Víziváros (meaning ''Watertown'', , ) is a neighborhood of

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 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 ...

on the right 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 ...

, under the royal castle and the St. Adalbert Primatial Basilica. The name Watertown derives from the numerous

hot springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...

in the area. Víziváros was established by

Matthias Rátót Matthias from the kindred Rátót (; died April 11, 1241) was a Hungarian prelate in the first half of the 13th century, who served as Bishop of Vác from 1238 to 1240, then Archbishop of Esztergom from 1239 until his death in the Battle of Mohi ...

Archbishop of Esztergom In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdioc ...

in 1239. The town fell under Ottoman rule in 1543, and it was only taken back by Christian forces in 1683. During that 140 years, the Turks built baths, religious buildings and re-enforced the castle. The Öziçeli Hacci Ibrahim

Mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

on Berényi Zsigmond street is the oldest still standing mosque of 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 ...

along the Danube. After the siege of 1683 reconstruction of the town began, but during Rákóczi's War for Independence it was destroyed in the winter of 1705–1706. Víziváros was repopulated by Germans. In 1827 its population was 697. By 1891 the town had 1158 Hungarian residents. The Cathedral Library (Bibliotheca) opened in 1853. The library building was designed by

József Hild József Hild (born Josef Hild, 8 December 1789 – 6 March 1867) was a Hungarian-German architect.Hild József

. The Christian Museum was founded by archbishop

János Simor János Simor (23 August 1813 – 23 January 1891) was a Hungarian prelate of the Catholic Church who was Archbishop of Esztergom from 1867 until his death in 1891. He was previously Bishop of Győr from 1857 to 1867. He was made a cardinal in 187 ...

in 1875, when he opened his private collection of

religious art Religious art is a visual representation of religious ideologies and their relationship with humans. Sacred art directly relates to religious art in the sense that its purpose is for worship and religious practices. According to one set of definit ...

to visitors. The Primatial Palace was built in 1883. In 1895 Víziváros was merged with Royal Esztergom as third district. The same time neighboring

Szentgyörgymező Szentgyörgymező (German: Georgenfeld, meaning: "St. George's field") is the northern part of the city of Esztergom in Hungary, on the right bank of the river Danube. It was a separate village until 1895, when it was merged with the "Royal Eszte ...

became fourth and Szenttamás became second district. File:Esztergom-Mindszenty square.jpg, Mindszenty square File:Esztergom.zárdatemplom.1.jpg,

Péter Pázmány Péter Pázmány de Panasz, S.J. (, ; ; ; ; 4 October 1570 – 19 March 1637), was a Hungarian Jesuit who was a noted philosopher, theologian, cardinal, pulpit orator and statesman. He was an important figure in the Counter-Reformation ...

street File:Esztergom.Bibliotheca.jpg, Bibliotheca

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vizivaros Neighbourhoods of Esztergom 1239 establishments in Europe Former municipalities of Hungary