Seattle-Pécs Sister City Association
About Pécs
Pécs is located on the southern slopes of the Mecsek Hills, three hours by train from Budapest. It enjoys a mild climate with over 200 days of sunshine per year.
The fastest growing city in Hungary, it is already one of the most popular turist destinations in the country, with a promising future in international trade. A half-hour drive from Pécs one can enjoy a multitute of wines grown the old-fashioned way in a bucolic setting, as well as famous health spas.
With 180,000 inhabitants, Pécs is the administrative center of Baranya County. Its large university, founded in 1367, is the oldest universitiy in Hungary and fifth oldest in Europe. Its four-spired Romanesque Cathedral, founded in the 11th century by King Stephen I, is one of Hungary's most valuable medieval historic monuments. Its industries include wine and beer production, leather crafts, and the famous Zsolnay porcelain works. Its characteristic tiles adorn the rooftops of many old buildings and two museums house a treasure of fine ceramic vessels and plates.
The fine arts are held in high esteem. Pécs houses an internationally- known ballet company, symphony, opera, and theater companies, many museums, and beautifully-restored architecture. In 2010 Pécs was chosen as the Cultural Capital of Europe by the European Union.
The newly-completed Tudásközpont (Center of Knowledge) of Pécs, which combines the university, city and county libraries, has the third biggest collection on books in Hungary. It combines state-of- the-arts technology with an extraordinarily broad collection of books and other printed matter housed in an avant-guard structure with exquisite architetctual and artistic details. The range of books vary from scientific publications to 14th century historical manuscripts.
The University of Pécs also has a noteworthy botanical garden. It originally belonged to the Jesuit Grammar School, and later became part of the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Pécs. The garden became a botanical county preserve in 1989. It is located in almost 13 acres, and has 1200 trees and shrubs as well as at least 2000 perennials.
Pécs has known a long and varied history, going back for more than 2,000 years. Early Celtic warriors, Roman settlements, nomadic tribes, great Hungarian kings, Turkish invaders, Habsburg rulers, revolutions, wars, Soviet occupation, and now, freedom and democracy: Pecs has experienced all this. The remains and influences of its past have made Pécs a fascinating and beautiful city.