Veszprém

Veszprém
	Veszprém
	Old town
	; Coat of arms
	; Coat of arms
	; Veszprém Location of Veszprém
	Coordinates: 47°05′35″N 17°54′50″E / 47.09296°N 17.91377°E
Country	Hungary
County	Veszprém
	Area
- Total	126.93 km2 (49 sq mi)
	Population (2001)
- Total	61,472
- Density	480/km2 (1,243.2/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	8200
Area code(s)	88
Website	http://www.veszprem.hu/

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This article is about the city. For the county, see Veszprém (county).

Veszprém (German: Weißbrunn) one of the oldest towns in Hungary, is now a city with county rights and lies approximately 15 km (9 mi) north of Lake Balaton. It is the capital city of the administrative county (comitatus or 'megye') of the same name.

[edit] Location

Veszprém lies on both sides of the Séd creek, approximately 110 km (68 mi) from Budapest (via the M7 highway and Road 8). It can also be reached from Győr via Road 82 and from Székesfehérvár via Road 8.

[edit] History

The castle of Veszprém

Veszprém

According to local legend, Veszprém was founded on seven hills. 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.

Anonymus, the notary of King Béla III wrote that a castle already stood here when the Hungarians first occupied the area. The castle was probably a 9th century Frankish fortress. The castles of Veszprém, Esztergom and Székesfehérvár, were the earliest Hungarian stone castles, which had already been built during the reign of High Prince Géza, a time when motte castles were much more common.

The name of the city originates from the Slavic word Bezprym, which was originally a personal name. Ján Kollár derived its name from Ves Perunova - Perun's village and mentioned also a German derivation from Weiss-Brunn - white well. The city was named either after a chieftain, or the son of Princess Judith (elder sister of St. Stephen of Hungary), who settled here after her husband Boleslaus I of Poland expelled her and her son.

Veszprém had an important religious role during the fight to make 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.

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 on order of the Habsburgs in 1706.

Veszprém was among the first Hungarian cities to have a university - students studied law and arts here. The university was destroyed by fire in 1276, after which Veszprém became a university town again in the 20th century.

[edit] Population

Population change of Veszprém (1870-2007)

Ethnic groups (2001 census)

Magyars - 94.7%
Germans - 1.7%
Others - 1%
No answer - 2.6%

Religions (2001 census)

Roman Catholic - 57%
Calvinist - 9.7%
Lutheran - 3%
Others - 1.3%
Atheist - 19%
No answer - 10%

[edit] Notable citizens

Marian Cozma

[edit] Twin towns

Veszprém is twinned with:

[edit] Gallery

The Basilica of Veszprém	Aerial photography: Veszprém - Hungary	Downtown	Nagypréposti Palace
Monastery ruin	The castle of Veszprém	Gizella Capel (11th century)	Fire-watch tower
Holy Trinity Square	County Hall	Ethnographic Museum	Library of Veszprém
Bone of queen Giselle. Kept in a church in Veszprem (Hungary)	Statue of King Stephen I. and Queen Gisela	The former Lord Lieutenant’s Residence	Óvári Ferenc Street (Church and school of the 'English ladies')