Szentendre: Jewel of the Danube Bend

Farther up the bend from Pomáz, the “Jewel of the Danube Bend,” Szentendre rises into view, dotted with multicolored and multi-textured village homes, crowned with ancient church steeples. It is home to one of the greatest ethnographic outdoor museums in Hungary, an entire village of homes from different areas and different centuries, demonstrations and exhibits in which you can participate, and numerous folk festivals throughout the year.

A Brief History 

Due to its strategic and outstanding natural endowments the place has existed since the New Stone Age. It has been home to Illyrians, the Celtic Eraviscus tribe, Roman legions, Lombards, Avars, and Magyars. The 17th century brought a wave of Serbians fleeing the relentless advance of the Turks. It was here that they settled and built, laying the foundation for the town’s unique cultural heritage.

Although the Serbs were the primary settlers in the postmedieval period, the early 19th century brought crop disease and floods that eventually led many to abandon the city. Ironically, that helped preserve the city because the dwindling labor pool discouraged industrialization. As a result, the Baroque heritage is still visible here, as is the Serbian- Mediterranean ambience, with ancient churches and Cyrillicinscribed monuments. The intellectual and artistic community discovered this place in the 1920s, followed by a surge of tourists in the 1960s and 1970s. Tourism has grown every year since. Today, tourists often outnumber the native population of 20,000, sometimes by as much as 3 to 1 in the high season. And with good reason.

The proximity to Austria and Slovakia, as well as its relative distance from Budapest has led to German, Slavic, and Serb influences, from conquerors and refugees. These have melded with the Magyar heritage, and have led to a unique folkloric tradition.

During the reign of Caesar Augustus the site of Szentendre was occupied by the Roman garrison called Ulcisia Castra (Wolf Camp). Thanks to the Romans, population centers sprang up around Szentendre. These became villages as Szentendre turned into a regional center over time. Today these are a paradise for those who enjoy outdoor activities and medieval discovery. In the fourth centuryWolf Camp changed its name to Castra Constantia. The ruins of this ancient city are hidden by a hill located between the S bend of Highway 11 and Bükkös Creek. Today, the Roman Museum of Stonework is on the southernmost side of the uncovered town, housing an exhibition of relics found from the Roman era.

As Rome declined, the system of Roman camps and watchtowers was swept away by the onslaught of migrating tribes in the fifth century. Now, only the Roman ruins are left, barely making an impact along the banks of the Danube and in a few places on Szentendre Island.

In later years Szentendre became a regional center for the Lombards, and then for the Avars, who made it their tribal center. Each in turn fortified the place and lived off of its abundant wildlife and fertile soil.

But history would not rest with these precursors. Prince Kurszán and his Magyars stormed through, conquering the Avars and permanently occupying the land. The first documents that mention the town are dated 1009. Then, the settlement was built around Church Hill, the geographic center of Saint Andrew’s church, for which the town, at that time, named itself. After the 14th century and a sudden influx of Serbs, its importance increased. It turned into a fortified, walled city, situated midway between the royal castle of Visegrad and the palace of Budapest. Then, during the wars of the Reformation, Calvinists saw that they could retreat to the island in a strongly defensive position and so they moved their villages on to Szentendre Island. Parts of their settlements are still there.

In 1690 Nándofehérvár (Belgrade) was overrun by the Turks. The Serbs, loyal allies of the Hapsburg dynasty, fled for their lives. Listening to the pleas of his defeated allies, Kaiser Leopold granted special rights to 6,000 of these loyalists and settled them in Szentendre. As a result Szentendre remained loyal to the Hapsburg monarchy and never joined the war of independence in 1848-49. However, Szentendre garnered ever more refugees with the passage of time. Greeks joined the influx, later followed by Catholic Dalmations, and then Bosnians.

Many hoped they would someday return home, so they built temporary houses from wood. Generation after generation, they stubbornly clung to their dream. Perhaps it was the Duna River itself that kept their hopes alive. The Danube always has had a way of preserving memories, and all the communities around it are as much under its enchantment as are visitors. But time brought bitter reality to the fore. The Karlóca Peace Treaty in January 26, 1699 marked the end of Ottoman domination, but that domination merely passed to the Austro-Hungarian crown. The communities that had once hoped they might return to an independent homeland realized that hope would not be realized.

But, once the reality set in, the community that had settled here, and whose children had been born and died here, set about to make its roots permanent. The 18th century witnessed the rise of permanent dwellings and beautiful Baroque churches. As the local population applied itself, the town became known as a home of skilled craftsmen, excellent wines, and industrious merchants. The warehouses and homes of many of these rich tradesmen still stand within the area bordered by Péter Pál, Dumtsa Jenõ, and Bercsényi streets. On the other hand, the narrow houses of the ordinary townsfolk, laced with alley-like streets, are located around Fõ tér. These houses typically have a shop at ground level, living quarters in the second floor, and storage in the attic.

The 19th century saw variations of disease and disaster, until eventually the Serbian community, which had been at 42% in 1815, dropped to only 19% in 1890. An influx of other nationalities, and Magyar citizens, had changed the population mix, not to mention the emigration of older Serbs, still trying to get back to their homelands. The result was that the once-proud Serbian churches turned into Catholic and/or Calvinist worship centers. Nevertheless, the Serb Orthodox Church has works of gold and silver, as well as fabulous icons. There are two Catholic churches, including the 13th- to 14th-century Catholic Parish Church on Church Hill (with the prominent sundial clock on its face).

In 1888 the Budapest Szentendre rail line was built to usher in the 20th century, but it did not change the character of the place. Then, in 1926, the Art Foundation began to influence construction and preserve the city’s character. It has remained a tourist town because of that, maintaining its Baroque ambience while the rest of Hungary aggressively tackles the future.