ESZTERGOM (Ger. Gran;

See also:

• LAT

Lat. Strigonium)  , a town of Hungary, capital of the county of the same name, 36 m . N.W. of Budapest by rail . - Pop . (190o) 16,948, mostly Magyars and Roman Catholics . It is situated on the right bank of the Danube, nearly opposite the confluence of the Gran, and is divided into the town proper and three suburbs . The town is the residence of the primate of Hungary, and its cathedral, built in 1821-187o, after the model of St Peter's at Rome, is one of the finest and largest in the country . It is picturesquely built on an elevated and commanding position, 215 ft. above the Danube, and its dome, visible from a long distance, is 26o ft. high, and has a diameter of 52 ft . The interior is very richly decorated, notably with fine frescoes, and its treasury and fine library of over 6o,000 volumes are famous . Besides several other churches and two monastic houses, the principal buildings include the handsome palace of the primate, erected in 1883; the archiepiscopal library, with valuable incunabula and old MSS.; the seminary for the education of Roman Catholic priests; the residences of the chapter; and the town-hall . The population is chiefly employed in cloth-weaving,wine-making and agricultural pursuits . An iron bridge, 1664 ft. long, connects Esztergom with the market town of Parkany (pop . 2836) on the opposite bank of the Danube .

Esztergom is one of the

oldest towns of Hungary, and is famous as the birthplace of St Stephen,the first prince crowned " apostolic king " of Hungary . During the early times of the Hungarian monarchy it was the most important mercantile centre in the country,. and it was the meeting-place of the diets of 1016, 11 i 1, 11 14 and 1256 . It was almost completely destroyed by Tatar hordes in 1241, but was rebuilt and fortified by King Bela IV . In 1543 it fell into the hands of the Turks, from whom it was recovered, in 1595, by Carl von Mansfeld . In 1604 it reverted to the Turks, who held it till 1683, when it was regained by the united forces of John Sobieski, king of Poland, and Prince Charles of Lorraine . It was created an archbishopric in Too, . During the Turkish occupation of the town the archbishopric was re-moved to Tyrnau, while the archbishop himself had his residence in Pressburg . Both returned to Esztergom in 182o . In 1708 it was declared a free city by Joseph I . On the 13th of April 1818 it was partly destroyed by fire . For numerous authorities on the see and cathedral of Esztergom see V . Chevalier, Repertoire des sources .

Topo-bibliogr. s.v . " Gran." Of these may be mentioned especially F . Knauz, Monumenta Ecclesiae Strigoniensis (3 vols., Eszterg, 1874) ; Joseph Danko, Geschichtliches . aus dem Graner Domschdtz (Gran, 188o) .