Photos

Here you can see the bus station of Szekesfehervar which was renewed not so long ago .(The picture was taken on 23/06/07.)

Székesfehérvár is located 60 km from the capital, Budapest, and has 106,000 inhabitants. The city's hinterland contains 31 settlements of varying sizes, with a population of 100,000. Of this number, 54% of the workforce are employed in manufacturing. Székesfehérvár is one of the most rapidly developing places in the world (in Hungary at least:-), and has attracted over two billion dollars of inward investment over the last decade.

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Székesfehérvár, called Alba Regia in the Middle Ages, is one of Hungary's most ancient cities, and the significant events of Hungarian history happened here over the centuries.

This was the place where Hungarian kings were crowned and buried. Here were kept the king’s throne and the symbols of royal power, and people from distant countries assembled in the city on the days appointed.

Székesfehérvár was established on hills surrounded by marshland by the great emperor Géza, who reigned from 972 to 997. Under the rule of King Saint Stephen (1001-1038) the town was a populous and extensive settlement. King Stephen’s basilica was one of the monumental buildings of its time in Europe, and remained the most important site in the mediaeval Hungarian state for five centuries.

A great deal of building tool place in Székesfehérvár during the 12th century, and by the 14th century the city, by now of strategic importance, was surrounded by walls.

The Turks captured the city in 1543 and kept it under their rule for 145 years, during which time the basilica was ruined and the graves were desecrated.

Turkish rule ended in 1688. From 1720 onwards a great deal of building took place in the town, with townhouses being built in the baroque, rococo-, and so-called copf styles, and it is these which imparted a new atmosphere to the town and characterise its appearance today.

P.S. I will add some photos to see the "appearance today".