Csongrád-Csanád

In the sunny southeast of Hungary, where the Maros River flows into the Tisza, lies Csongrád-Csanád County. A vacation in Csongrád-Csanád County revolves around Szeged, the City of Sunshine, as well as paprika, salami, and warm thermal springs.

Szeged and Its Squares

Szeged was almost completely rebuilt after the devastating flood of 1879, with ring boulevards, Art Nouveau palaces, and a broad riverside promenade. In front of the twin-towered Votive Church, the Szeged Open-Air Festival takes place every summer, one of the oldest open-air festivals in Hungary. The university shapes life in the city center, and it was here that Albert Szent-Györgyi isolated vitamin C, for which he received the Nobel Prize in 1937. At the Pick Museum you can trace the history of the famous winter salami, and at the Paprika House that of the fiery spice. Also worth seeing are the New Synagogue, one of the most magnificent Jewish houses of worship in Hungary, with a blue-and-gold dome, and the Serbian Orthodox church in the Old Town. In the evening the terraces on Klauzál Square fill up, and in summer people swim at small beaches along the banks of the Tisza. With well over 2,000 hours of sunshine a year, Szeged is considered one of the sunniest cities in Hungary.

Sights in Csongrád-Csanád

Hódmezővásárhely is known for its pottery tradition and its unusually sprawling town layout. Makó, home of the famous onions, has a thermal bath designed by the architect Imre Makovecz, with organically curved wooden domes. Szentes and Csongrád lie on the Tisza, with riverside beach baths and fishermen's houses. Mórahalom, near the Serbian border, has grown into a small spa town thanks to its medicinal baths. In Ópusztaszer, a memorial park commemorates the Magyar conquest of the Carpathian Basin; the huge panoramic painting by Árpád Feszty depicts it over a length of more than a hundred meters.

Food and Best Time to Visit

Szeged fish soup made with Tisza fish is considered the counterpart to the Baja version, and Szeged paprika goulash is a classic. Szeged is a good two hours from Budapest by train, and about as quick via the M5 motorway. The best time to visit is May through September, when the open-air festival is on and the Tisza is warm enough for swimming.