Veszprém (D–E5) The Hungarian town with the finest location. Veszprém is built on five hills, and Castle Hill dominates the scene in the centre. The deep ravine valley of the Séd stream is known as the symbol of Veszprém, and is spanned by a finely arched viaduct. Cobbled paths, and streets leading to steps wind up the hills and down into valleys. The old houses which line them have recently been reconstructed, and the town has almost exactly the same appearance today as it did in the 18th-19th centuries, when it was built. Those who live here wake each morning to the melody of countless church bells. They call it the city of queens. And not for nothing, for it was the duty of the local bishops to crown the monarch’s wife. It was here that the crown was placed on the head of the last Hungarian queen, Zita, in 1916. The first Hungarian king, Stephen, and his wife, Gizella, founded the first bishopric of the country here. The queen built the first cathedral here in 1001, the Cathedral of St. Michael, of which the Romanesque sanctuary and crypt can still be seen. Today’s cathedral was rebuilt over it in 1910, in a neo- Romanesque style. Here, a bone of the upper arm, held to be a relic of Gizella, is kept. One of the finest Baroque buildings is the bishop’s palace. Beside it, the life-size frescoes in the thirteenth-century Gizella Chapel are amongst the oldest frescoes in Hungary.
And there are yet more superlatives: the St. George Chapel next to the cathedral is held to be the first church in the country. It was built in the 9th-10th centuries. The first reinforced concrete building in Hungary, the Petőfi Theatre, was erected in Veszprém. Until quite recently the last castle prison in the country operated in the old town. Plans are afoot to convert the deep multi-storey building, clinging to the rock-face, into a prison museum. In this university town, rich in intellectual activity, visitors can browse in the Museum of Church Art, the Brick Museum or the mineral exhibition, and see a display presenting the thousand-year history of Bakony and the Upper Balaton. And the zoo with the finest location in Hungary is in the valley under the viaduct.

Zirc (D5) This town, the centre of the Hungarian Cistercian order, is also known as the capital of the Bakony Hills. The abbey and monastery built in 1100 were destroyed during the Turkish conquest, but the order rebuilt them. Today, the abbey next to the double-towered Baroque church contains special codices, books, and journals. Amongst the valuable carved furniture of the library (a monument in itself), the intarsia table deserves special attention, being made of wood of many different colours, all from the Bakony region. In the Abbot’s former residential quarters a natural history museum has been installed, showing the fauna and flora of the region. Zirc is also famous for its arboretum. In this fine park, 600 types of tree and shrub can be found. The oldest oak tree is 400 years old.

Sümeg (C6) the town’s parish church is dubbed the “Sistine Chapel” of Hungarian Rococo, because its walls and ceiling are decorated with one enormous fresco. Another spectacular sight is the fourteenth-century castle perched on the hill next to the town. This is one of the largest fortifications in the country, and is in extremely good condition.

Magyarpolány (D5) This village near Veszprém has been awarded the Europa Nostra prize. The former village centre has 83 old and finely restored listed buildings. The Calvary, erected at the end of the 1700s, is also a famous monument. The painted wooden statues line the 153 steps to the chapel of the Virgin in Labour.

Herend (D5) Herend china is one of the most famous Hungarian specialities. It is known far and wide, and buyers collect it. The china factory, founded in 1826, produces hand-painted delicate, elegant, china, and these products have won prizes at world exhibitions. The pattern of the butterfly painted with bright colours was first shown at the world exhibition in London in 1851, and has since become the trademark of the factory. Queen Victoria immediately ordered a dinner set for Windsor Castle, and so the florid butterfly motive has borne her name ever since. In the trade centre next to the factory a mini workshop has been set up, where anyone can try their hand at making china. The largest collection of Herend china in the world can be seen here.

Pápa (D5) This Baroque city of schools is known as the Athens of Pannonia, for the great and mighty of Hungarian literature and science have studied here. The Reform Church secondary school houses the Pannonian Reform Church History Collection, the library and the archives too. The Catholic church, built in the 1700s, is the largest church in Pannonia. The oldest blue-dyeing workshop in Central Europe still operating today can also be found in this town.