Pecs tourist information

The area has been inhabited since ancient times, the oldest archaeological findings are 6000 years old. Before the Roman era the place was inhabited by Celts. When Western Hungary was a province of the Roman Empire (named Pannonia), the Romans founded several wine-producing colonies under the collective name of Sopianae where now Pécs stands, in the early 2nd century.

The centre of Sopianae was where now the Postal Palace stands. Some parts of the Roman aqueduct are still visible. When Pannonia province was divided into four administrative divisions, Sopianae was the capital of the division named Valeria.

After the Hungarians conquered the area of modern-day Hungary (late 9th–early 10th century) and founded the comitatus Baranya, the capital of the comitatus was not Pécs but a nearby castle, Baranyavár ("Baranya Castle".) Pécs, however, became an important religious centre and episcopal seat. In Latin documents the city was mentioned as Quinque Ecclesiae.

In 1064 when King Solomon made peace with his cousin, the later King Géza I, they celebrated Easter in Pécs. Shortly after the cathedral burnt down. The cathedral that stands today was built after this, in the 11th century.

After the Battle of Mohács (1526) in which the invading Ottoman army defeated the armies of King Louis II, the armies of Suleiman occupied and pillaged Pécs, killed the citizens and burnt the city.

Not only was a large part of the country occupied by Ottomans, the public opinion of who should be the king of Hungary was divided, too. One party supported Ferdinand of Habsburg, the other party crowned John Zápolya in Székesfehérvár. The citizens of Pécs supported Emperor Ferdinand, but the rest of Baranya county supported King John. In the summer of 1527 Ferdinand defeated the armies of Szapolyai and was crowned king on November 3. Ferdinand favoured the city because of their support, and exempted Pécs from paying taxes. Pécs was rebuilt and fortified.

A more peaceful era started after 1710. Industry, trade and viticulture prospered, manufactures were founded, a new city hall was built. The feudal lord of the city was the Bishop of Pécs, but the city wanted to free itself from episcopal control. Bishop George Klimó, an enlightened man (who founded the first public library of the country) would have agreed to cede his rights to the city, but the Holy See forbade him to do so. When Klimó died in 1777, Queen Maria Theresa quickly elevated Pécs to free royal town status before the new bishop was elected. This cost the city 83,315 forints.

During World War I Baranya county was occupied by Serbian troops, and it was not until August 1921 that Pécs could be sure that it remains part of Hungary. The University of Pozsony (modern-day Bratislava, Slovakia) was moved to Pécs after Hungary lost Pozsony according to the Treaty of Trianon.

During World War II Pécs suffered only minor damages, even though a large tank-battle took place 20–25 km south of the city, close to the Villány area late in the war, when the advancing Red Army fought its way towards Austria.

After the war development became fast again, and the city grew, absorbing several nearby towns. In the 1980s Pécs already had 180,000 inhabitants.

After the end of Socialist era (1989–1990) Pécs and its county, like many other areas, were hit hard by the changes, the unemployment rate was high, the mines and several factories were closed, and the war in neighboring Yugoslavia in the 1990s affected the tourism.

Pécs witnessed a revival in the 2000s, with a new motorway under construction between the city and Budapest, a new ring road bypassing the centre, a succesful bid to host the 2010 European Capital of Culture with many major projects for the development of the city under way, a critically acclaimed yearly national theater festival(POSZT), a new airport for the city and incorporation of a part of the city centre including an early Christian necropolis as a World Heritage site.