Esztergom , is a city in northern Hungary, 46 kilometres (29 miles) northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komarom-Esztergom county, on the right bank of the river Danube, which forms the border with Slovakia there.
Esztergom was the capital of Hungary from the 10th till the mid-13th century when King Bela IV of Hungary moved the royal seat to Buda. Esztergom is the seat of the primas (see Primate) of the Roman Catholic Church in Hungary, and the former seat of the Constitutional Court of Hungary. The city has the Kereszteny Muzeum, the largest ecclesiastical collection in Hungary. Its cathedral, Esztergom Basilica is the largest church in Hungary
Access : Coordinates: 47.785556, 18.740278 / By car : From Budapest drive out in direction Buda north on road No 10 (Pilisvorosvar-Dorog-Esztergom) – about 45 km
From Budapest drive out in direction Buda north on road No 11 then turn left at Szentendre towards Pomaz and climb the Pilis hills to arrive at Esztergom -about 50 km
From Budapest drive out in direction Buda north on road No 11 and follow the Danube along (Szentendre-Visegrad-Esztergom) – about 65 km. This route is longer than the previous ones but much more scenic.
From Slovakia: Bratislava-Komarno-Sturovo E 575, then local road no. 63, and cross the Danube river at Sturovo
From Vienna: E60, E75 highway, in Hungary M1 till way out at Komarom (9 km), then local roads no. 10 and no. 11 till Esztergom
By train : Train station (roughly a twenty minutes walk from the town center and basilica.). Budapest: #1 local train from Nyugati PU. (Western Railstation) about 45 km.or #2 InterCity/EuroCity fast trains departing from Keleti PU. (Eastern Railstation) For example, the IC 170 runs from Budapest to Berlin with a stop in Sturovo. Sturovo railway station is on the opposite side of the Danube from Esztergom, in the Slovakian town of Sturovo. Getting the train to Sturovo involves a longer walk (1-1½ hours) to Esztergom. However, it offers the novelty of travelling by train just over the Hungary-Slovakia border, then walking back to into Hungary on the new bridge over the river Danube. If you are only interested in the view, it is faster to just walk across the bridge for the view and then back to Esztergom. By bus : Bus station (in the town center, a 2-minute walk from the main square). #1Budapest-Dorog-Esztergom (45km) or #2 Budapest-Visegrad-Esztergom (65 km) local far-distance Volan bus line from Arpad Bridge Volan bus station in Pest. #3 take HEV suburb train from Buda Batthyany Square till end-station in Szentendre, than Volan bus line Szentendre-Visegrad-Esztergom.
By boat : Port Esztergom (Kishajo kikoto). Daily boat line MAHART Passnave from Budapest Vigado Square at Pest
Highlights :
- Churches : Esztergom Basilica , Szent Istvan ter . (on castle hill.) , Saint Stephen chapel , Bakocz Chapel / Treasury. Jun-Aug: 09:00-18:00, Feb-May and Sep-Oct: till 17:00, Nov-Jan: till 16:00. , Crypt Mar–Oct 09:00-17:00, Nov–Feb 10:00-16:00, 24 Dec closed , Lookout, Cupola Apr–Oct: 09:30-17:00, can be visited in good weather only , Organ (Orgona). The organ has five manuals and by 2006 had 85 stops working out of the planned 146. The organ contains the largest organ pipes in Hungary, 10 m long. The smallest pipe is 7 mm. It is one of the largest organ in Europe, surpassing all organs in Hungary in volume and in the variety of stops
- Jesuits parish-church , St. Peter and Paul Church of Inner City Parish , Saint Anne (Downtown) Franciscan church , Baroque Calvary, with the Classicist chapel
- Church of Saint Anne , Ozitseli Hadji mosque , Orthodox church (Rac Templom), Kossuth Lajos utca, 60 , Convent Church Pazmany Peter utca 18
- Museums : Christian Museum (Kereszteny Muzeum, Erseki Palota), Mindszenty ter 2 , Castle Museum (Magyar Nemzeti Muzeum Esztergomi Varmuzeuma), Szent Istvan ter 1 (Next to the basilica.)
- Balint Balassa Museum (Balassa Balint Muzeum), Mindszenty Jozsef ter 5 (Downtown area) , Mihaly Babits Museum (Babits-villa), Babits Mihaly u 11
- Wine Museum (Bormuzeum, Esztergomi primasi pincerendszer) (beneath Castle Hill and the Basilica)
- Other sights : Monument buildings of Szechenyi square, Cathedral Library (Foszekesegyhazi Konyvtar), At corner of Pazmany Peter St and Liszt Ferenc St , Bath Hotel (Furdo Szallo). A historical, Classicist building , The equestrian statue of Vak Bottyan
- Trinity-statue,Decorated Baroque houses, Bottyan Janos St (near the Town Hall , Sandor Earl palace (Opposite the Franciscan church). Baroque , Sandor Earl palace (Opposite the Franciscan church). Baroque
- Esztergom Castle (Var), Szent Istvan ter 2.Old Seminary (Oszeminarium,
- Nagyszeminarium,Szent Adalbert Kozpont), Szent Istvan ter 10 , Bottyan Bridge ,
- Former Synagogue , Courthouse (Birosag), Szechenyi Istvan ter 22
- Csurgo Spring (Csurgo-forras) , Dark gate (Sotetkapu). This is a passage in the huge artificial slope of Castle Hill.Built in front of the basilica
- Saint Istvan statue (Szent Istvan szobor), Szent Istvan ter (near the Basilica). A the northern rondella of the Castle. A huge, 12 m high
- Plague Madonna statue (Immaculata sculpture) (Pestis-Madonna szobor, Immaculata-szobor), Mindszenty Jozsef ter (Mindszenty ter and Pazmany utca crossing, at the corner of school blocks). Made ??in 1740, commemorating the plague in 1739
- Town Hall. (Varoshaza, regi Vak Bottyan Palota), Szechenyi square
- Old Archbishop’s Palace, Baroth House (Regi erseki palota, Baroth-haz) Mindszenty Jozsef ter 4 , Roman Catholic parish house – Mindszenty Jozsef ter 3
- Roman Catholic Parish Church of Watertown (Vizivarosi romai katolikus plebaniatemplom) Mindszenty Jozsef ter 1 ,Statue of Blessed Eusebius ,Canonical row of houses (Kanonoki hazsor), Szent Istvan ter 4–5-6–7-8–9 ,
- Kuklender Maria statue , St. Mark’s Statue , St. Laszlo’s Statue , Statue of Our Lady of Hungary , Malom Bastion , Kossuth Bridge , The Primatial Archives
- Library Simor, Archiepiscopal Simor Library , Former Priory church , Mattyasovszky Bastion and Turkish bath , Archbishop Janos Simor residential house , House of Alexander Rudnay archbishop ,alls of the former waterside protection work
- Former Polusin house (Polusin-haz), Pazmany Peter u. 9 , Old school complex , Former Franciscan friary and the Franciscan Church of the Holy Cross , Old County Hall (regi Varmegye Haza), Watertown (Vizivaros), Pazmany Peter u. 13
- Turkish House (Torok haz), Vizivaros, Pazmany Peter u. 11 , Copf house (Copf haz), Mindszenty Hercegprimas tere 5
- Bust of Queen Elizabeth (Erzsebet kiralyne mellszobra), Vizivaros, Erzsebet Park. This is a 80 cm high, terracotta statue, a copy of the Gyorgy Zala creations (1926) , Sobieski memorial (Sobieski-elmekmu), Vizivaros, Erzsebet Park , Maria Valeria Bridge .
Activities : El Greco Gallery. (See listing under Sleep.) Holds periodic exhibitions of contemporary arts.
Thai massage. In the Vadregeny Pension and Holidaypark.
1 Aquasziget Spa, Tancsics Mihaly u. 5. Wellness spa.
Loggia Cave (Kis Loggia-barlang).
Satorkopuszta Cave (Satorkopusztai-barlang) (near Esztergom-Kertvaros)
Go next : Visegrad
