Pecs

Pécs 

a city in Hungary, in the southern foothills of the Mecsek Mountains. Administrative center of the megye (county) of Baranya; population, 145,300 (1970). Pécs is a major transportation and industrial center. Coal is mined nearby, and there is a thermal power plant outside Pécs. The city has machine-building enterprises, food-processing industry (breweries, wineries), tanneries, tobacco factories, and a cokery. Pécs is well known for its ceramics, especially the porcelain and faience produced at the former Zsolnay factory. The university in the city was first founded in 1367; it was newly founded in 1922.

Pécs’s history goes back about 2,000 years. Its Roman name was Sopinae; later the city was named Quinque Ecclesiae (Five Churches).

Preserved in the center of the city, marked by chaotic medieval planning, are ancient Christian catacombs (fourth century), a Romanesque cathedral (11th century; reconstructed, 1882–91, architect F. Schmidt; the 11th-century reliefs have been preserved), a Romanesque lower church (11th century), the Belváros Parish Church (the former Mosque of Gazi Kassim, 16th century), and the Mosque of Jakovali Hassan (16th century). Major contemporary architectural projects have been carried out. These include the construction of the city’s western section (1950’s, architects E. Dénes and others), the Olimpia Restaurant (1960, architect L. Gádoros), and a school (early 1960’s, architect M. Nánási). There is an equestrian monument in Pécs to János Hunyadi (bronze, 1956, by P. Pátzay). The Janus Pan-nonius Museum, which was founded in 1898, houses archaeological remains, folk art, and 20th-century Hungarian art.

REFERENCE

Dercsényi, D., F. Pogány, and Z. Szentkirályi. Pécs. Budapest, 1966.