Víziváros is a neighborhood of Esztergom

Esztergom

Esztergom , is a city in northern Hungary, 46 km north-west of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom county, on the right bank of the river Danube, which forms the border with Slovakia there....

, 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...

 on the right bank of the Danube

Danube

The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....

, under the royal castle and the St. Adalbert Primatial Basilica

Esztergom Basilica

The Primatial Basilica of the Blessed Virgin Mary Assumed Into Heaven and St Adalbert is an ecclesiastic basilica in Esztergom, Hungary, the mother church of the Archdiocese of Esztergom-Budapest, and the seat of the Catholic Church in Hungary...

. The name Watertown derives from the numerous hot springs

Hot Springs

Hot Springs may refer to:* Hot Springs, Arkansas** Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas*Hot Springs, California**Hot Springs, Lassen County, California**Hot Springs, Modoc County, California**Hot Springs, Placer County, California...

 in the area.

History

Víziváros was established by Robert, Archbishop of Esztergom in 1239. The town fell under Ottoman rule in 1543, and it was only taken back by Christian forces in 1683. During that 140 years, the Turks built baths, religious buildings and re-enforced the castle. The Öziçeli Hacci Ibrahim Mosque on Berényi Zsigmond street is the oldest still standing mosque of 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...

 along the Danube.

After the siege of 1683 reconstruction of the town began began, but during Rákóczi's War for Independence

Rákóczi's War for Independence

Rákóczi's War for Independence was the first significant attempt to topple therule of Habsburg Austria over Hungary. The war was fought by a group of noblemen, wealthy and high-ranking progressives and was led by Francis II Rákóczi Rákóczi's War for Independence (1703–1711) was the first...

 it was destroyed in the winter of 1705-1706. Víziváros was repopulated by Germans. In 1827 its population was 697. By 1891 the town had 1158 Hungarian residents. The Cathedral Library (Bibliotheca) opened in 1853. The library building was designed by József Hild

József Hild

József Hild was a Hungarian architect. One of the major exponents of neoclassical architecture of the time, he played an important part in the remodelling of Pest during the so-called reform era .- Life and career :...

. The Christian Museum

Christian Museum (Hungary)

The Christian Museum is the largest ecclesiastical collection in Hungary; it conserves European and Hungarian works of art from the period between the 13th and 19th centuries....

 was founded by archbishop János Simor in 1875, when he opened his private collection of religious art to visitors. The Primatial Palace was built in 1883. In 1895 Víziváros was merged with Royal Esztergom as third district. The same time neighboring Szentgyörgymező

Szentgyörgymezo

Szentgyörgymező is the northern part of the city of Esztergom in Hungary, on the right bank of the river Danube. It was a separate village until 1895, when it was merged with the "Royal Esztergom" as 4th district, along with neighboring Víziváros and Szenttamás...

 became fourth and Szenttamás became second district.