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Europe Hungary Eger Do & See Observatory

Observatory

The guide was updated:
The most exciting attraction, Camera obscura can be foung on the top of the tower. You are prectically in the middle of a giant camera where the living picture of the town is projected on a table with a system of lenses and mirrors. This "Dark room" in Eger is unique universally, since it is the oldest working equipment of this kind on the continent! Visit it in sunny weather if you can, since the quality of the picture is the best at that time, in cloudy weather the quality is a bit worse and in rainy weather there is no picture, as the camera cannot work. The room was created even originally to make fun; an old legend in Eger says that jealous men in the past could control their wives walking in the town. So it was not worth braking faith any time and anywhere, especially in Eger...

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Digital Travel Guide Download

Our travel guides are free to read and explore online. If you want to get your own copy, the full travel guide for this destination is available to you offline* to bring along anywhere or print for your trip.​

*this will be downloaded as a PDF.

Price

€4,95

Purchase
Dobó square

Dobó square

When in Eger the first destination should be the main square of the town, Dobó square! Arriving at the square you can see that the square is full of life, milling crowds: it is a popular social place of youngsters, it is where little children can run about, cyclers and rollerskaters can pass the time with their acrobatic shows and also a popular meeting point of lovers. Dobó square is really vivid in summer, at this time you can sense a kind of Mediterranean atmosphere.
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Wine-valley

Wine-valley

Eger is famous for its delicious wines and historic wine region. It is lesser known that the famous viniculture of Eger was established by Italian and Vallon settlers in the 1200s. According to a legend a handful of Hungarian troops managed to be successful over the thirty times bigger Turkish overpower in 1552 because they drank the blood of the bull deterring this way the Turks - not allowed to drink alcohol anyway. Wine was made already in Eger in the 16th century and later the tax payed for the archdiocese could be payed in wine, too. It can be said that wine has almost all the time been present in Eger, and nowadays it is better to say that excellent wines can be found in Eger. No.1 venue for tasting wine is Szépasszony-valley (Valley of the Beautiful Woman), about a 10-15-minute walk from the city centre, where there is friendship, good atmosphere, a real dolce vita.
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Basilica of Eger

Basilica of Eger

The Basilica of Eger is also named Saint Michael and Saint John cathedral. The building is also the cathedral of the archdiocese of Eger, which means the bishops and the archbishop do their everyday tasks here. The Basilica of Eger is considered to be the second largest religious building in Hungary. János László Pyrker was assigned archbishop of Eger in 1827 and he asked the great archtitect of the time, József Hild to make the designs of this magnificent building. The construction lasted from 1831 to 1836 and the building was consecrated in 1837.
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Archbishops Palace and Visitor Center

Archbishops Palace and Visitor Center

The impressive Baroque style Archbishop's Palace Cultural, Touristic and Visitor Centre offering a special church arts exhibition opened its gates to visitors in February 2016. In the exhibition you can have a glimpse in the every day life of bishops, archbishops who financed architectural constructions and supported fine arts besides their church coordinating activities during the centuries. The proof of it can be seen in the exhibition. The objects connected to masses or celebrations reflect on another part of their complex leader role. A special emphasis was payed on showing spaces of their private life, private piety, prayers to visitors - bringing the life of the followers of Christ nearer the public, addressing everyone.
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Observatory

Observatory

The most exciting attraction, Camera obscura can be foung on the top of the tower. You are prectically in the middle of a giant camera where the living picture of the town is projected on a table with a system of lenses and mirrors. This "Dark room" in Eger is unique universally, since it is the oldest working equipment of this kind on the continent! Visit it in sunny weather if you can, since the quality of the picture is the best at that time, in cloudy weather the quality is a bit worse and in rainy weather there is no picture, as the camera cannot work. The room was created even originally to make fun; an old legend in Eger says that jealous men in the past could control their wives walking in the town. So it was not worth braking faith any time and anywhere, especially in Eger...
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Minaret

Minaret

It is the minaret having survived in the best condition in the country. The tower is 40 meters high and the balcony circling the terrace in on 26 meters high. Up there your breath will be taken by the view, however, it is also due - besides the fantastic panorama - to having overcome 97 high steps of the spiral staircase to get up. Those having movement disability or height fobia perhaps the minaret will give nice memories admiring it rather from outside but those who like challenges it is really worth climbing up the balcony as well!
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Turkish bath

Turkish bath

The Turkish Bath in Eger is a little time travel to the past: the oldest pool of the bath, the Turkish pool was built in 1610! The most special pool of the building is the Big Mirror Pool the magic of which is given by the ornamented golden dome arching above it. Once it is enough of admiring it, look down, because the real surprise is there! The pool is fed by its own spring, the medicinal water of radon content is bubbling up from between the stone tiles making the bath really special.
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Archdiocese library

Archdiocese library

The Archdiocese Library of Eger was established by Károly Eszterházy in 1793, already from the beginning it was meant to be public, very rare at that time. The opening had been preceeded by thorough book collection since the second half of the 1760s, when professors were asked to make lists of literature they wished or to search for and buy them for the library. The institution finally opened with 16000 volumes. Several private collections melted into the stock of the library, also Károly Eszterházy's after his death. By now the total collection of the library has grown to 170 thousand volumes.
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Géza Gárdonyi Memorial House

Géza Gárdonyi Memorial House

Where Stars of Eger (title of the English version: Eclipse of the Crescent Moon) novel was born. Géza Gárdonyi's house is open to the public even today. Be a guest at the writer, experience the special atmosphere of the house and admire the big carved table where, besides many other novels, the world famous novel Stars of Eger (title of the English version: Eclipse of the Crescent Moon) was also born! Géza Gárdonyi lived in this house from 1897 to 1922.
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Archbishop's Garden

Archbishop's Garden

Archbishop's Garden is the biggest park of Eger, called as "the lungs of the town" by locals. On its place there used to be a natural forest fenced off and used for hunting by the bishops. The gates were opened for the public in 1919 - two of them, real wrought iron masterpieces of Henrik Fazola, are still standing on the northern and western sides of the park. The garden is bordered by Eger stream on the east and if you are lucky you can see wild duck families swimming in it.
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Ruins of Valide Sultana Bath

Ruins of Valide Sultana Bath

Nowadays can only be seen the ruins of Valide Sultana hamam, but a contemporary Turkish travelogue says it used to be a really impressive building with a red dome, pleasant water. The meaning of the name is: the Sultan's mother. Baths had great importance in the Ottoman culture, they were considered to be a kind of community spaces where people could meet and talk. And, anyway, they could thoroughly scrutinise each other. Since baths were not mixed at that time, men had to miss the sight of ladies, or, they got indirect information. But how? A good mother does everything for her son... Yes, at that time it was a custom that at first boys' mothers scrutinised the young, naked girls, just for the sake of their son. You can unleash your imagination, however, the real function was not that personal. In reality mothers just wanted to be sure of the health of the girls, whether their body was suitable for giving birth.
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Archbishop's cellar system

Archbishop's cellar system

Following the Turkish occupation bishop György Fenessy having returned to Eger did not want to live in the castle any more, but rather bought two building sites in the civic town and the tuff stones necessary for the construction of the palace were extracted from the hill behind. It proved to be a great idea: on the one hand the palace of the bishop was built, on the other hand a huge cellar system was created under the town having excellent micro-climate to store wine, so the wine received as tithe was started to be stored here. The bishop's cellar system used to strech 3 km long under the town from Hatvani-gate to Rác-gate.
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Serbian church

Serbian church

Serbian Church or Greek Orthodox Serbian Church is situated in a hill next to the historic city centre. The church was completed in 1799 designed by János Povolni in Late-Baroque style. It was renovated in 1979, now it functions as a museum as well waiting for tourists and visitors. The building cannot be visited on Monday. The interior design of the church is different from the other Baroque churches in Eger. The major attraction inside is the wall of icons made in Baroque and Late-Baroque style, depicting Saint Nicolas, the apostols, saints, prophets. The sanctuary, the altar with canope and an exhibition showing a pilgrimage site are nice attractions. It is worth paying attention to the special late Baroque pulpit and the red pine benches, too.
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Zsolnay fountain

Zsolnay fountain

It is unique that a fountain is covered in Zsolnay glaze, what is more, the location is not common either: in the yard of a shopping centre! We must go back to 1894, when the building of the shopping centre was built. Sounds unbelievable? There is a little twist in the story, that is true, because the building complex was built to be a tobacco factory which functioned there for 111 years. The fountain got to its place in 1996, on the 100th anniversary of the factory. It depicts the ornamented water tower serving the factory. In 2005 the factory was closed but a new shopping centre was opened which in respect to its past has preserved the valuable parts of the building, has renovated and has been using them.
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