Köszeg is a charming, almost 800 year old town, situated 2 km from the Austrian border, about 240 km from Budapest and 100 km from Vienna. With its approximately 12 000 inhabitants it is one of the smallest incorporated towns in Hungary.

The coat of arms of the town, given to Köszeg in 1446, summarizes its main features: the castle of the free royal town once surrounded by thick walls, under the blue sky over the peak Irottko with excellent vineyards

The town of Köszeg has played an important role in the history of the Hungarian nation. Köszeg was founded by the Köszegi family around the middle of the 13th century. The town was almost continuously at war for many decades with either the Hungarian King, or the neighbouring Austrian princes. At last, Charles of Anjou ended the Koszegi's rule in 1327. He confiscated their estates and promoted Köszeg to the rank of the royal town that determined its role for centuries. The common defensive system of the manorial castle and the civic town gave a strong strategic importance to the town. It was necessary because the region needed to be defended against the recurring attempts of Austrian expansion.

The German ruler, Frederic III � taking advantage of the chaotic Hungarian political situation � occupied Köszeg in 1445. After this, except for a short 7-year-period, Köszeg remained under the rule of the Habsburgs. Frederic III reinforced the above mentioned privileges, and conferred the town�s historical coat-of-arms that is used even today, and can be seen on the façade of the Town Hall. Köszeg became an important element of the Habsburgs' eastern politics.

In 1532 Köszeg attracted the attention of Europe. In August of 1532, the town surrounded by walls and the fortress standing at the northwest corner, fought heroically against the Turkish army. Sultan Sulejman II, with about 80,000 of his troops, left to take over Vienna, the capital of the Austrian territories. Having occupied most of the castles in the Hungarian border-region, the main regiment led by commander-in-chief Ibrahim, were sent to Köszeg to prepare the siege.

The defence was organized by Miklos Jurisich who was born in the small town of Senj, Croatia. The Turkish army was not prepared for a long fight. The first unsuccessful siege was on the 13th of August. Sultan Sulejman, in his tent on the nearby mountain, more and more impatiently demanded the capture of the castle, which was still resisting after several trials.

Finally, after having suffered from lack of food and all kinds of troubles while spending 25 days in the camp near Köszeg, they decided not to stay here any longer. The last units of the Turkish troop left Köszeg on 30th August 1532 at about 11 o�clock in the morning. Since 1777 every day at 11 AM the bells of the church are tolled to commemorate the heroic defenders of the town. For its heroism, Köszeg was granted an eternal exemption from duty and tax by Ferdinand I.

In the 18th century, the town changed again. The medieval system of defence was already blocking the everyday life of the city; being at peace, there was no reason to keep it any more. The walls and towers started to be torn down and the moats were filled up. The houses outside the town wall show the current picture of the town. On a painting from 1746 we can already see the ordered city, bearing the marks of baroque architecture.

People who visit Köszeg find it a charming town in a beautiful almost untouched neighborhood

They called it �Baroque pearl� or �Jewelry box of Hungary�. Köszeg is characterized by both its architectural heritage and the natural beauty of the Koszegi-mountain, the highest peak of which is Irottko with a height of 882 m. But there is much more�

Why to visit Köszeg?

• Köszeg and five villages around Irottko have been part of the first Austrian-Hungarian protected landscape area, Irottko-Geschriebenstein Natural Park, since 1996. The major part of the 13 500 acre area belonging to Köszeg is forests, vineyards, orchards, holiday resort. The unpolluted air is excellent for people suffering from asthma.
• Köszeg is one of those few Hungarian towns which kept its original structure. The secret behind the beauty of the inner town lies in its dimension. Except the Convent of Benedictine Order next to St Jacob Church there are no three-storied houses. Its structure has not changed: the number of the buildings is practically the same as it was in the 16th century. Gothic and renaissance parts also can be observed in some of the splendid civic houses, built mostly in baroque style. The inner town and partially the so-called German suburb has been a part of the Hungarian National Heritage since 1990. In the late 60�s a several-decade program started to reconstruct the town�s unique medieval buildings, for which Köszeg was granted the Hild-award (the most important Hungarian award donated for preserving architectural heritage). About 10 % of the law protected buildings of Hungary is in Köszeg!
• The town�s brass bands, choirs, string orchestra, string quartet, folk dance group, majorettes, jazz dance group all contribute to Köszeg�s vivid cultural life. The excellent indoor and outdoor festivals, outstanding events attract many tourists throughout the year. The Harvest Festival in late September is usual in many towns. The one in Köszeg is also the meeting of some 10 brass bands so it is very popular not only among the Hungarian and international visitors and participants.
• Taste the local red wine. Köszeg has always had famous red wine. It played also an important role in getting the privilege of �Free Royal Town�: they paid for it with wine. Nowadays organized wine-routs are organized for visitors interested in viniculture and the wine itself. Private and company-owned wine cellars offer their products.
• And much more...

Köszeg has a reputation for its culture. Its architecture, old buildings listed in the National Registry, the Natural Park, museums, sculptures all radiate culture and traditions.

People organizing different events, acting in artistic groups reinforce this cultural radiation. The Cultural Center of the town has been coordinating and organizing the different events. There are several places in the town which can host exhibitions. Artists living in the town have permanent exhibitions, but there are always temporary exhibitions, too.

Although there is no permanent theatre in the town, the open-air theatre in the castle yard offers good plays every summer in July. Besides these, there are several concerts given by the town�s brass bands (often with the majorette group), choirs, string orchestra, and string quartet. Although only the members of the Haydn String Quartet are professionals, the other groups are also well-known for their high level performances.

The folk dance group is probably our most important group aimed at preserving the Hungarian cultural heritage. The original dances with the authentic choreography and the unbelievable amount of time spent on rehearsals result in excellent performances.

All of our groups have many national and international connections, so groups from other countries also entertain the citizens and visitors of the town.

A good example for our cultural life is the Festival of the Vine Shots, a unique traditional event on and around Saint Georges Day in April.

Köszeg has been a city with strong tradition in education.Right now there are 14 institutions educating children and adults. Most of them are run by the local government, but there are religious, county-run and private schools, too.

 There are five kindergartens for children aged 3 to 6. (Only the last year is compulsory.) One of them, built in Koszegfalva (Schwabendorf), the south district of the town, is bilingual as there live many German-speaking minorities. One of the kindergartens is operated by the SOS village (which can be found in most countries) built for orphans living in created families. There are four elementary schools for students between 6 and 14. One of them is run by the Catholic church, another one � an elementary boarding school � is run by the Hungarian Railroad Company. The other two are operated by the local government. One of them has a special program for students belonging to the German minority. This one has already carried out a successful Comenius school project with Austrian and German partners.

As in Hungary all young people have to attend school until the age of 18, many of them are the students of one of our secondary schools. One of these schools is the Lutheran Agricultural and Commercial Secondary School, offering 4-, -5 and 6-year teaching program. After four-year of study students can take final exams (GCE, Baccalaureate, Abitur etc.) and after the two additional years they will get an extra certificate. The school has a dormitory, too.

The other secondary school is an academic grammar school for students aged 15 to 18 and 19 respectively. It is the oldest school in the county, founded in 1677. Besides more advanced courses its bilingual (English) teaching program attracts many students from all over west-Hungary. It has a nice dormitory; a part of it operates as a youth hostel. The school has had many successful Comenius and Youth projects, exchanges. There is a huge boarding school run by the county council dealing principally with students who are slightly challenged mentally, but it also offers programs for students suffering from speech problems, dyslexia, or dyscalculia. The school also has had many successful Comenius projects.

Music has been an important part of the town�s cultural life. The music school is run by the local government and it teaches music mostly for students. They have the opportunity to learn to play many kinds of musical instruments. Students and teachers often give concerts to demonstrate their progress and to entertain audiences.