Heves megyei aprónyomtatványok 23/O

During the construction of the bishop's castle and palace, as well as the cathedral erected here, hundreds of craftsmen were employed. After the foundation of the state and the Tartar invasion, Italian, Flemish and Walloon settlers arrived in Eger from Italy, France and Belgium. As a result of the development of handicrafts, vini- and viticulture, by the end of the 14th century the settlements around the bishop's palace formed a district first, then a city. Eger's development into a city was supported by its location at the intersection of important trade routes.

In the 16th century, during the Turkish conquest, the fortress of Eger became a key fortification, a significant military post of Northern Hungary. The heroic battle of the year 1552, in which István Dobó and his soldiers defended the fortress against the Turkish army, far superior in number, stopped the Turkish invasion in the area for a long period of time. As a result of their heroic deed, the names of the soldiers went down in history.

The monuments still preserving the signs of the 93-year long Turkish reign are the Minaret, the Turkish bastion of the fortress and the Turkish bath. The fortress, which was brought under Austrian authority after the Turkish withdrawal, became the center of the war of independence led by Ferenc Rákóczi against the Austrian oppression.

After the stormy events of the Middle Ages, the social and economic development of the city started again in the 18th century. In addition to Hungarians, Czechs, Germans, Austrians, Italians, Serbs, Greeks, baptized Turks, craftsmen, artisans and tradesmen constituted the population. In the construction of the Baroque city of Eger, financed from the incomes generated by the local viti- and viniculture, trade, and industrial guilds, the bishops of Eger, patrons of art, also played a major role. Long-lasting pieces of church and secular architecture, sculpture and painting, the foundation of schools and colleges, legal and medical training, hospitals, pharmacies, as well as patronage of arts and literature are all characteristic of this dynamic area. In the 19th century the patronage of János Pyrker, bishop of Eger, increased the cultural treasure of the city even further. (The construction of the Basilica, the renovation of the fortress, the establishmentof of the cult of the fortress, the collection of the pieces of the "Old Gallery," etc.)

Eger, the "Baroque pearl" - the inner city preserves numerous beautiful pieces of Baroque architecture. In addition, the architecture of the city represents the thousand-year long history of Hungary as well: the atmosphere of Dobó Square with the Medieval fortress towering above it speaks of historic events. The Baroque churches and cloisters, palaces, public buildings, the

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