Székesfehérvár is Hungary's first capital and one of the country's most historically important cities. In the Middle Ages, royal coronations and the burials of rulers took place here. The town received its present-day baroque appearance in the 18th century.
Originally the city was called Alba Regia, and its present name was given by Stephen the Great. He was also the first ruler buried in the local cathedral, and his successors were crowned there. Today, only ruins and a small chapel of St. Anna . It is the only monument from before the Turkish invasion in Székesfehérvár, and the city's great medieval history is reminiscent of the Millennium Monument .
The Turkish invasions that started in the 15th century interrupted the splendor of Székesfehérvár. The city began to revive only after defeating the occupiers at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries. It was then that almost all of today's buildings in the historic center were built.
You can also find historic churches among the ornate townhouses and palaces of Székesfehérvár's Old Town. Almost all of them are characterized by baroque splendor. The most important are the Cathedral of St. Stefan , the Carmelite Church and the Serbian Orthodox Church . An interesting fact is the Bory Castle , built at the beginning of the 20th century by the sculptor Jeno Bory, which combines neo-Romanesque and neo-Gothic elements.
The greatest attractions of Székesfehérvár are the local museums, which mostly refer to the glorious medieval history of the city. These are the King Stephen I SaintMuseum , the Diocesan Museum , the Royal House of Remembrance , the City History Museum , as well as themed museums such as the Jeno Kovacs Clock Museum , the Csók István Gallery , the Black Eagle Pharmacy Museum , the City Gallery of the Deak Collection and the Bella Italia Museum. The city's Palotavaros Open-Air Museum is also interesting, and includes a fragment of the former Serbian district with its traditional buildings and a church.
