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Szeged ( , ; see also other alternative names) is the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat of Csongrád-Csanád county. The University of Szeged is one of the most distinguished universities in Hungary.
The Szeged Open Air (Theatre) Festival (first held in 1931) is one of the main attractions, held every summer and celebrated as the Day of the City on 21 May.
However, Szeged might instead have originated (or been influenced by) an old Hungarian word for "corner" (szeg), pointing to the turn of the river Tisza that flows through the city. Others say it derives from the Hungarian word sziget which means "island". Others still contend that szeg means "dark blond" (sötétszőkés) – a reference to the color of the water where the rivers Tisza and Maros merge.
Szeged has a variety of names in languages other than Hungarian. These are usually formed by the addition of a suffix -in to the Hungarian name: ; or Segedin; /Сегедин; ; ; ; ; Slovak language and ; .
In the second century AD there was a Roman Empire trading post established on an island in the Tisza, and the foundations of the Szeged castle suggest that the structure may have been built over an even earlier fort. Today only one corner of the castle still remains standing.Szeged by Dr. Trogmayer Ottó
During the Mongol invasion the town was destroyed and its inhabitants fled to the nearby swamps, but they soon returned and rebuilt their town. In the 14th century, during the reign of Louis the Great, Szeged became the most important town of Southern Hungary, and – as the Ottoman military frontier got closer to Hungary – the strategic importance of Szeged grew. King Sigismund of Luxembourg had a city wall built around the town. Szeged was raised to free royal town status in 1498.
Szeged was first pillaged by the Ottoman Army on 28 September 1526, but was occupied only in 1543, and became an administrative centre of the Ottoman Empire (see Ottoman Hungary) during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. The town was a sanjak centre first in Budin Eyaleti (1543–1596), after in Eğri Eyaleti. The town was taken from Ottoman rule on 23 October 1686, and regained the free royal town status in 1715. In 1719, Szeged received its coat of arms (still used today) from Charles III. During the next several years, Szeged grew and prospered. Piarists monks arrived in Szeged in 1719 and opened a new grammar school in 1721. Szeged also held scientific lectures and theatrical plays. These years brought not only prosperity but also enlightenment. Between 1728 and 1744 witch trials were frequent in the town, with the Szeged witch trials of 1728–29 perhaps being the largest. The witch trials were instigated by the authorities, who decided on this measure to remove the problem of the public complaints about the drought and its consequences of famine and epidemics by laying the responsibility on people among them, which had fraternized with the Devil. In 1720, the ethnic Hungarians population of the town numbered about 13000 to 16000, while the number of the Serbs inhabitants was 1300.Ádám Fejér, Magyarok és szlávok. (Konferencia, Szeged, 1991. május 30-31). Szerk. Fejér Ádám, H. Tóth Imre stb. (Kiad. a JATE Szláv Filológiai Tansz.), József Attila Tudományegyetem, 1993, p. 262,
The first printing press was established in 1801, and the old town hall and the civil hospital were built at the same time.
Szeged is known as the home of paprika, a spice made from dried, powdered capsicum fruits. Paprika arrived in Hungary in the second half of the 16th century as an ornamental plant. About 100 years later the plant was cultivated as an herb, and paprika as we know it. Szeged is also famous for their szekelygulyas, a goulash made with pork, sauerkraut and sour cream. And also famous for their halászlé, fish soup made of carp and catfish.
The citizens of Szeged played an important part in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. Lajos Kossuth delivered his famous speech here. Szeged was the last seat of the revolutionary government in July 1849. The Habsburg rulers punished the leaders of the town, but later Szeged began to prosper again; the railway reached it in 1854, and the town got its free royal town status back in 1860. Mark Pick's shop – the predecessor of today's Pick Salami Factory – was opened in 1869. Today the inner city of Szeged has wide avenues. This is mainly due to the great flood of 1879, which wiped away the whole town (only 265 of the 5723 houses remained and 165 people died). Emperor Franz Joseph visited the town and promised that "Szeged will be more beautiful than it used to be". He kept his promise, and during the next years a new, modern city emerged from the ruins, with palaces and wide streets.
Szeged suffered heavily during World War II. 6,000 inhabitants of the city were killed, In 1941, there were 4,161 Jews living in Szeged. After, March 19, 1944 German occupation, they were confined to a Nazi ghettos together with the Jews from surrounding villages. In June, 1944, the ghetto was liquidated. The Nazis murdered the larger part of the 8,500 and some were forced into forced labor in Strasshof Labor camp, Austria. Szeged was captured by Red Army troops of the Steppe Front on 11 October 1944 in the course of the Battle of Debrecen. During the communist era, Szeged became a centre of light industry and food industry. In 1965, Petroleum was found near the city.
In 1962, Szeged became the county seat of Csongrád. Whole new districts were built, and many nearby villages (e.g. Tápé, Szőreg, Kiskundorozsma, Szentmihálytelek, Gyálarét) were annexed to the city in 1973 (as was a tendency during the Communist era).
Today's Szeged is an important university town and a tourist attraction.
The Szeged Symphony Orchestra (Szegedi Szimfonikus Zenekar) gives regular concerts at the Szegedi Nemzeti Színház. Szeged Symphony Orchestra website, accessed 6 August 2012.
Szeged is the higher education centre of the Southern Great Plain and has built quite a reputation for itself. Thousands of students study here, many of whom are foreigners. The University of Szeged is according to the number of students the second largest and the 4th oldest university of Hungary being established in 1581. Ranked as the top university of the country on Academic Ranking of World Universities – 2005, and in the top 100 in Europe, it offers several programs on different fields of study.
The Biological Research Centre of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, which was built with the help of UNESCO funds, has also been a considerable source of advanced research. Scientists at this laboratory were first in the world to produce artificial heredity material in the year 2000. The building has served as a home to many well known conferences and continues to make contributions to the world of science.
The Szent-Györgyi Albert Agóra is a cultural scientific centre of Szeged which gives home to laboratories of the Biological Research Centre and to exhibitions of the John von Neumann Computer Society especially their IT historical exposition.
In 2018 the new scientific institution, the ELI Attosecond Light Pulse Source (ELI-ALPS) opened in Szeged establishing a unique facility which provides light sources within an extremely broad frequency range in the form of ultrashort pulses with high repetition rate which is needed for different kinds of physical experiments especially in the field of attosecond physics.
It is also one of the main options for medical students who come from all around Europe to study Medicine in their recognized international campus.
Religions (2001 census):
Other notable companies having their headquarters in Szeged are AMSY International, RRE – Szeged, Optiwella, Generál Printing House, RotaPack, Sanex Pro, Agroplanta, Karotin, Florin, Quadrotex and Szeplast. Others, like Continental AG, Duna-Dráva Cement, Szatmári Malom and Europe Match, are not based in the city, but have production facilities there.
The Hangár Expo and Conference Centre provides space for international exhibitions and conferences.
| 1 | University of Szeged | 5,000 < |
| 2 | Pick Szeged | 2,000–4,999 |
| 3 | Sole-Mizo | 1,000–1,999 |
| 4 | Tisza-Volán | 1,000–1,999 |
| 5 | EDF-Démász | 500–999 |
| 6 | Suli-Host | 500–999 |
| 7 | SZKT | 500–999 |
| 8 | Szegedi Szefo | 500–999 |
| 9 | Coop | 300–499 |
| 10 | Engie | 300–499 |
| + Historical unemployment rate between 2000 and 2016 |
| 5.17% |
| 4.83% |
| 4.22% |
| 4.32% |
| 4.67% |
| 5.01% |
| 4.89% |
| 4.25% |
| 4.60% |
| 4.91% |
| 6.26% |
| 6.50% |
| 6.42% |
| 6.89% |
| 4.17% |
| 4.42% |
| 4.14% |
The Budapest-Szeged-rail line is an important rail connection, as well as the railway lines 121 (to Makó), 135 (to Hódmezővásárhely), 136 (to Röszke) and 140 (to Kiskunfélegyháza).Rail
A tram-train system was constructed and inaugurated in November 2021, connecting Szeged with the neighbouring Hódmezővásárhely, thus creating the second most populous urban agglomeration in the country, after the capital. There was a proposal for its extension, even through the Serbian border, to Subotica.
The city is also a common stop for national and international long-distance buses.
From 1978, the Volán speedway club moved to a new track built on Napos út at Béke telepi. This venue held important events, including qualifying rounds of the Speedway World Championship in 1983 and 1984 and a qualifying round of the Speedway World Team Cup in 1988 and 1990. The track closed, partly because of noise issues in a residential area, resulting in the speedway moving out of the city, 25 kilometres west, near to Mórahalom ().
| Votive Church (1930) | Dömötör Tower (11th century) | The Water Tower of Szent István Square (1904) | |||
| Church of Franciscans (Gothic style, 15th century) | Ferenc Móra Museum (1896) | Reök palace (1907) | |||
| City Hall (1728, 1804, 1883) | Szeged Synagogue | National Theatre of Szeged | |||
| Gróf-palace (1913) | The Main Building of the University | Saint Nicholas Serbian Orthodox Church (1781) |
The local Municipal Assembly, elected at the 2019 local government elections, is made up of 33 members (1 Mayor, 23 Individual constituencies MEPs and 9 Compensation List MEPs) divided into this political parties and alliances:
| 19 | M | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fidesz-KDNP | 9 | Independent Hungarian City Association (FVSZME) | 1 |
List of mayors
Media
TV stations
Radio stations
Daily newspapers and news portals
Notable people Born in Szeged
Lived in Szeged
International relations Twin towns – sister cities
Partner cities
Gallery
See also
Notes External links
Categories: County Seats In Hungary, Cities With County Rights Of Hungary, Populated Places In Csongrád-csanád County, Roman Settlements In Hungary, Serb Communities In Hungary, Tourism In Hungary
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