Description
Located in the southern part of Hungary’s Transdanubia region, Baranya county is renowned for its unique natural and climatic features, and its historical cities. It is also home to one of Hungary’s southernmost, well-known, established wine regions in the Villányi mountains, which has thrived in part due to its sub-Mediterranean climate conditions. Events of great national importance played out in many of the historical cities in the county, such as Pécs, Mohács, Szigetvár and Siklós. The city of Pécs is the county seat of Baranya county and one of Hungary’s oldest cities. Currently ranked fifth in the country in terms of size, it was founded by the Romans in the 2nd century, with the name Sopianae. In the old town cemetery, Romans and their descendants built burial chambers and chapels in the 4th century. The ancient Christian necropolis in Pécs was inscribed on the UNESCO list of world heritage in 2000, and is the only site in Hungary that has achieved this distinction for its archaeological and art history qualities. King Saint Stephen established a bishopric in Pécs in 1009. The four towers of the basilica stand as the symbol of the Diocese of Pécs. Hungary’s first university was also founded in Pécs by King Louis the Great. The mosque of Pasha Gazi Kasim was built on the city’s main square during the 150-year occupation by the Turks. Pécs was elevated to the rank of royal free city in 1780, greatly spurring its civic and economic development. Industrialisation accelerated significantly in the 19th century, with the internationally renowned Zsolnay ceramics company still a landmark today. The city held the title of European cultural capital in 2010.
Front: The front of the coin depicts one of the city’s most important buildings, the Downtown Candlemas Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary (also known as the “Dzsámi”). A figure from the Zsolnay fountain erected in honour of Vilmos Zsolnay, founder of the city’s famous porcelain factory, can be seen in the right foreground. The water springing from the fountain recalls the streams from the Mecsek mountains, which facilitated the city’s industrial development in the latter half of the 19th century. The coat-of-arms of the city of Pécs is delicately shown on the side of the fountain. The left side of the coin features the Holy Trinity statue erected in the wake of the plague in the 18th century, with the TV tower on the Misina peak in the background, which is Hungary’s tallest building with a height of 197 metres. The circular legend “MAGYARORSZÁG” is found at the top centre. The mint date “2024” and the mint mark “BP.” are on the left side of the front. Below the Zsolnay fountain to the left, the circular legend reads “20000 FORINT” with the legend “PÉCS” above it.
Back: The back of the coin depicts the Mecsek mountains in the background with the TV tower of Pécs in the distance. On the left there is a map-like image of the county, with the legend “BARANYA” and “VÁRMEGYE” (county) in two lines. One of Hungary’s protected plants is the peony subspecies “paeonia officinalis banatica”, which is only found in Baranya county. The image of the flower is located to the lower right on the back of the coin, next to the circular legend “BÁNÁTI BAZSARÓZSA”. The grape motif that is also found in the county’s coat-of-arms alludes to the wine regions of Pécs and Villány-Siklósi. The master mark of designer Gábor Kereszthury is found next to the image of the peony.
