Horváth M. Ferenc (szerk.): Vác The heart of the Danube Bend. A historical guide for residents and globetrotters (Vác, 2009)

Tartalom

Dear Reader,

As Mayor of Vác, I would like to welcome you, introduce our town and invite you to visit us.

The people who settled here several thousand years ago recognised the advantages of the area. It was a meeting-point of the river Danube (a place for fishing, a natural defence- and borderline), the neighbouring mountains (which offer game and shelter) and the Great Hungarian Plain (an area suitable for cultivation and stock-breeding). The trade routes crossing the town from north to south that later developed enabled the birth and subsequent stabilization of a permanent settlement. These roads also served as military routes for the armies.

The name Vác is of Slavic origin, which indicates that Slavic and Hungarian people cohabited here after the Hungarian Conquest. It is only archaeological findings that can help us imagine what the cathedral of the Bishopric of Vác founded by our first King St Stephen might have looked like. It was completed by King Géza I and, according to the customs of the age; he was buried herein 1077.

Vác was designated as the see of the bishopric by the founder, which lay the foundation for the development of the settlement into a town. The founding charter of the Abbey of Garamszentbenedek dated in 1075 mentions Vác (the first occurrence of its name in a charter) as a developed settlement, a civitas.

The medieval market-town with its weekly markets, fairs and handicraft trade became the centre of the neighbouring settlements. This peaceful