Monument of the Battle of Mohacs - Pecs

Route: Szeged - Monument of the Battle of Mohacs - Pecs - Szeged
Duration: 9 h
Our first short stop we will make at the monument of the Battle of Mohács which was fought on 29 August 1526 near Mohács, and was a crucial event for the history of Europe for the following centuries. In the battle, forces of the Kingdom of Hungary led by King Louis II and Bohemia were defeated by forces of the Ottoman Empire led by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. The Ottoman victory led to the partition of Hungary for several centuries between the Ottoman Empire, the Habsburg Monarchy, and the Principality of Transylvania. The death of King Louis II as he was fleeing from the battlefield marked the end of the Jagiellonian dynasty both in Hungary and in Bohemia. The Historical Memorial Park of Mohács was set up in 1976 as a natural monument of the Battle of Mohács on the 450th anniversary of the battle. The park is a graveyard of more than 1700 soldiers. The central building of the park is the atrium, which was designed by György Vadász. In the centre of the atrium stands a fountain reminding us of a broken flower. The three parts of the broken rose symbolizes our country that was divided into three parts. Furthetmore, on the walls of the atrium, historical and archaeological tableaus depicting the battle can also be seen. In the park, there is also an elliptically arranged graveyard which was designed by gardener Buda Zalay. In the graveyard, there are five common graves without any systematic order. Among the common graves can be seen the statues of King Louis II, Pál Tomori, Dorottya Kanizsai, Sultan Sulejman, and many unknown soldiers carved of wood. The building bears the shape of the Holy Crown of Hungary. The unconventional exhibition taking place inside the building is intended to make the battle a concrete, tangible historical experience for all the visitors. Apart from viewing the contemporary archaeological findings, visitors can also watch a historical film. The main attraction of the new exhibition, however, is the visualized battleground, where visitors can see themselves in contemporary clothes in a filmic background by the means of the so called augmented reality technique. Next we will stop at the Pecs which is the fifth largest city of Hungary, located on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains. The Pannon-Celtic founders called it Sopianae and was one of the administrative centers of the province of Pannonia. It was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2000. Pécs guards a 2000 years of history started with the Romans at the beginning of the 2nd century. Its episcopate was founded in 1009 by Stephen I, and the first university of Hungary was founded here, in 1367 by King Louis the Great. Moreover, Pécs is the richest town in Hungary in terms of Turkish architecture also, with the ruins of Memi Pasa’s Baths and the mausoleum of the miracle worker Idris Baba. During the tour we visit the Early Christian Necropolis (UNESCO World Heritage Site), the Cathedral of Pecs, Gazi Kasim’s Mosque on the main square, the world famous Zsolnay and Csontváry Museums, Basilica, Bishop’s Palace,  Stephen square, Szechenyi square, the Early Christian Burial Ground: Cella Septichora, Barbican and will walk through the beautiful inner city.After free time we will return to Szeged.
Price: Per person