The best Hungarian city nicknames – part 1

If you are following our series featuring the Hungarian county seats, then you already know why some cities bear their particular names. But did you know that several cities in Hungary have very beautiful nicknames? If Hungarians hear one of these, they immediately know which city to think about. In the following, we will present some of the best nicknames that were given to Hungarian cities.

Budapest – A hidak és vizek városa – The city of bridges and waters

Budapest, the Hungarian capital city, is usually referred to as the City of Bridges or sometimes even the City of Waters. Both names are justified, since thanks to the Danube crossing the city, several bridges had to be built, which since have become tourist attractions, especially the Chain Bridge. Another important bridge in the city’s cultural and touristic life is the Liberty Bridge, which was closed down in 2016 due to renovation and quickly became a favourite picnic spot for the citizens. Following this, last June the city management closed it down for a couple of days on request.

It is fairly obvious why Budapest is the City of Waters, as there are dozens of baths both on the Pest and Buda side of the city.

These are tourist-favourites, a lot of people come to Budapest especially to try out the healing waters.

Szeged – A napfény városa – The city of sunshine

Szeged is located in Southern Hungary, and the south is usually associated with warm and sunny weather. But Szeged is not nicknamed the City of Sunshine as to romanticise it or to lure tourists there. Although bearing this title is quite flattering, there is also a technical reason why it is referred to as the City of Sunshine:  Szeged is blessed with the most sunshine in Hungary, more exactly with 2100 hours of sun each year.

The slightly Mediterranean climate is especially beneficial for growing the world-famous Hungarian spice, the paprika.

Sopron – A hűség városa – The city of loyalty

Following the Trianon treaty signed in June 1920, Sopron was attached to Austria, although a great deal of the locals were Hungarians. Still, the Hungarian population of the city wanted to belong to Hungary and demanded a referendum. In December 1921, it was decided that Sopron would once again be considered a Hungarian territory. On the anniversary of the referendum, on 14 December 2001, the Hungarian government honoured Sopron with the title of ‘The City of Loyalty’.

Veszprém – A királynék városa – The city of queens

Long ago, Veszprém was the favourite holiday city of Gisela of Hungary, the wife of the state-founder, Saint Stephen of Hungary. Gisela liked Veszprém so much that she gifted her crown to the Basilica of Veszprém.  In a way to commemorate and honour the first Hungarian queen, the following queens of Hungary were crowned in Veszprém.

Székesfehérvár – A királyok városa – The city of kings

Székesfehérvár is most widely referred to as the city of kings. Why? Well, the situation is the same as with Veszprém:

only thouse kings could rule over Hungary who were crowned here,

which automatically leads to the conclusion that Hungarian kings were crowned here. The Hungarian crown jewels were kept here, and Székesfehérvár was also the home to the treasury along with the records.

featured image: László Cseke

Source: Daily News Hungary