Heves megyei aprónyomtatványok 23/O

beautiful mansions, and the winding streets all recall the feel of past centuries. The city-scape was formed by such architects as Johann Battista Carlone, Jakab Fellner, Mátyás Gerl, Kilian Ignaz Dietzenhofer, József Hild, and artisans and craftsmen such as Henrik Fazola, János Hutter, János Lukács Kräcker and Marco Cassagrande. The impressive building of the Lyceum, built in French late-Baroque (Copf) style, was designed by bishop Károly Eszterházy originally to house a university: at present the building is the "alma mater" of Eger college students. Across the street from the Lyceum, the Basilica, built in Classicist style, is the second largest cathedral of Hungary. The monumental Minorite Church on Dobó Square is said to be the most beautiful Baroque church of Central Europe. The nicely shaped Baroque Greek-orthodox ("Serbian") church, with its beautiful, carved iconostasis is one of the most valuable monuments of the city. The Bishop's Palace, the churches and monasteries of different orders (Franciscan, Jesuite, Cistercian, Servita) all show that the intellectual and cultural roots of Eger date far back, and that the city is a bishop's (currently archbishop's) seat and has been since the foundation of the state.

The Medieval castle of the city carries an historical image: during the era of the Turkish invasion it was the foreward bastion of Christian Europe. The reconstructed fortress is significant both as a memento of architectural history, as well as a monument: a Medieval fortress planned according to a new-ltalian system of bastions, with underground tunnels (casemates) and connecting corridors.

Eger has been awarded the honourable title "the city of grapes and wine," while its expert wine-makers have won the most prestigious European prizes. Nowadays, vini- and viti-culture are still among the major branches of the local economy, and a significant source of income in the historic wine-region of Eger. Rows of the old wine-cellars carved in "tufa" and the wines stored in them are deservedly famous around the world. The historic rows of cellars in Szépasszonyvölgy are particularly popular with tourists. Egri Bikavér was the first registered trade mark wine in Hungary. The city of Eger, working together with the vine-growing community, make great efforts to guarantee the quality of Eger wines.

The curative effects of the local thermal waters were known as early as the Middle Ages. (E.g.: The local radioactive water is suitable for the treatment of locomotor diseases as well as neurological disorders and stress-related conditions, while the sulphureous water is used to treat gynaecological conditions.)

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