It is a fascinating city with huge cultural and historical background, together with wonderful sights and plenty of programmes you can choose from, especially in the summer.
You can discover Eger the easiest way by foot, by bicycle or even by sightseeing train. One thing is sure, shortly after your arrival you will be captivated by the narrow alleys and the Mediterranean atmosphere, and one day is really not enough to see everything.
As the county seat of Heves, it is famous for its wine region, this is the home of “Egri Bikavér” (Bull’s Blood of Eger), a red wine of high quality and great viticulture history. According to legend, the name, “bikavér” stems from Turkish times. Then István Dobó, captain of the Eger Castle, used red wine to strengthen his warriors, who were fighting with the Ottoman preponderance. The enemy thought, the Hungarian soldiers were invigorated because they had drunk bull’s blood. Therefore they didn’t dare to continue the battle.
To enjoy the excellent wines of Eger - because there are some famous white ones too, for example Debrői hárslevelű, Egerszóláti Olaszrizling, Egri Leányka – visit Szépasszony valley (Valley of the Beautiful woman), where about 200 wine cellars are at your service.
During your stay you can enter the second largest church in the country, the Basilica of Eger, where its builder, János Pyrker’s heart is buried in the central part of the crypt of the cathedral. His last wish was: “The heart having beaten for Eger should stay in Eger.”
The place’s best known sight is the Minaret, the northernmost built monument in Europe from the Ottoman period. It is worth overcoming the 97 spiral stairs for the sake of the fantastic view of the city from the height of 40 meters. During the summer months, you can listen the muezzin singing religious songs from the Minaret (similar to the late call for prayer during the 91 years of Turkish occupation) every Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 5.00 pm.
Eger is also the city of baths, which also originates from the Turks, who had a really developed bath culture. That is why you cannot leave the place without trying the Turkish bath and its special services, such as the Turkish hammam massage. If you seek for more aquatic adventure, the thermal spa is a good choice with its new slides and experience-islands, which is a refreshing treat on a hot summer day. The Bitskey swimming pool is also at your disposal should you want to swim untroubled.
From the middle of July until the end of August there is Summer Theatre in the Park in the Archbishop’s Garden (“Érsekkert”), organized by the Cellar Theatre (“Egri Pinceszínház”). Or when you are ready to watch a stunning performance in the castle itself, you are advised to buy a ticket for a piece of the Agria Summer Theatre. There are plays all summer in different places of the city, even especially for children. If you are more into movies, you will love the open-air cinema, where you can also have a nice fruch as well.
As you can see, there is so much to do in this marvellous city, and that is not all, you should discover it yourself!
For current events and programmes look up the Facebook page: “egriprogramok.hu portál”
Angol/magyar:
viticulture: szőlőtermelés
preponderance: túlerő
invigorate: új erőre kap, visszanyeri erejét
fruch: fröccs
