Description
Győr is one of Hungary’s oldest cities, the centre of the Little Hungarian Plain and the county seat of Győr-Moson-Sopron County. Thanks to its favourable location, extensive road network and the navigable Mosoni-Duna River, Győr is known as the gateway of the West and already played an important role in the Little Hungarian Plain and the country in the earliest days of the Hungarian state. It was no coincidence that King St. Stephen made Győr a secular and ecclesiastic centre, helping to define the city’s future course of development. Situated along the main route between Buda and Vienna, the town was already famous for trade in the Middle Ages and played an important role in the country’s political life. Along with the city’s national significance, the heroic courage of its people in resisting the country’s enemies was another reason that King Stephen V made Győr a royal city in 1271. With this, the city was granted the free election of judges, freedom from customs, the right to hold markets and staple rights. Laymen were also accorded these rights, but they remained under the control of the nobility. During the Árpád period, the title of royal city afforded the greatest rights a settlement could obtain. Győr and its castle are remembered in history as great bastions defending Christianity in Hungary and Europe.
“crowing” of the copper rooster.
