Question 1

Esztergom on Your Own

Accepted Answer

Esztergom's basilica, the castle museum beside it and the Watertown below are the core of an independent visit. A simple plan is Castle Hill first, then the Watertown and the Christian Museum, and a walk out onto the bridge to Slovakia. The basilica: Built between 1822 and 1869 on the site of Hungary's first cathedral, it is 118 meters long, and its dome rises 71.5 meters inside. Below lies a crypt in Old Egyptian style from 1831, the resting place of archbishops including Cardinal József Mindszenty. The Bakócz Chapel: Built of red marble by Italian masters in 1506 and 1507, the chapel was taken apart into about 1,600 pieces in 1823 and rebuilt as part of the new basilica. It is the earliest Renaissance building to survive in Hungary. The castle museum: Next to the basilica, the Castle Museum of the Hungarian National Museum shows restored parts of the medieval royal palace, including a chapel with frescoes of the 12th to 14th centuries. It is closed on Mondays. The Watertown and the Christian Museum: Walls, bastions and Turkish-era round towers line the Danube bank in Víziváros. The Primate's Palace of 1880 to 1882 houses the Christian Museum, the largest church collection in Hungary, with medieval Hungarian panel paintings and Italian works; it is closed on some weekdays, so check before you go. Into Slovakia: Walking onto the Mária Valéria Bridge takes you across the Danube to Štúrovo. Getting back on time: All-aboard is usually about 30 minutes before sailing, and your ship posts the exact time. A ship will not wait for passengers touring on their own. Carry your passport: In Hungary you must show ID if the police ask, and a copy is not accepted, so always carry your passport.

Question 2

Tipping and Currency

Accepted Answer

In Hungary tips are given for some services, including in restaurants, bars and taxis, and about 10 percent is usually enough. The currency is the forint (HUF), although euros are accepted at most hotels and some restaurants and shops. Some bars and restaurants add a 10 percent service charge, and in that case no tip is expected. Tips are also given to hairdressers.

Question 3

Faith, Music and Feast Days

Accepted Answer

Esztergom is the seat of the primate of the Catholic Church in Hungary, and church music and feast days shape its year. The basilica's consecration in 1856 was marked by a mass that Franz Liszt composed and conducted for it. Liszt's Gran Mass, named after the German form of the town's name, was first performed at the consecration on 31 August 1856. The basilica's organ has the largest organ pipes in Hungary, 10 meters long. The feast of Saint Stephen on 20 August is marked with a solemn Mass at the basilica. A campus of the Pázmány Péter Catholic University stands near the basilica. The writer Patrick Leigh Fermor ended A Time of Gifts, the first book of his walk across Europe in 1933 and 1934, on the Mária Valéria Bridge.

Question 4

A Brief History

Accepted Answer

Esztergom was Hungary's first royal seat, where Saint Stephen was born and crowned, and it has been the seat of the country's archbishops for most of the last thousand years. Ottoman rule, wars and a new border after 1920 shaped the town that stands today. Celts and Romans: Castle Hill has been inhabited since the end of the Ice Age. The Celts settled here, and the Roman town was called Solva. A royal seat, 960: Prince Géza chose Esztergom as his residence in 960, and his son Vajk, later Saint Stephen, was born in the palace on Castle Hill. Stephen was crowned in Esztergom on Christmas Day 1000 or on 1 January 1001. Capital and cathedral: Stephen built Hungary's first cathedral, dedicated to Saint Adalbert, on Castle Hill between 1001 and 1010. The castle remained a royal residence until the Mongol siege of 1241, and the town was the capital until the mid-13th century. Renaissance archbishops: In the 14th and 15th centuries Esztergom was a center of Hungarian culture, and in 1506 to 1507 Archbishop Tamás Bakócz had Italian architects build his chapel. Ottoman Estergon, 1543: Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent took the castle in 1543. Apart from a period of Habsburg rule around 1600, it stayed Ottoman until the siege of 1683. The basilica, 1822 to 1869: The archbishops returned in 1820, the foundation stone of the new basilica was laid on 23 April 1822, and the church was consecrated in 1856 and completed in 1869. A border town: The Mária Valéria Bridge opened in 1895. After the Treaty of Trianon in 1920, the far bank belonged to Czechoslovakia and Esztergom became a border town. War and the Holocaust: In 1944 the town's Jewish community was confined to a ghetto from May and then deported. Retreating German troops destroyed the bridge in 1944, and the fighting for the town ended in March 1945. The bridge reopened, 2001: The rebuilt Mária Valéria Bridge reopened on 11 October 2001, half funded by the European Union. To learn more ashore: The Bálint Balassa Museum, the town's local and regional history museum, is at Mindszenty tér 5 in the Watertown.

Question 5

Esztergom with Children

Accepted Answer

A bridge into another country, a castle and a climb into a giant dome give children of different ages something to remember from Esztergom. Younger children: The Mária Valéria Bridge, about 500 meters long, lets you walk from Hungary into Slovakia with the Danube below. School age: The castle museum offers guided tours of about an hour, and the basilica offers material for children and families. Teenagers: Almost 400 steps lead up to the balcony of the basilica's dome, which opens from April to October in good weather only, so check before you go.

Question 6

Accessible Travel

Accepted Answer

The basilica is not wheelchair accessible, and Castle Hill rises steeply above the river. The Watertown lies lower down, along the Danube. The cathedral is not wheelchair accessible. The dome balcony is reached only by a climb of almost 400 steps. The castle sits on high ground bounded by steep walls more than 50 meters high.

Esztergom, Hungary

Good to know

Where Ships Moor

Esztergom on Your Own

Tipping and Currency

Faith, Music and Feast Days

A Brief History

Esztergom with Children

Accessible Travel

Port crowds

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