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This town and its neighbourhood have always been in the join of the regional connections. This is the place where in the Old World and Middle Ages the only passable road led through the marshlands of Danube and Hanság areas. The roads from the southern German areas leading to Pannonia (east-west), as well as the roads from the Czech basin to the Mediterranean (north-south) met here. The Limes in the times of the Romans, Vindobona (Vienna) – Carnuntum (Petronell) – Ad Flexum (Magyaróvár) – Arrabona (Győr) – Brigetio (Szőny) – Aquincum (Óbuda) was leading through this area. One of the important places of the Limes was Ad Flexum. There was a narrow passage between two large water- and marshlands, and due to this fact this place had a significant role from military-, defence- and commercial aspects and therefore it became one of the trade- and military routes.

This had and has been a determinant factor in the history of the region. In the first centuries of the Middle Age this area was called the „Moson gate”. Stephen 1st organised the most important base and the centre of the county of the feudal Hungarian state around the royal castle of Moson, because it had excellent position in order to control and block the traffic. This had been a significant role during the crusades and later during the Turkish wars. During the later centuries this position also resulted in enormous profit in the stock market. Having ruined Castle of Moson in 1271. Magyaróvár took over the military and administrative role. Therefore it was Queen Elizabeth who gave township to the settlement of Magyaróvár in 1354 that had been the shire town of Moson County before the uniting of counties following the Trianon Treaty of Peace.

From the 16th century the fortified castle of Magyaróvár and the surrounding huge Habsburg estate facilitated the dynamic development of trade and handicraft. Despite of the restrictions of the franchise of the town this role of centre of estates was profitable, both in the establishment of the Academy and in the evolvement of the early manufacturing industries. Trade routes were crossing Moson County, its corn market reached of that of Győr’s, and the rivers helped the booming of flouring-mills. In the first thirty years of the 20th century highly developed manufacturing industry came to existence in Moson and Magyaróvár. The main labour force of these industries came from the neighbouring settlements. In 1939 Moson and Magyaróvár united and Mosonmagyaróvár consolidated to become the centre of the small region. Up to 1984 when the districts were reformed the town had been the residence of districts, but due to its location and institutions, schools, hospital, trade- and financial services offered it has still been the centre of the region even today.

Walk in the town

Mosonmagyaróvár is situated 15 kms from the Austrian and Slovakian border, beside the highway, where the Danube’s Moson river meets the Lajta river. The location of the town was due to economical and geographical circumstances.There had already been a watch post called Ad Flexum along the Limes at those times. Later the town was a lord lieutenant centre after the Hungarians settled down and later it was a chief-town of the county.

These two settlements united in 1939. Lucsony also joined Magyaróvár in 1905, and Mosonmagyaróvár has become a town of 30 000 inhabitants by now. The local thermal bath is one of the main touristic attractions. Its medical water is used for curing locomotor disorders, chronic inflammatory diseases, as well as gastric and intestinal troubles. The thermal bath is open throughout the year. Its water is reputable medical water that ranks among the five of Europe’s most efficient medical waters. It contains chloride and alkaline-hydrocarbon with a considerable amount of iodine and dissolved salt. 

In the ’90s a lot of hotels, pensions, apartments and restaurants were built one after the other in Mosonmagyaróvár. Now there are 15 remarkable high quality accommodations and they are able to lodge approx. 1000 people. During a 2-3 weeks therapy the residing guests of our town get acquainted with historical traditions, take part in cultural programmes, get the taste of gastronomical offers that satisfies every demand. The region of the town, the Szigetköz area gives great  opportunity to go on pleasant excursions.

Let’s start our sightseeing at the Óvár castle:

There was a lift-bridge earlier, which over spanned the moat. At that place today there is a brick bridge to walk over to the barrel-roof tunnel-like castle gate, which was built in the 15th century. You can see the Gothic style niches, tombstone epitaphs of the Roman era, and memorial plaquette from the 19th and 20th century.

Óvár castle was built onto the ruins of the Roman settlement. This used to be an irregular rectangular building that was reconstructed several times since the 13th century. Following the defeat of Rákóczi War of Independence the military significance of the castle was lost. In 1818 the son-in-law of the Habsburg monarch Maria-Theresa, Albert Casimir Saxon-Teschen duke founded an Agricultural Institution in the building. The legal successor of this institution, the West-Hungarian University Faculty of Agricultural Sciences can be found in the building of the castle today. The former Agricultural Engineer Training College began to operate in 1818. The two-year long education began in Latin and German languages, then from 1869 onwards in Hungarian and German languages.

Beside the entrance of the castle the bust of Duke Albert Casimir can be seen, who founded the institution’s legal successor. It was inaugurated on occasion of the 185th anniversary of its foundation on April 29th, 2004. The statue was made by a sculptor of Pécs town, Ferenc Prischler.

In the inner court of the castle the bust and memorial bench of the poet Nicolaus Lenau can be seen, who was a student of the institution in 1822-23. There is a museum exhibition on the history of the institution inside the building of the castle. In front of the castle there is a war memorial and a statue of commemoration of 1956. Next to the secessionist building of the university (opened in 1912) the Saint Anne-chapel of Lucsony can be found. It was built to remember the plague epidemic in 1713.

The former estate mill built on the river Lajta was in operation from 1648 to 1980. One of these in the group of buildings, which has been under restoration, is the one-time brewery.

The statue of Saint John of Nepomuk stands in Deák Square. It was erected in 1744 as one of our significant Baroque monuments. In the same square a memorial plaquette was placed on the wall of house No.3 in October 2003. The Association of Patrons of the Town had a plaquette made in honour of Ferenc Deák – who is called „the wise of the nation” among Hungarians - as one of the events of the Deák-days festivities. The former two-storey ducal palace of the Habsburgs can also be seen in the square on the corner-balcony of which a plaquette can be seen to remember Kossuth’s visit.

The town’s first high school, the Piarist Monastery and Grammar School is situated in Fő (Main) Street and was founded in 1739. On the other side of this street several Baroque dwelling houses can be seen with their inner courts giving a kind of intimate atmosphere. One of them is Fekete Sas Hotel and Restaurant, the oldest hostelry in town. It is now a students’ hostel.

The Town Hall (County Hall until 1924) was built in 1892 in neorenaissance style. The plaquette on its wall witnesses the role of the town during the times of the Napoleon wars. The coat of arms of Moson county adorns the facade. The Cselley-house is the gem of Fő Street. In the building comprising Gothic marks, exhibitions on the history of industry of Hansági Museum can be visited, as well as the Gyurkovics collection and a lapidary in its barrel-vaulted cellar.

Next to the old town hall we get to the Szent László (Saint Ladislas) Square. In the center of the square there is the Saint Gotthard Parish Church, built in the 18th century. The single-nave church has Baroque interior. The crypt is the burial-ground of Grand-duke Frigyes Habsburg and his wife. The statue of Saint Ladislas inaugurated in 1993 is Ferenc Lebó’s work.

On Magyar Street, the pedestrian street of the town we reach the neogothic Lutheran church. Inside the church you can see the plaquette of Gál Huszár protestant preacher.Opposite the church in an open area between Magyar Street and Hospital Street there is the statue „Europe-stone”, work of Benedek Nagy sculptor of Mór. It was inaugurated on April 30th 2004, just hours before Hungary became member of the European Union.  

At the junction of the main roads we pass by a park of banners and the Municipal Hospital to get to the Hansági Museum in front of which a memorial statue stands in order to remind the year 1848. The neoclassical building of the museum was completed by 1912. It houses a permanent exhibition on the history of the town and its region.

Walking down Szent István (Saint Stephen) Street towards Moson we catch a glimpse of the Calvinist church. It was built in the style of the Transylvanian wooden churches by Bálint Szeghalmi, and consecrated in 1941. The house No. 123 is the birthplace of Carl Flesch violinist and teacher of music. His memory is cherished by a relief on the wall of the house. It is Tibor Rieger’s work. The biennial international violin competition bearing his name takes place in the Cultural Centre that is also named after him.The Church of Saint John of Nepomuk in Moson was originally a Baroque building reconstructed in the beginning of 1900. It has contemporary Baroque internal furnishing. A stone cross stands in front of it with an inscription in German and the date 1836. Ferenc Lebó’s work, the statue of King St. Stephen was inaugurated on 20th August 2000 in the honour of the Millenium.