| | |
| County | Veszprém |
|---|---|
| Area | 126,93 km˛ |
| Population | |
| Postal code | 8200 |
| Area code | 88 |
Veszprém (in Slovak Vesprím), one of the oldest towns in Hungary, is now a city with county rights north of Lake Balaton (about 15 km). It is the capital city of the administrative county (Comitatus or megye) with the same name.
According to local legend, Veszprém was founded on seven hills, like Rome. The seven hills are Várhegy (Castle Hill), Benedek-hegy (St. Benedict Hill), Jeruzsálem-hegy (Jerusalem Hill), Temetőhegy (Cemetery Hill), Gulyadomb (Herd Hill), Kálvária-domb (Calvary Hill), and Cserhát.
An Anonymus notary of King Béla III wrote that a castle already stood here when the Hungarians occupied the area. The castle was probably a 9th century Frank fortress. The castles of Veszprém, Esztergom and Székesfehérvár, were the earliest Hungarian stone castles, which already stood during the reign of High Prince Géza, a time when motte castles were much more common.
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The name of the city originates from the Slavic word Bezprym, which was originally a personal name. The city was named either after a chieftain, or the son of Princess Judith (elder sister of St. Stephen), who settled down here after her husband Boleslaus I of Poland expelled her and her son.
Veszprém had an important religious role during the fight for making Christianity the official religion of Hungary - St. Stephen defeated the armies of his chief opponent, Koppány, near Veszprém. The city became the first episcopal seat of Hungary in 1009 and an archiepiscopal seat in 1993. Comitatus Veszprém was one of the earliest historical counties of Hungary.
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Veszprém was the favorite city of Queen Gisela, the wife of St. Stephen. For centuries the queens of Hungary were crowned by the bishop of Veszprém. The city is still often called "the city of queens."
During the Mongol invasion of Hungary, Veszprém was protected by its castle, which was later demolished by the order of the Habsburgs in 1706.
Veszprém was among the first Hungarian cities to have an university - students studied law and arts here. The university was destroyed by a fire in 1276, after which Veszprém became a university town again in the 20th century.
| [image] | Counties of Hungary | [image] |
|---|---|---|
| Counties: Bács-Kiskun | Baranya | Békés | Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén | Csongrád | Fejér | Győr-Moson-Sopron | Hajdú-Bihar | Heves | Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok | Komárom-Esztergom | Nógrád | Pest | Somogy | Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg | Tolna | Vas | Veszprém | Zala | ||
| Capital: (usually treated as the 20th county) Budapest | ||
| Urban counties: Békéscsaba | Debrecen | Dunaújváros | Eger | Győr | Hódmezővásárhely | Kaposvár | Kecskemét | Miskolc | Nagykanizsa | Nyíregyháza | Pécs | Salgótarján | Sopron | Szeged | Szekszárd | Székesfehérvár | Szolnok | Szombathely | Tatabánya | Veszprém | Zalaegerszeg | ||
| See also: List of historic counties of Hungary | ||