Szentgotthárd
Encyclopedia
Szentgotthárd is the westernmost town of Hungary
. It is situated on the Rába
River near the Austria
n border, and is home to much of Hungary's small Slovene ethnic minority.
The town took its name from, and grew up round, the Cistercian Szentgotthárd Abbey
, founded here in 1183.
In 1664, it was the site of the Battle of Saint Gotthard, where an Austrian
army led by Raimondo Montecuccoli
defeated the Ottoman Empire
so that the Turks had to agree to the Peace of Vasvár
, which held until 1683.
The town serves as the cultural centre of the Hungarian Slovenes
.
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. It is situated on the Rába
Rába
The Rába is a river in southeastern Austria and western Hungary and a right tributary of the Danube. Its source is in Austria, some kilometres east of Bruck an der Mur below Heubodenhöhe Hill. It flows through the Austrian states of Styria and Burgenland, and the Hungarian counties of Vas and...
River near the Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n border, and is home to much of Hungary's small Slovene ethnic minority.
The town took its name from, and grew up round, the Cistercian Szentgotthárd Abbey
Szentgotthárd Abbey
Szentgotthárd Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery in Szentgotthárd in Vas County in the south-west of Hungary, about 3 km from the present border with Austria and 18 km from that with Slovenia.- History :...
, founded here in 1183.
In 1664, it was the site of the Battle of Saint Gotthard, where an Austrian
Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
army led by Raimondo Montecuccoli
Raimondo Montecuccoli
Raimondo, Count of Montecúccoli or Montecucculi was an Italian military general who also served as general for the Austrians, and was also a prince of the Holy Roman Empire and Neapolitan Duke of Melfi....
defeated the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
so that the Turks had to agree to the Peace of Vasvár
Peace of Vasvár
The Peace of Vasvár was a treaty between the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy and the Ottoman Empire which followed the Battle of Saint Gotthard of August 1, 1664, and concluded the Austro-Turkish War...
, which held until 1683.
The town serves as the cultural centre of the Hungarian Slovenes
Hungarian Slovenes
Hungarian Slovenes are an autochthonous ethnic and linguistic Slovene minority living in Hungary. The largest groups are the Rába Slovenes in the Rába Valley in western Hungary between the town of Szentgotthárd and the borders with Slovenia and Austria. They speak the Prekmurje dialect of Slovene...
.