Zalaegerszeg: Hungary

Zalaegerszeg: Hungary
Zalaegerszeg is the capital city of county Zala, Hungary. It lies on the both side of the river Zala. It is considered to be one of the greenest and the most flowery towns of Hungary. Zalaegerszeg is close to the Austrian border. The population of the city was 60,000 as of 2000. In 2001, Zalaegerszeg hosted the Central European Olympiad in Informatics (CEOI).
The distance to Budapest is approx. 213 km by car.

Veszprém: Hungary

Veszprém: Hungary
Veszprém (in Slovak Vesprím) is a city with county rights in western Hungary. It is the capital city of the administrative county (comitatus or megye) with the same name in western Hungary, north of Lake Balaton(approx. 15 km). Veszprém lies on both sides of the river Séd. The distance to Budapest is approx. 110 km (via the M7 motorway and road number . It can be reached from Győr via Road 82, from Székesfehérvár via Road 8.
History of Veszprém
According to local legend the city was founded on seven hills, like Rome. The seven hills are as follows: Várhegy (Castle Hill), Benedek-hegy (St Benedict Hill), Jeruzsálem-hegy (Jerusalem Hill), TemetÅ‘hegy (Cemetery Hill), Gulyadomb (Herd Hill), Kálvária-domb (Calvary Hill), Cserhát. (more…)

Tatabánya: Hungary

Tatabánya: Hungary
Tatabánya is a city with county rights in Hungary in the Northern Transdanubian region. It is the capital of county Komárom-Esztergom. The city is located in the valley between the Gerecse and Vértes Mountains, some 55 km from the capital. By the virtue of its location, the city is a railway and road junction. Motorway M1 (E60, E75) from Vienna to Budapest passes through the outer city limits, the railway line Budapest–Vienna go through the city.
History
Archaeological findings prove that humans have been living here since the Stone Age. The three historic predecessor settlements of Tatabánya are Alsógalla, FelsÅ‘galla and Bánhida. Bánhida is the earliest settlement, it was first mentioned in 1288 (more…)

Szombathely: Hungary

Szombathely: Hungary
Szombathely (Latin Savaria/Sabaria, German Steinamanger) is a city in Hungary. It is the administrative center of the Vas county in the west of the country, located near the border with Austria. Szombathely lies by the streams Perint and Gyöngyös, where the Alpokalja mountains meet the Small Hungarian Plain. The name Szombathely is from Hungarian szombat, “Saturday� and hely, “place�, referring to the fact that markets were held on Saturday every week.
The German name Steinamanger means “stones on a field�, and it refers to the ruins of the Roman city Savaria.
The Latin name Savaria or Sabaria comes from Sibaris, the Latin name for the stream Gyöngyös. The root of the word is the Indo-European word seu, meaning “wetâ€?. The Austrian reach of the stream is still called Zöbern, a variation of its Latin name. (more…)

Szolnok: Hungary

Szolnok: Hungary
Szolnok is the capital of the county of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok, central Hungary. The area has been inhabited since ancient times. Before the Conquest of Hungary it was inhabited by Scythians, Celts, Avars. The Hungarians settled in the area in the 10th century.
The town was first mentioned in 1075. At that time it was the capital of the comitatus Szolnok. It was named after the steward of its castle. During the Mongol invasion the town became deserted, King Béla IV moved new settlers there, but it remained a small village for a long time.
In 1550–1551, when the Ottoman Empire threatened with invading the country, the castle was fortified and a town wall was built. The Ottomans sieged the castle which was surrendered to them in on September 4, 1552. (more…)