Győr(US:/djɜːr,dʒɜːr/DYUR,JUR,[6][7]Hungarian:[ɟøːr]ⓘ;German:Raab;names in other languages) is the main city of northwestHungary,the capital ofGyőr-Moson-Sopron CountyandWestern Transdanubia region,and – halfway betweenBudapestandVienna– situated on one of the important roads of Central Europe. It is the sixth largest city in Hungary, and one of its seven main regional centres. The city hascounty rights.
Győr | |
|---|---|
| Győr Megyei Jogú Város | |
 Clockwise, from top to bottom:Cathedral Basilica of Győr,baroque architecturein Győr, Benedictine Church ofSaint Ignatius of Loyola,street in the city center, City Hall, baroque architecture | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
  Győr  Győr | |
| Coordinates:47°41′03″N17°38′04″E/ 47.6842°N 17.6344°E | |
| Country |  Hungary |
| Region | Western Transdanubia |
| County | Győr-Moson-Sopron |
| District | Győr |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Bence Pintér[1] |
| Area | |
| 174.62 km2(67.42 sq mi) | |
| Elevation | 108 m (354 ft) |
| Population | |
| 129,301 | |
| •Urban | 246,159 |
| Demonym | győri |
| Population by ethnicity | |
| •Hungarians | 84.5% |
| •Germans | 1.5% |
| •Romani | 0.8% |
| • Others | 1.7% |
| Population by religion | |
| •Roman Catholic | 44.9% |
| •Evangelicals | 4.3% |
| •Calvinists | 4.1% |
| • Other | 1.5% |
| •Non-religious | 14.2% |
| Time zone | UTC+1(CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2(CEST) |
| Area code | (+36) 96 |
| Motorways | M1,M19,M85 |
| NUTS 3 code | HU221 |
| Distance from Budapest | 121 km (75 mi) East |
| International Airport | Győr(QGY) |
| MP | Róbert Balázs Simon(Fidesz) Ákos Kara(Fidesz) |
| Website | gyor |
History
editThe area along theDanubeRiver has been inhabited by varying cultures since ancient times. The first large settlement dates back to the 5th century BCE; the inhabitants wereCelts.They called the townAra Bona"Good altar", later contracted toArrabona,a name which was used until the eighth century. Its shortened form is still used as the German (Raab) and Slovak (Ráb) names of the city.
Roman merchants moved to Arrabona during the 1st century BCE. Around 10 CE, the Roman army occupied the northern part of Western Hungary, which they calledPannonia.Although the Roman Empire abandoned the area in the 4th century due to constant attacks by the tribes living to the east, the town remained inhabited.
Around 500 the territory was settled bySlavs,in 547 by theLombards,and in 568–c. 800 by theAvars,at that time underFrankishandSlavicinfluence. During this time it was calledRabbaand laterRaab.Between 880 and 894, it was part ofGreat Moravia,and then briefly underEast Frankishdominance.
TheMagyarsoccupied the town around 900 and fortified the abandoned Roman fortress.Stephen I,the first king of Hungary, founded anepiscopatethere. The town received its Hungarian nameGyőr,which likely derives from Old Hungarian personal name Győr, who could be the county's firstcount.[8]The town was affected by all the trials and tribulations of the history of Hungary: it was occupied by Mongols during theMongol invasion (1241–1242)and then was destroyed by theCzecharmy in 1271.
After the disastrousbattle of Mohács,BaronTamás Nádasdyand CountGyörgy Csesznekyoccupied the town for KingFerdinand IwhileJohn Zápolyaalso was attempting to annex it. During theOttoman occupationof present-day central and eastern Hungary[9](1541 - late 17th century), Győr's commander Kristóf Lamberg thought it would be futile to try to defend the town from the Turkish army. He burned down the town and the Turkish forces found nothing but blackened ruins, hence the Turkish name for Győr,Yanık kale( "burnt castle" ).
During rebuilding, the town was surrounded with a castle and a city wall designed by the leading Italian builders of the era. The town changed in character during these years, with many new buildings built inRenaissancestyle, but the main square and the grid of streets remained.
In 1594, after the death of CountJános Cseszneky,captain of Hungarian footsoldiers, the Ottoman army occupied the castle and the town. In 1598 the Hungarian and Austrian army took control of it again and occupied it.[10]During the Turkish occupation the city was called Yanık Kala (burned place, as a reference to the enormous damages caused by the siege).[11]
In 1683, the Turks returned briefly, only to leave after being defeated in theBattle of Vienna.
During the following centuries, the town became prosperous. In 1743 Győr was elevated tofree royal townstatus byMaria Theresa.The religious orders ofJesuitsandCarmelitessettled there, building schools, churches, a hospital, and a monastery.
On 14 June 1809, during theWar of the Fifth Coalition,this was the site of the Battle of Győr (Battle of Raab), where the army ofEugène de Beauharnaisdefeated the Hungarian "noble insurrection" (militia) and an Austrian corps under the ArchdukesJosephandJohann.Napoleon's forces occupied the castle and had some of its walls blown up. The leaders of the town soon realized that the old ramparts were not useful any more. Most of the ramparts were destroyed, allowing the town to expand.
In the mid-19th century, Győr's role in trade grew assteamshiptraffic on the River Danube began. The town lost its importance in trade when the railway line between Budapest andKanizsasuperseded river traffic after 1861. The town leaders compensated for this loss with industrialisation. The town prospered until World War II when several buildings were destroyed. Some large-scalestrategic bombingdevastated industrial and residential areas as well as the airport. It was targeted because theRábafactory was a main tank (Turán) and aeroplane (Bf 109) producer. One of these raids destroyed some parts of the maternity hospital.[12]
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 21,767 | — |
| 1890 | 28,175 | +29.4% |
| 1900 | 38,094 | +35.2% |
| 1910 | 45,083 | +18.3% |
| 1920 | 51,268 | +13.7% |
| 1930 | 52,456 | +2.3% |
| 1941 | 58,431 | +11.4% |
| 1949 | 58,431 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 72,060 | +23.3% |
| 1970 | 102,600 | +42.4% |
| 1980 | 124,147 | +21.0% |
| 1990 | 129,331 | +4.2% |
| 2001 | 129,412 | +0.1% |
| 2011 | 129,527 | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 127,599 | −1.5% |
| Source:[13][14] | ||
The 1950s and '60s brought more change: only big blocks of flats were built, and the old historical buildings were not given care or attention. In the 1970s the reconstruction of the city centre began; old buildings were restored and reconstructed. In 1989 Győr won the European award for the protection of monuments.[citation needed]
A 100-year-old Raba factory on the River Danube close to the historical centre is to be replaced by a new community called Városrét. The mixed-use community will have residential and commercial space as well as schools, clinics and parks.
The city's main theatre is theNational Theatre of Győr,finished in 1978. It features large ceramic ornaments made byVictor Vasarely.
The city has several historical buildings, for example the castle, and the Lutheran Evangelic church.
Climate
editGyőr's climate is classified asoceanic climate(KöppenCfb) closely bordering on ahumid subtropical climate(KöppenCfa). Among them, the annual average temperature is 11.1 °C (52.0 °F), the hottest month in July is 21.6 °C (70.9 °F), and the coldest month is 0.3 °C (32.5 °F) in January. The annual precipitation is 569.6 millimetres (22.43 in), of which July is the wettest with 64.8 millimetres (2.55 in), while February is the driest with only 26.9 millimetres (1.06 in). The extreme temperature throughout the year ranged from −22.1 °C (−7.8 °F) on December 28, 1996, to 40.6 °C (105.1 °F) on August 8, 2013.
| Climate data for Győr, 1991−2020 normals | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 17.5 (63.5) |
20.5 (68.9) |
23.4 (74.1) |
31.2 (88.2) |
33.1 (91.6) |
36.6 (97.9) |
39.6 (103.3) |
40.6 (105.1) |
33.7 (92.7) |
28.1 (82.6) |
23.4 (74.1) |
17.6 (63.7) |
40.6 (105.1) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 3.5 (38.3) |
6.4 (43.5) |
11.6 (52.9) |
17.8 (64.0) |
22.2 (72.0) |
26.0 (78.8) |
28.2 (82.8) |
27.9 (82.2) |
22.3 (72.1) |
16.4 (61.5) |
9.8 (49.6) |
4.2 (39.6) |
16.4 (61.5) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 0.3 (32.5) |
2.1 (35.8) |
6.3 (43.3) |
11.7 (53.1) |
16.2 (61.2) |
19.9 (67.8) |
21.6 (70.9) |
21.1 (70.0) |
16.2 (61.2) |
10.9 (51.6) |
6.0 (42.8) |
1.3 (34.3) |
11.1 (52.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −2.7 (27.1) |
−1.6 (29.1) |
1.7 (35.1) |
5.9 (42.6) |
10.3 (50.5) |
14.1 (57.4) |
15.6 (60.1) |
15.0 (59.0) |
11.0 (51.8) |
6.6 (43.9) |
2.8 (37.0) |
−1.4 (29.5) |
6.4 (43.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −18.4 (−1.1) |
−20.4 (−4.7) |
−15.2 (4.6) |
−6.1 (21.0) |
−1.4 (29.5) |
3.6 (38.5) |
7.3 (45.1) |
6.8 (44.2) |
0.5 (32.9) |
−9.5 (14.9) |
−11.5 (11.3) |
−22.1 (−7.8) |
−22.1 (−7.8) |
| Averageprecipitationmm (inches) | 32.7 (1.29) |
26.9 (1.06) |
37.5 (1.48) |
35.8 (1.41) |
63.1 (2.48) |
59.1 (2.33) |
64.8 (2.55) |
58.4 (2.30) |
59.3 (2.33) |
48.2 (1.90) |
46.4 (1.83) |
37.4 (1.47) |
569.6 (22.43) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 6.3 | 6.2 | 7.1 | 5.6 | 8.3 | 7.2 | 7.7 | 6.3 | 6.8 | 6.5 | 7.6 | 6.7 | 82.3 |
| Averagerelative humidity(%) | 82.2 | 75.8 | 68.5 | 63.2 | 66.5 | 67.0 | 66.5 | 68.5 | 74.1 | 78.9 | 82.4 | 84.0 | 73.1 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 60 | 97 | 138 | 189 | 247 | 250 | 268 | 259 | 188 | 143 | 73 | 51 | 1,963 |
| Source 1: Meteorological Service of Hungary (sun 1981-2010)[15] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: NOAA[16] | |||||||||||||
Main sights
editThe ancient core of the city is Káptalan Hill at the confluence of three rivers: theMosoni-Danube,Rába,andRábca.Püspökvár, the residence of Győr's bishops, can be easily recognized by its incomplete tower. Győr's oldest buildings are the 13th-century dwelling tower and the 15th-century Gothic Dóczy Chapel. The cathedral, originally inRomanesque style,was rebuilt inGothicandBaroquestyle.
Other sights include:
- Town Hall
- Benedictine church of St. Ignatius of Loyola
- Carmelite church
- Museum of Roman Archaeology
ThePannonhalma Archabbeyis located some 20 km (12 miles) outside the town.
Renovation
edit
After the year 2000 the city started many big construction and renovation projects.
The bigger changes include:
- The Nádor-underpass, which relieved the Downtown's traffic infrastructure, and made the renovation of the Baross-Bridge possible.
- Renovation of the Baross-Bridge.
- Renovation of the old Soviet barracks and Bus Station by the company Leier.
- Development of theSzéchenyi István University,which is in close connection with AUDI Hungária ZRT.
- Newly built Parking Houses which take off the high traffic load of the Downtown area. (e.g. József Attila and Dunakapu garage)
- Renovation of the inner-downtown district. Széchenyi-square, Dunakapu-square, the territory next to the Moson-Danube and Rába.
- Free City Bus which can be used by everyone to get anywhere in the Downtown Area.
- The Győr Arcade at Városliget.
- The Kálóczy Square near the Széchenyi István University.
- The Jedlik Bridge, which enabled traffic & transport between Sziget and Révfalu district.
- The Rába Quelle thermal spa
Economy
editAudi AGsubsidiary companyAudi Hungaria Zrt.has a largefactoryin Győr, where theAudi TTsports car, theA3 Cabriolet,[17]A3 Limousine,[18]and manyengines(1,913,053 engines in 2007) are built. The factory opened in 1994, at first producinginline-four enginesfor the Audimarque.Business then grew to assembling the Audi TT Coupé and TT Roadster. Eventually,V6andV8 engineswere also included, and after the acquisition ofAutomobili Lamborghini S.p.A.,Audi then began to buildV10 engines.The V10s for Audi vehicles are fully assembled here, but only thecylinder blocksfor theLamborghini V10.[19]Engines are also supplied to otherVolkswagen Groupmarques, but over 90% of Audi vehicle engines are made here.[20]By 2020, the factory has a 12 MW solar roof, producing 9.5 GWh/year.[21]
Politics
editThe current mayor of Győr isBence Pintér.
The local Municipal Assembly, elected at the2024 local government elections,is made up of 23 members (1 Mayor, 16 Individual constituencies MEPs and 6 Compensation List MEPs) divided into this political parties and alliances:[22]
| Party | Seats | Current Municipal Assembly | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fidesz-KDNP | 16 | M | ||||||||||||||||
| Opposition coalition[a] | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| Civilians for Győr | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| Association for Győr | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
List of mayors
editList of City Mayors from 1990:
| Member | Party | Term of office | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ernő Kolozsváry | SZDSZ | 1990–1994 | |
| József Balogh | MSZP | 1994–2006 | |
| Zsolt Borkai | Fidesz | 2006–2019 | |
| Independent | |||
| Csaba András Dézsi | Fidesz | 2020–2024 | |
| Bence Pintér | Independent | 2024– | |
Notable people
edit- Tamás Bakócz,archbishop
- Miklós Borsos,sculptor
- György Cseszneky,count, castellan
- János Cseszneky,count, infantry commander
- Josef Dobrovský
- Freddie
- Erzsébet Galgóczi,writer
- Anita Görbicz,handball player
- Izidor Guzmics
- Stanley Jaki
- Ányos Jedlik
- Andrew Karpati Kennedy,author and literary critic
- Tamás Kiss,footballer
- Gyula Kőnig
- Margit Kovács
- Raimondo Montecuccoli
- Árpád Orbán(1938–2008), footballer
- Desiderius Orban,painter, one ofThe Eight;emigrated in 1939 to Australia
- Antal Pusztai
- Zsófia Rácz,footballer
- Alexander Raab,pianist
- Hans Richter,conductor
- Frigyes Riesz,mathematician
- Marcel Riesz,mathematician
- Samuel Aba,king of Hungary
- József Szlávy,prime minister of Hungary
- Miklós Takács de Saár,silviculturist, politician
- Tibor Varga
- Garcilaso de la Vega,poet
- Ibolya Verebics,soprano
- Paul von Werner,Prussian Lieutenant General
- Emil Zuckerkandl
Transport
edit
The city is a national hub for rail and road traffic. The transport-geographical position of Győr is excellent.
Győr railway stationhas important railway connections via theEastern RailwayandBudapest–Hegyeshalomlines (Vienna–Budapest,operated byRailJet), but the Győr-Sopron railway line owned by theGyőr-Sopron-Ebenfurt railway company(GYSEV), as well as theGyőr-Celldömölk railwayline and theGyőr-Veszprém railwayrun byMÁV
In Győr, several main transport routes meet each other (M1, M19, 1, 14, 81, 82, 83, 85), and the motorway is accessible from several parts of the city. Győr-Pér Airport can be reached from the city on Highway 81, 15 kilometers towards Székesfehérvár. At the 1,734 km (1,077 mi) section of theDanubelies the port of Győr-Gönyű with its fully equipped 25 hectare serving terminal.
Sports
editGyőr is the home of the Győri ETO Sport Club, which has many sport divisions. The most popular sport in the city is handball, with theGyőri ETO KCbeing the city's main team. ETO won theChampions Leaguein2013,2014,2017,2018and in2019and also reached the final in2009,2012and in2016.In addition, Győr reached the final of theEHF Cup Winners' Cupin 2006 and the final of theEHF Cupin 1999, 2002, 2004 and 2005.
WKW ETO FC Győris afootballteam, currently (as of 2023/2024) in theHungarian Second Division.[23]
Twin towns – sister cities
edit
Brașov,Romania
Colmar,France
Erfurt,Germany- Ingolstadt,Germany
Kuopio,Finland
Nizhny Novgorod,Russia
Nof HaGalil,Israel
Poznań,Poland- Sindelfingen,Germany
Wuhan,China
Dunajská Streda,Slovakia
References
edit- ^https://vtr.valasztas.hu/onk2024/valasztopolgaroknak/varmegyek-telepulesek/varmegyek/08/telepulesek/059?tab=results&filter=representative
- ^ab"Gazetteer of Hungary, 1 January 2017"(PDF)(in English and Hungarian). Hungarian Central Statistical Office. 2017-10-05. p. 52.Retrieved2018-01-19.
- ^KSH, Győr, 2017
- ^Eurostat, 2016
- ^abKSH - Győr, 2011
- ^"Gyor".The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language(5th ed.). HarperCollins.Retrieved8 September2019.
- ^"Gyor".Merriam-Webster Dictionary.Merriam-Webster.Retrieved8 September2019.
- ^Bényei, Ágnes; Pethő, Gergely (1998). Hofmann, István (ed.).Az Árpád-kori Győr vármegye településneveinek nyelvészeti elemzése[The linguistic analysis of Győr county's place names from the age of the House of Árpád](PDF).Debrecen:Magyar Névarchívum. p. 16.ISBN9634722857.
- ^"Royal Hungary (historical region, Hungary) -".Britannica Online Encyclopedia.Retrieved2011-09-16.
- ^Sugar, Peter F.; Hanák, Péter; Frank, Tibor, eds. (1990).A History of Hungary.Bloomington: Indiana University Press. p.97.
- ^"Győr ostroma. | Borovszky Samu: Magyarország vármegyéi és városai | Kézikönyvtár".arcanum.hu(in Hungarian).Retrieved2018-09-26.
- ^Endre, Kozma."Az 1944. április 13-i győri terrorbombázás - Régi Győr".regigyor.hu(in Hungarian).Retrieved2018-09-26.
- ^népesség,[1]
- ^"Census database - Hungarian Central Statistical Office".
- ^"Győr éghajlati jellemzői"(in Hungarian). Meteorological Service of Hungary. Archived fromthe originalon 2023-08-27.Retrieved7 December2015.
- ^"Gyor Climate Normals 1991-2020".National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.Archived fromthe originalon 2023-08-27.RetrievedAugust 27,2023.
- ^"Start of production and world premiere for the Audi A3 Cabriolet in Hungary".Volkswagen AG.30 November 2007. Archived fromthe originalon 20 November 2008.Retrieved30 August2009.
- ^"World Industrial Reporter – Audi Hungaria Celebrates Start of Production of A3 Limousine".© 2013 Thomas Publishing Company. 2013-06-13. Archived fromthe originalon 2014-12-13.Retrieved2013-07-17.
- ^"Lamborghini Cars full specifications - First spyshots of the Lamborghini L140 model".LamboCars.Archived fromthe originalon 2005-04-18.Retrieved30 August2009.
- ^"Audi ups Hungarian output".BBJ.hu. Archived fromthe originalon 2008-06-21.Retrieved2 January2012.
- ^"Largest Rooftop Solar System in Europe Goes Online... on Audi Factory".CleanTechnica.10 October 2020.
- ^"Városi közgyűlés tagjai 2019-2024 - Győr (Győr-Moson-Sopron megye)".valasztas.hu.Retrieved2019-10-29.
- ^"WKW ETO FC GYŐR - MLSZ adatbank".adatbank.mlsz.hu.Retrieved2020-11-09.
- ^"Győr testvérvárosi kapcsolatai".gyor.hu(in Hungarian). Győr.Retrieved2021-03-23.
Notes
editExternal links
edit
- Official websitein Hungarian, English, and German
- Aerial photography: Győr,civertan.hu,legifoto,latvany-terkep.hu
- Aerial view of Gyor by Volkan YukselArchived2017-02-27 at theWayback Machine,Panoramio
- Győr at funiq.hu,with 'zoomin, zoom out' regional map
- Things to see and do in GyőrArchived2016-03-07 at theWayback Machine
- An online exhibition about the Jews of GyőrduringWorld War II,onYad Vashemwebsite.
- Jewish Encyclopedia:"Raab (Hungarian, Györ)"by Gotthard Deutsch & Moritz Schwarz (1906).