Széchenyi square (Pécs)
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Pécs
Pécs is the fifth largest city of Hungary, located on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains in the south-west of the country, close to its border with Croatia. It is the administrative and economical centre of Baranya county...
, Hungary
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...
. In the Middle Ages it served as the market place of the town with the city hall and the parish church. Before the square was named Széchenyi
István Széchenyi
Széchenyi committed suicide by a shot to his head on April 8, 1860. All Hungary mourned his death. The Academy was in official mourning, along with the most prominent persons of the leading political and cultural associations...
in 1864 it had had several other names like Fórum, Városi piacz (City piazza), Főtér (Main square). The square is one of the central squares of Pécs, full of monuments, mounting gradually northward. Twelve streets fall into the square spoke-wise. Its main attractions are the Mosque of Pasha Qasim, the City Hall, the County Hall, the Nádor hotel, the Zsolnay well, the Fatebenefratelli
Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God
The Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God are a Roman Catholic order founded in 1572. They are also known commonly as the Fatebenefratelli, meaning "Do-Good Brothers" in Italian.-History:...
Church, the Trinity statue and the brass statue of János Hunyadi on horse back. The surface of the square was rebuilt within the scope of the project Pécs2010 European Cultural Capital.
Within the annual Pécs days festival, the festival of wine and grape is held on the square. It is celebrated fairs and vintage carnivals wine tasting of the famous wine regions of Pécs and Villány
Villány
Villány is a town in Baranya county, Hungary that is famous for its wine.-Etymology:The name derives from the Hungarian word for lightning, villám...
. The Christmas tree of the town is set on Széchenyi square.
Location
The square is located in the heart of the old town of Pécs, on the southern side of the Mecsek mountain. Twelve streets run into the square, starting from the south clockwise: Irgalmasok street, Jókai square, Ferencesek street, Ciszterci alley, Janus Pannonius street, Szepessy Ignác street, Hunyadi János street, Megye street, Mária street, Király street, Perczel Miklós street and Munkácsy Mihály street.The mosque and other monuments
In the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, the Gothic Saint Bertalan parish church stood in the middle of the city centre. After the city was taken over by the Turks
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...
the mosque of pasha Qasim was built from the rocks of Saint Bertalan. There existed a minaret
Minaret
A minaret مناره , sometimes مئذنه) is a distinctive architectural feature of Islamic mosques, generally a tall spire with an onion-shaped or conical crown, usually either free standing or taller than any associated support structure. The basic form of a minaret includes a base, shaft, and gallery....
next to the mosque the top of which was brought down in 1753. Its lower part was also demolished in 1766 and only its basement remained intact. In the inner wall, by the current main entrance, there is a mihrab
Mihrab
A mihrab is semicircular niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the qibla; that is, the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca and hence the direction that Muslims should face when praying...
that indicates the qibla
Qibla
The Qiblah , also transliterated as Qibla, Kiblah or Kibla, is the direction that should be faced when a Muslim prays during salah...
; that is, the direction of the Kaaba
Kaaba
The Kaaba is a cuboid-shaped building in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and is the most sacred site in Islam. The Qur'an states that the Kaaba was constructed by Abraham, or Ibraheem, in Arabic, and his son Ishmael, or Ismaeel, as said in Arabic, after he had settled in Arabia. The building has a mosque...
in Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
. The building took its current form during the reconstruction in 1939. Saint Bertalan bell is next to the mosque.
The statue of János Hunyadi on horse back, made by sculptor Pál Pátzy, is set on a simple stone pedestal and was inaugurated on the 12 August 1956, the 500th anniversary of the death of János Hunyadi.
The Trinity statue in the middle of the square reached completion in 1714 to commemorate the secession of an earlier plague. The once baroque statue was so much ruined by the end of the 19th century that the city had to make a new one made – done by György Kiss – which was inaugurated in 1908.
Southern part
The eosin well of Zsolnay, designed by Andor Pilch, is situated on the southern part of the square. tér. On the four side of the four meter high well water gurgles through heads of oxen into an arc shaped basin. The well, donated by Miklós Zsolnay is decorated by the coats of arms of the city and the family.The Fatebenefratelli Church was built between 1727-1731. Its facade is eclectic. The first floor is decorated by through-gutter. The chamber with arc ending on the front has a Marie statue made by György Kis. The interior of the church was rebuilt in 1908. Its inlaid, wooden altars have exceptional artistic value. The baroque Italian main altar painting depicts the martyrdom of Saint Sebastian. The frescos were painted by Endre Graits in 1908. The relief of Istenes Szent János, founder of Fatebenefratelli order was made by Ede Mayer sculptor. Its organ was fabricated in Anster’s workshop. On the western side of the church the chapel is rectangular. On the walls several emblazoned gravestones with few centimetre deep inscriptions allude to a vault
Burial vault (tomb)
A burial vault is a structural underground tomb.It is a stone or brick-lined underground space or 'burial' chamber for the interment of a dead body or bodies. They were originally and are still often vaulted and usually have stone slab entrances...
under the church; however the location of its entrance is unknown.
Western part
Kovágószolos
- External links :*...
. Its facade looking to the square is much more decorated than other buildings on the square. Its art pottery decors were made in Zsolnay factory. The roof of the building burnt down in 1954 and the following one received a simpler design without the previous dome.
Lajos Nagy Gymnasium is located to the north from the county hall building. The plaza front of the two-story block, looking on three streets was built between 1716 and 1726 by the Jesuits using the thumb stones of the Turkish cemetery on Kórház square. Hungarian poet Ferenc Faludi taught in this building in the years between 1723-28. The building was the home of an art academy from 1785 to 1802. Several times it functioned as a hospital and even as a barrack-room between 1852-1863. It was owned by the Cistercians from the beginning of the 20th century until the order ended. The side was built in 1863 and the northern side between 1935 and 1936. Frescos in the stair way depict the foundation and structure of the first university of Pécs (the works of Ernő Gebauer). There was an open public bath in its court decorated by arcades. The white marble bust of Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
stands in a small park in front of the northern corner of the building. (George Baksa Soós, 1958).
Northern part
The northern part of the square is partly made up by one of the buildings of Janus Pannonius Museum. Its main front has copf style and its side has classic style. There are two beautiful iron mashed gate from the 19th century in its doorway.Next to the museum is the Eizer House, built in 1840 and partly demolished and rebuilt in 1950. Adjacent to this stands the Taizs House on the facade of which there is a richly decorated corner balcony.
Eastern part
Nador hotel was built in 1846 which was demolished in 1902 to build a larger one in its place. By the end of the 1980s the facade of the hotel building was seriously damaged. After being closed for over fifteen years its facade was reconstructed in 2005 and an underground parking place was constructed. A gallery was opened in the building in 2009 but the hotel has not opened yet (2010.05.01.)
Saint Bertalan Church
In July 2009, archaeologists found new evidences of the Saint Bertalan church from the age of Árpád from the stones of which was later built the mosque of pasha Qasim the Victorious. According to researcher András Kikindai with these foundings 80% of the Saint Bertalan Church and buildings related to it are discovered.Resources
- Kolta János, Pécs, Panoráma, 1972
- Official site of the city of Pécs.