesfehérvár Basilica The Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary () was a basilica in Székesfehérvár (), Hungary. From the year 1000 until 1527, it was the site of the coronation of the Hungarian monarch. After the Ottomans occupied the city in 1543 ...

began (it was built between 1003 and 1038). The settlement had about 3,500 inhabitants at this time and was the royal seat for hundreds of years. 43 kings were crowned in Székesfehérvár (the last one in 1526) and 15 kings were buried here (the last one in 1540), including King St. Stephen I, Hungary's first monarch. In the past few decades, archaeologists have excavated medieval ruins, including those of the Romanesque basilica and the mausoleum of King István I; they can now be visited. In the 12th century, the town prospered; churches, monasteries, and houses were built. It was an important station on the pilgrim route to the Holy Land. András II issued the

Golden Bull A golden bull or chrysobull was a decree issued by Byzantine emperors and monarchs in Europe during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Description A golden bull was a decree issued by Byzantine Emperors. It was later used by monarchs in Europe ...

here in 1222. The Bull included the rights of

nobles Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

and the duties of the king, and the

Constitution of Hungary The Fundamental Law of Hungary (), the country's constitution, was adopted by parliament on 18 April 2011, promulgated by the president a week later and entered into force on 1 January 2012. It is Hungary's first constitution adopted within a dem ...

was based on it until 1848. It is often compared to England's ''

Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter"), sometimes spelled Magna Charta, is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardin ...

''. During the Mongol invasion of Hungary (1241–1242), the invaders could not get close to the castle:

Kadan Kadan (also Qadan) was the son of the second Great Khan of the Mongols Ögedei and a concubine. He was the grandson of Genghis Khan and the brother of Güyük Khan. During the Mongol invasion of Europe, Kadan, along with his cousin Baidar ( ...

ruled Mongol warriors could not get through the surrounding

marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...

es because of flooding caused by melting snow. In the 13th–15th centuries, the town prospered, and several palaces were built. In the 14th century, Székesfehérvár was surrounded by city walls. After the death of King Mátyás (1490), the German army of 20,000 men led by the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

Maximilian I invaded Hungary. They advanced into the heart of Hungary and captured the city of Székesfehérvár, which they sacked, as well as the tomb of King Mátyás, which was kept there. His

Landsknecht The (singular: , ), also rendered as Landsknechts or Lansquenets, were German mercenaries used in pike and shot formations during the early modern period. Consisting predominantly of pikemen and supporting foot soldiers, their front line was ...

s were still unsatisfied with the plunder and refused to go for taking Buda. He returned to the Empire in late December and the Hungarian troops liberated Székesfehérvár in the next year.

Ottoman period

The

Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks () were a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group in Anatolia. Originally from Central Asia, they migrated to Anatolia in the 13th century and founded the Ottoman Empire, in which they remained socio-politically dominant for the e ...

invaded the city after a long siege in 1543 and only after a sally ended in most of the defenders including the commander, György Varkoch, being locked out by wealthy citizens fearing they might incur the wrath of the Ottomans by a lengthy siege. The Ottoman Empire continued to stretch northwards, taking parts of the

in the 16th century, and reaching as far north as the

Podolia Podolia or Podillia is a historic region in Eastern Europe located in the west-central and southwestern parts of Ukraine and northeastern Moldova (i.e. northern Transnistria). Podolia is bordered by the Dniester River and Boh River. It features ...

in the mid-17th century; by the signing of the Peace of Buczacz with the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

in 1672, most of the Balkans was under Ottoman control. Except for a short period in 1601, when Székesfehérvár was reconquered by an army led by Lawrence of Brindisi, the city remained under Ottoman administration for 145 years, until 1688, with the Ottomans being preoccupied with the

Morean War The Morean war (), also known as the Sixth Ottoman–Venetian War, was fought between 1684–1699 as part of the wider conflict known as the "Great Turkish War", between the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire. Military operations ranged ...

. They renamed the city ''Beograd'' ("White city", from Serbian '' Beograd'') and built mosques. In the 16th–17th centuries, it looked like a Muslim city. As a result, most of the original Hungarian population fled. It became a ''

sanjak A sanjak or sancak (, , "flag, banner") was an administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans also sometimes called the sanjak a liva (, ) from the name's calque in Arabic and Persian. Banners were a common organization of nomad ...

'' centre in the Budin Province, known as ''İstolni Beograd'' during Ottoman rule. Ottoman expansion in Europe ended with their defeat in the

Great Turkish War The Great Turkish War () or The Last Crusade, also called in Ottoman sources The Disaster Years (), was a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League (1684), Holy League consisting of the Holy Roman Empire, Polish–Lith ...

in 1699. The

Treaty of Karlowitz The Treaty of Karlowitz, concluding the Great Turkish War of 1683–1699, in which the Ottoman Empire was defeated by the Holy League at the Battle of Zenta, was signed in Karlowitz, in the Military Frontier of the Habsburg Monarchy (present-day ...

forced them to surrender the region of Hungary under Ottoman control and portions of present-day

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

, and

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

to the Habsburg Empire, which pushed the Great Migrations of the Serbs to the southern regions of the

(though as far in the north as the town of

Szentendre Szentendre, also known as Saint Andrew is a riverside town in Pest County, Hungary, between the capital city Budapest and Pilis Mountains, Pilis-Visegrád Mountains. The town is known for its museums (most notably the :hu: Szentendrei Szabadtéri ...

, in which they formed the majority of the population in the 18th century, but to smaller extent also in the town of Komárom) and Habsburg-ruled Croatia.

Habsburg Empire

The city began to prosper again only in the 18th century. It had a mixed population:

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

, and

Moravians Moravians ( or Colloquialism, colloquially , outdated ) are a West Slavs, West Slavic ethnic group from the Moravia region of the Czech Republic, who speak the Moravian dialects of Czech language, Czech or Czech language#Common Czech, Common ...

. By 1702, the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was blown up, thus destroying the largest cathedral in Hungary at that time, and the coronation temple. By the Doctrine of the Holy Crown, all kings of Hungary were obliged to be crowned in this cathedral, and to take part in coronation ceremony in the surroundings of the cathedral. The coronations after that time were held in Pozsony (now

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

). In 1703, Székesfehérvár regained the status of a free royal town. In the middle of the century, several new buildings were erected (Franciscan church and monastery,

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

churches, public buildings,

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

palaces).

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position suo jure, in her own right. She was the ...

made the city an episcopal seat in 1777. By the early 19th century, the German population was assimilated. On 15 March 1848, the citizens joined the

revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

. After the revolution and war for independence, Székesfehérvár lost its importance and became a mainly agricultural city. In 1909 ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

Engineering Contract List'' noted a bridge construction contract valued at £12,000 to be overseen by the

Chief Magistrate A chief magistrate is a public official, executive or judicial, whose office is the highest in its class. Historically, the two different meanings of magistrate have often overlapped and refer to, as the case may be, to a major political and admi ...

Interwar period

New prosperity arrived between the two world wars, when several new factories were opened. In 1922 a radio station was established. It used two masts insulated against ground, each with a height of 152 metres. The last mast of the station was demolished in 2009.

World War II

In 1944, after the occupation of Hungary by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

, the city's Jewish population was confined to a

ghetto A ghetto is a part of a city in which members of a minority group are concentrated, especially as a result of political, social, legal, religious, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished than other ...

and was eventually deported to the

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...

, together with further 3,000 Jews from the area.city in central Hungary
at the Beit Hatfutsot (Jewish Diaspora Museum, Tel Aviv) website
by Dr. Eliezer Even (Koves) & Bemjamin Ravid, Jerusalem, 1997 The pre-war Jewish population consisted of Neolog (Reform) and Orthodox communities with their respective synagogues, and some of its members were active Zionists. In December 1944, Fehérvár came under Russian artillery fire, and stiff fighting broke out as the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

advanced on the city. The Germans had chosen to concentrate their forces to protect the 15-mile gap between Fehérvár and

. Whereas most of the gap consisted of marsh and difficult ground, Fehérvár was the node for eight highways and six railways. Despite the heavy German defences, a Soviet flying column broke through and occupied the city on 23 December; the Germans were able to push them out on 22 January 1945. In March 1945, the area was the battleground for the last major German offensive of World War II; but following its failure Marshal Tolbukhin broke through the German lines once more and recaptured the city on 22 March. A Soviet

airfield An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...

was established at nearby

Szabadbattyán Szabadbattyán is a village in Fejér county, Hungary. Located about 10 km from Székesfehérvár and about 30 km from Lake Balaton. The area has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Archeological record go back to the Bronze Age. Due ...

Post-war period

In August 1951, over 150 people were killed when two trains collided in Fehérvár. In the

aftermath of World War II The aftermath of World War II saw the rise of two global superpowers, the United States (U.S.) and the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.). The aftermath of World War II was also defined by the rising threat of nuclear warfare, the creation and implementati ...

, the city was subject to

industrialization Industrialisation (British English, UK) American and British English spelling differences, or industrialization (American English, US) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an i ...

, like many other cities and towns in the country. The most important factories were the Ikarus Bus factory, the Videoton radio and TV factory, and the Könnyűfémmű (colloquially Köfém)

aluminium Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

processing plant, since acquired by

Alcoa Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for "Aluminum Company of America") is an American industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary alu ...

. By the 1970s, Székesfehérvár had swelled to more than 100,000 inhabitants (in 1945 it had only about 35,000). Several housing estates were built, but the city centre preserved its Baroque atmosphere. The most important Baroque buildings are the cathedral, the episcopal palace and the city hall. After the end of the Communist regime in Hungary (1989), the

planned economy A planned economy is a type of economic system where investment, production and the allocation of capital goods takes place according to economy-wide economic plans and production plans. A planned economy may use centralized, decentralized, ...

was abandoned in favor of the implementation of a

free market In economics, a free market is an economic market (economics), system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of ...

system; all the important factories were on the verge of collapse (some eventually folded) and thousands of people lost their jobs. However, the city profited from losing the old and inefficient companies, as an abundance of skilled labour coupled with excellent traffic connections, and existing infrastructure attracted numerous foreign firms seeking to invest in Hungary. Székesfehérvár became one of the prime destinations for

multinational companies A multinational corporation (MNC; also called a multinational enterprise (MNE), transnational enterprise (TNE), transnational corporation (TNC), international corporation, or stateless corporation, is a corporate organization that owns and cont ...

setting up shop in Hungary ( Ford and

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

are some of them), turning the city into a success story of Hungary's transition to a market economy. A few years later Denso,

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...

, and Sanmina-SCI Corporation also settled in the city.

Culture

Architecture

* Historical centre (Baroque, Classical) buildings * St Stephen Cathedral and ruins of

(one of the largest basilicas in medieval Europe), where the Diets were held and the crown jewels kept, seat for the coronation of the Hungarian monarch and location of royal burials and memorials. * St Anna Chapel (Gothic, built around 1470) * "Ruin Garden": Ruins of medieval church founded by St Stephen * Episcopal Palace (Zopf style) * City Hall * Zichy Palace (Zopf style manor house, 1781) * Serbian Quarter (12 thatched peasant houses and a Byzantine-style church, won a

Europa Nostra Europa Nostra (Latin for "Our Europe") is a pan-European Federation for cultural heritage, Cultural Heritage, representing citizens' organisations that work on safeguarding Europe's cultural and natural heritage. It is the voice of this movement ...

award in 1990) * Bory Castle (20th century). A fantastic castle-like structure built by the sculptor Jenő Bory and his wife with their own hands. * Vörösmarty Theater, the oldest theater of the country

Statues and memorials

* Golden Bull memorial. The ''

'' was an important

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...

of King András II, it was released here; the memorial is from 1972. * Globus crucifer (a stone image of the royal symbol of power of the same name) * Statue of György Varkoch at the supposed site of his death at the gates (see above) * Flower clock * Railway model exhibition

Museums and galleries

* King István Museum * Doll Museum * Black Eagle (Fekete Sas) Pharmacy Museum * City Museum * City Gallery * Csitáry spring (mineral water source)

Population

Ethnic groups (2001 census): *

- 95.7% *

- 0.8% * Roma - 0.5% * Others - 0.5% * No answer - 2.4% Religions (2001 census): *

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

- 53.8%. The city stands in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Székesfehérvár *

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

- 12.1% *

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

- 1.9% *

Greek Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Ea ...

- 0.5% * Other (

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

) - 1% * Other (non-Christian) - 0.2% *

Atheists Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

- 19.7% * No answer, unknown - 10.7%

Politics

The current mayor of Székesfehérvár is András Cser-Palkovics (Fidesz). The local Municipal Assembly, elected at the 2019 local government elections, is made up of 21 members (1 Mayor, 14 Individual constituencies MEPs and 6 Compensation List MEPs) divided into this political parties and alliances:

List of mayors

List of City Mayors from 1990:

Economy

Transport

Székesfehérvár is an important hub for the Hungarian railway system (''MÁV''). Trains depart to the northern and southern coasts of Lake Balaton and towards the capital. The city is also reachable by regional buses from other major national destinations. There are numerous local buslines operating 7 days a week, operated by the company that also operates the regional buses in the region, KNYKK Zrt. (''Közép-Nyugat Magyarországi Közlekedési Központ).''

Sport

Alba Regia Sportcsarnok is an indoor stadium in the city. It hosts a number of sport clubs from amateur to professional level, with 2017 Hungarian basketball championship winner Alba Fehérvár being its most notable tenant. Other city sports clubs include: * Fehérvár FC (football) * Székesfehérvári MÁV Előre SC (football) * Fehérvár AV19 (ice hockey) *

Alba Fehérvár KC Alba Fehérvár Kézilabda Club is a Hungarian women's handball team based in Székesfehérvár. Founded in 1968 by the merger of ''Máv Előre'' and ''VT Vasas'', the club achieved their biggest success in 2005, when they were crowned of the EH ...

(handball) * Fehérvár Enthroners (American football) * Székesfehérvári Kempo SE (martial arts) * Profi Kempo Akadémia - PKA

Notable people

Born in Székesfehérvár

* Béla Balogh (1885–1945), film director * Katalin Bogyay (b. 1956), journalist, diplomat * Bendegúz Bolla (b. 1999), footballer * Jenő Bory (1879–1959), sculptor, architect * István Deák (1926–2023), historian * Dávid Disztl (b. 1985), football player * George Fisher (1795–1873), Serbian leader of the Texas Revolution *

Ignác Goldziher Ignác (Yitzhaq Yehuda) Goldziher (22 June 1850 – 13 November 1921), often credited as Ignaz Goldziher, was a Hungary, Hungarian scholar of Islam. Alongside Joseph Schacht and G.H.A. Juynboll, he is considered one of the pioneers of modern aca ...

(1850–1921), orientalist * Katarina Ivanović (1811–1882), early 19th century Serbian Biedermeier painter * Péter Kuczka (1923–199), writer * Kornél Lánczos (1893–1974), physicist * George Lang (1924–2011), restaurateur * Lőrinc Mészáros (b. 1966), richest person in Hungary, former politician close to Fidesz * Zsolt Nagy (b. 1993), footballer *

Viktor Orbán Viktor Mihály Orbán (; born 31 May 1963) is a Hungarian lawyer and politician who has been the 56th prime minister of Hungary since 2010, previously holding the office from 1998 to 2002. He has also led the Fidesz political party since 200 ...

(b. 1963), Prime Minister of Hungary in 1998–2002 and 2010–present * Lajos Simicska (b. 1960), business magnate, former politician of Fidesz * Bálint Szabó (b. 2001), football player * Gyula Szekfű, historian * Dominik Szoboszlai (b. 2000), football player * Márk Tamás (b. 1993), football player *

Miklós Ybl Miklós Ybl (6 April 1814 in Székesfehérvár – 22 January 1891 in Budapest) was one of Europe's leading architects in the mid to late nineteenth century as well as Hungary's most influential architect during his career. His most well-known w ...

(1814–1891), architect

Buried royalty

* Prince Saint Emeric of Hungary (1031) * King Saint Stephen (1038) * Coloman the Bookish (1116) * Álmos the Blind (1129) * Béla the Blind (1141) * Géza II (1162) * Stephen IV (1165) * Agnes of Antioch (1184) * Béla III (1196) * Ladislaus III (1205) *

Charles I of Hungary Charles I, also known as Charles Robert (; ; ; 128816 July 1342), was King of Hungary and Croatia in the union with Hungary, Croatia from 1308 to his death. He was a member of the Capetian House of Anjou and the only son of Charles Martel of A ...

(1342) * Louis the Great (1382) * Albert the Magnanimous (1439) *

Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus (; ; ; ; ; ) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia from 1458 to 1490, as Matthias I. He is often given the epithet "the Just". After conducting several military campaigns, he was elected King of Bohemia in 1469 and ...

(1490) * Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary (1516) * Louis II (1526)

Fictional

* Albert Horn, character in

Louis Malle Louis Marie Malle (; 30 October 1932 – 23 November 1995) was a French film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in both French cinema and Hollywood. Described as "eclectic" and "a filmmaker difficult to pin down", Malle made document ...

's film '' Lacombe, Lucien''.

Twin towns – sister cities

Székesfehérvár is twinned with: *

Alba Iulia Alba Iulia (; or ''Carlsburg'', formerly ''Weißenburg''; ; ) is a city that serves as the seat of Alba County in the west-central part of Romania. Located on the river Mureș (river), Mureș in the historical region of Transylvania, it has a ...

, Romania * Biograd na Moru, Croatia *

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, United States *

Blagoevgrad Blagoevgrad ( ) is List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, а town in Southwestern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Blagoevgrad Municipality and of Blagoevgrad Province. With a population of almost inhabitants, it is the economic and cultura ...

, Bulgaria *

, Slovakia *

Cento Cento (; Bolognese dialect, Northern Bolognese: ; Bolognese dialect, City Bolognese: ; Bolognese dialect, Centese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. History The name Cento is a reference to the centur ...

, Italy *

Chorley Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth ca ...

, England, United Kingdom * Erdenet, Mongolia *

Esztergom Esztergom (; ; or ; , known by Names of European cities in different languages: E–H#E, alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the righ ...

, Hungary *

Kemi Kemi (; ; ; ) is a cities of Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located approximately from the city of Tornio and the Finland–Sweden border, Swedish border. The distance to Oulu is to the south and t ...

, Finland * Kocaeli, Turkey *

Luhansk Luhansk (, ; , ), also known as Lugansk (, ; , ), is a city in the Donbas in eastern Ukraine. As of 2022, the population was estimated to be making Luhansk the Cities in Ukraine, 12th-largest city in Ukraine. Luhansk served as the administra ...

, Ukraine * Miercurea Ciuc, Romania *

Opole Opole (; ; ; ) is a city located in southern Poland on the Oder River and the historical capital of Upper Silesia. With a population of approximately 127,387 as of the 2021 census, it is the capital of Opole Voivodeship (province) and the seat of ...

, Poland *

Schwäbisch Gmünd Schwäbisch Gmünd (, until 1934: Gmünd; Swabian: ''Gmẽẽd'' or ''Gmend'') is a city in the eastern part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. With a population of around 60,000, the city is the second largest in the Ostalb district ...

, Germany *

Zadar Zadar ( , ), historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian, ; see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Croatia. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ...

, Croatia *

Sariwon Sariwŏn (; ) is a city in North Korea. It is the capital and largest city of North Hwanghae Province. Population The city's population as of 2008 is 307,764. Administrative divisions Sariwŏn is divided into 31 '' tong'' (neighbourhoods) and ...

, North Korea

References

Székesfehérvár, a királyi város
(Székesfehérvár, the royal city) Notes

External links

Székesfehérvár official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Szekesfehervar County seats in Hungary Cities with county rights of Hungary Populated places in Fejér County 972 establishments Former capitals of Hungary Populated places established in the 10th century Serb communities in Hungary 10th-century establishments in Hungary