Vác

Vác is the central town of the Curve of the Danube, which is an episcopal seat. Located at a distance of somewhat more than 20 km from the capital, the settlement is the second largest city of Pest county. It is bordered by the Danube from the west, by the Naszály Hill from the north, and by plain areas from the southeast. Vác can be approached by car along route 2 and freeway 2/A. Trains depart from Budapest every half hour, but the city can also be reached by coach and on the cycle track along the Danube bank. During the summer hydrofoil service operates between Vác and the capital. The settlement is connected with the Szentendrei-island by a ferry line.

Vác boasts of almost a thousand years of history, since it was an inhabited settlement already during the settling of the Hungarians. St. Stephen I organised and founded the episcopate of Vác, since then the life of the city was intertwined with the church. Following the Tatar invasion, Béla IV settled southern Germans in the town. The episcopate of the humanist Miklós Báthory brought prosperity for the city. He raised a compelling palace; his court hosting a number of renaissance artists rivalled that of King Matthias. The days of glory ceased with the Turkish invasion. After the expulsion of the Ottomans, the settlement was populated mostly by Hungarians, Germans, Czechs, Moravians and Southern-Slavonians. The baroque townscape of Vác took shape in the second half of the 18th century. In the course of the century, the bishops of Vác kept developing the city. In 1764 Hungary’s only arch of triumph was erected in the honour of Empress Maria Theresa.

The centre of the city is the Márcus 15. Square, where the Dominican church built in 1755 is located, which is commonly known as the ”Church of the Whites”. The entrance of its forgotten crypt was discovered in 1994. In course of the excavations such 200-year-old corpses were found that were mummified in a natural way owing to the microclimate of the chamber. The exhibition presents the undamaged coffins of the crypt that was the burying place of the clergy and the bourgeoisie, and the attires of the era found here. On the same square under No. 4 we can find the Cathedral Treasury and Diocesan Collection (Székesegyházi Kincstár és Egyházmegyei Gyűjtemény). The Cathedral itself can be found a few minutes away by foot, on the Konstantin Square. The two-towered Cathedral attracts our vision from far away; its dome rises 55 m high above the city. Its interior is decorated by baroque style furnishment, frescos and Corinthian columns.

Neighbouring to the Cathedral is the Piarist Grammar School and not far away on Köztársaság street lies the Piarist Church consecrated in 1745. It is worth to visit the permanent and temporary exhibitions of the Vác Treasury (Váci Értéktár). The institution collects pieces of applied- and fine art and sports history related to Vác. A short way off Március 15. Square, in Széchenyi Street the exhibition hall named Medieval Cellar of the Tragor Ignác Museum (Tragor Ignác Múzeum Középkori Pince) is located. The 15th century stone cellar houses several hundred ceramic, metal and glass objects. It is worth to mention the Hincz Gyula Collection and the Greek Church Exhibition Space of the Tragor Ignác Museum. Vác hosts a number of cultural programs, out of which the most significant are the Autumn Art Weeks (Őszi Művészeti Hetek), the Winter Festive Days (Téli Ünnepi Napok) and the Vác Profane Festival (Váci Világi Vigadalom). The latter evokes the 18th century baroque atmosphere of the city. The diverse programs of the multi-art festival (fine arts, drama, classical music, children’s programmes, etc.) offer unforgettable experiences for all ages. The city awaits visitors with its thermal beach and swimming pool. Tourists arriving in Vác can take a pleasant stroll on the promenade along the Danube bank. Should we choose to go for a hike, the Naszály Hill and the flood area study pathway offer outing possibilities. Walking along the boardwalk of the Vác Flood Area study path, we can have a glance at the peculiar world of flood areas.

Sources: http://www.vac.hu/, http://hu.wikipedia.org/, http://www.vendegvaro.hu/, http://www.museum.hu/