Szentendre

Szentendre
Szentendre
	Szentendre
	; Coat of arms
	; Coat of arms
	Szentendre Location of Szentendre
	Coordinates: 47°42′16″N 19°04′07″E / 47.70440°N 19.06858°ECoordinates: 47°42′16″N 19°04′07″E / 47.70440°N 19.06858°E
Country	Hungary
County	Pest
	Area
• Total	43.83 km2 (16.92 sq mi)
	Population (2004)
• Total	23,554
• Density	537.39/km2 (1,391.8/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	2000
Area code(s)	26

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Photo of Szentendre's "Fő tér" (Main Square)

Decorated Shop Windows

Main Square

Szentendre (Croatian language and Serbian language: Сентандреја, Sentadreja) is a riverside town in Pest county, Hungary, near the capital city Budapest. It is known for its museums (most notably the Open-Air Ethnographic Museum), galleries, and artists. Due to its picturesque appearance and easy rail and river access, it has become a popular destination for tourists staying in Budapest. There are many facilities, including souvenir shops and restaurants, catering to these visitors.

[edit] Name

The name of the town is ultimately based on the Medieval Latin form Sankt Andrae (English: St.Andrew). Because of the diverse mix of nations to have once settled in Szentendre, the settlement has a variety of names according to language. The Hungarian name for the town in Szentendre, the German name is Sankt Andrä; in Serbian, the name is Sentandreja (Serbian Cyrillic: Сентандреја); the Slovak name is Svätý Ondrej.

[edit] History

A sunlit icon of Jesus above the gate to a Serbian Orthodox church in Szentendre.

Populated for well over a millennium, under the Romans it was called Ulcisia Castra, meaning "Wolf Castle". Since the 16th century it was considered the center of the Hungarian Serb community. At one point it had as many as eight Serbian Orthodox church buildings and 3 chapels, and only one each Roman-Catholic and Evangelical. It is still the see of the Buda Diocese of the Serb Orthodox Church. Szentendre and the surrounding villages were also inhabited by Bulgarians ever since the Middle Ages. In 1690, the Serbian teacher and hegumen Stevan notes that Szentendre was even called Bolgarija by some. It had a Bulgarian neighbourhood of settlers from Chiprovtsi and a Chiprovtsi church. The names of locals clearly hint at a Bulgarian population.^[1]

In the 18th century, after liberation from the Turks, Szentendre enjoyed a rebirth with Mediterranean leanings, as Serbian, Croatian, Slovak, German and Greek newcomers moved in and lived alongside the Magyar inhabitants. According to the 1720 data, 88% of the population of the town were South Slavs (mostly Serbs, but also some South Slavic Catholics).^[2] The town to this day is characterised by a south European atmosphere with much baroque architecture, churches of various faiths, narrow sidestreets, and cobblestone roads.

[edit] The Arts

[edit] People from Szentendre

Jakov Ignjatović, famous Serbian 19th century novelist and prose writer
Gavril Stefanović Venclović, early 18th century Serbian poet, writer, enlightener, orator and painter of church icons
Jovan Avakumović (poet) was born in 1748 in Szentandre during the Enlightenment, producing works in verse in Serbian vernacular.
Evgen Dumča
Jelena Bozda
Avakum Avakumović
Sima Ignjatović
Pavle Sofrić

[edit] Population

Nationalities:

Magyars - 92.3%
Germans - 1%
Slovaks - 0.6%
Roma - 0.5%
Serbs - 0.4%
Others - 1%
No answer, unknown - 4.2%

Religions:

Roman Catholic - 49.3%
Calvinist - 13.5%
Lutheran - 2%
Greek Catholic - 1.4%
Others (Christian) - 1.2%
Others (non-Christian) - 0.3%
Atheist - 16.9%
No answer, unknown - 15.4%

Today there are active Serbian, Croat, German and Polish municipal minority self-governments in Szentendre.

[edit] International relations

[edit] Twin towns - Sister cities

Szentendre is twinned with:

Kalisz in Poland^[5]
Uusikaupunki in Finland^{[citation needed]}

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Szentendre

[edit] Notes

^ Király, Péter (2002) (in German). Die Čiprovecer in Ungarn. Budapest: ELTE Szláv Intézet.
^ Dr. Dušan J. Popović, Srbi u Vojvodini, knjiga 2, Novi Sad, 1990.
^ [1]
^ [2]
^ "Kalisz Official Website - Twin Towns". (in English and Polish) 2005-2008 Urząd Miejski Kalisz. http://www.kalisz.pl/_portal/118951340446e688bcd9fee/Miasta_partnerskie.html. Retrieved 2008-11-29.