Vác (; ; ; ) is a thousand-year old city in Pest county in

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 ...

with approximately 35,000 inhabitants. The archaic spelling of the name is ''Vácz''.

Location

Vác is located north of

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

on the eastern bank of the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

river, below the bend where the river changes course and flows south. The town is seated at the foot of the Naszály Mountain in the foothills of the

Carpathians The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains ...

Modern Vác

Vác is a commercial center as well as a popular summer resort for citizens of Budapest. The Vác Cathedral, built 1761–1777, was modelled after

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (; ), is a church of the Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the city of Rome, Italy. It was initiall ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. The episcopal palace houses a museum for Roman and medieval artifacts. The city is also known for its 18th-century arch of triumph and for its beautiful baroque city center.

History

Settlement in Vác dating as far back as the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

has been found. The origin of its name is debated. One hypothesis says that the name comes from a Hungarian tribal name "Vath". It has been the seat of a

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 ...

bishopric since the 11th century. Bishops from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Vác were influential within 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 ...

, with many serving as chancellors or later becoming archbishops. On 17 March 1241, due to the attack of Mongols the population was slaughtered and Mongols set up camp there. After the departure of the Mongols, Vác was rebuilt and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

colonists were invited to the town. The town was conquered by the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

in 1541. During the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

's wars against the Ottomans, the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

ns won victories against the Turks at Vác in 1597 and in 1684. After 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 ...

, Vác was rebuilt and repopulated. This re-population was both spontaneous and planned. According to the Truce of Zsitvatörök, Habsburg control of the fortress at Vác (also known as Vacz) was maintained, and its repair was sanctioned. During the Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence of 1848-49, the ''Honvédség'' routed the Austrian forces stationed in the city after a major battle (April 10, 1849); the Second Battle of Vác ended in Russian victory (July 17). During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Vác was captured on 8 December 1944 by

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

troops of the

2nd Ukrainian Front The 2nd Ukrainian Front () was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War. History On October 20, 1943, the Steppe Front was renamed the 2nd Ukrainian Front. In mid-May 1944 Malinovsky took over the 2nd Ukrainian Front. During t ...

in the course of the Budapest Offensive.

Demographics

Ethnicity

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 ...

: 94.9% *

Romani people {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Romani people , image = , image_caption = , flag = Roma flag.svg , flag_caption = Romani flag created in 1933 and accepted at the 1971 World Romani Congress , po ...

: 1.3% *

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 ...

: 0.5% *

Romanians Romanians (, ; dated Endonym and exonym, exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Sharing a Culture of Romania, ...

: 0.1% *

Slovaks The Slovaks ( (historical Sloveni ), singular: ''Slovák'' (historical: ''Sloven'' ), feminine: ''Slovenka'' , plural: ''Slovenky'') are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation native to Slovakia who share a common ancestry, culture, history ...

: 0.5% *

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

: 0.1% *Other/Undeclared: 4.5%

Religious denomination

: 59.4% *

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 ...

: 0.7% *

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 ...

: 9.3% *

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 ...

: 3.1% *Other denomination: 1.4% *Non-religious: 14.4% *Undeclared: 11.5% According to the 1910 census, the religious make-up of the town was the following: *

: 76.3% *

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

: 11.2% *

: 8.3% *

: 2.8% *Other denomination: 1.4%

Notable people

* Géza I, King of Hungary * Tibor Gánti, theoretical biologist and biochemist * Nat Nichols, componist, jazz pianist and missionary.

Twin towns – sister cities

Vác is twinned with: *

Deuil-la-Barre Deuil-la-Barre () is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is in the Department of Val-d'Oise and the arrondissement of Sarcelles. It is from the centre of Paris. Despite this proximity to the metropolis, Deuil has retained m ...

, France * Donaueschingen, Germany * Dubnica nad Váhom, Slovakia * Givatayim, Israel *

Järvenpää Järvenpää (; , ; ) is a town in Finland, located in the southern interior of the country. Järvenpää is situated in the centre of the Uusimaa region in the immediate vicinity of Lake Tuusula. The population of Järvenpää is approximately ...

, Finland * Odorheiu Secuiesc, Romania * Otrokovice, Czech Republic *

Šahy Šahy (, rarely ) is a town in southern Slovakia, The town has an ethnic Hungarian majority and its population is 7,238 people (2018), with an average age of 42.5. Geography It is located at the eastern reaches of the Danubian Lowland on the riv ...

, Slovakia *

Sarıyer Sarıyer () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 177 km2 and its population is 350,454 (2022). It is on the northeastern part of Istanbul's European side. Sarıyer al ...

, Turkey *

Tiachiv Tiachiv (, ; ; ; ) is a city located on the Tisza River in Zakarpattia Oblast (region) in western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Tiachiv Raion (district). Today, the population is Names There are several alternative names used for ...

, Ukraine * Zawadzkie, Poland

Gallery

Hegyes torony.jpg, The Sharpened Tower - single remaining tower of the Castle of Vác Püspöki székesegyház (7513. számú műemlék).jpg, Dom - Cathedral of Vác. Built in early classicist style, it was the first iteration of this new architectural movement in Hungary. Vac triumf.jpg, The Arc of Triumph built for Empress Maria Theresia's visit in 1764. It is the only arch of triumph in Hungary.

References

External links

*
Official websiteThe newsportalLive webcam from the squareMap of VácMap of the surrounding areaTragor Ignác Museum of VácKatona Lajos Town LibraryAerial photographs: VácVác at funiq.hu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vac Populated places in Pest County Serb communities in Hungary