Exploration of former and current administrative buildings

Kőszeg has been the centre of the surrounding neighbourhoods since the foundation of the castle and the town itself.

11 stations 1 km

The Németújvári family made it the seat of their estates, and the trade routes from far and near ran together in this place. The wines from neighbouring villages were gathered in the town and taken abroad in the 14th century. Kőszeg was appointed the seat of district administration. A great number of military personnel were stationed in the neighbourhood for centuries, the headquarters of which was seated in Kőszeg. Until the middle of the 19th century, the municipal jurisdiction operated in the town hall, where executions were often held for certain criminal matters. The separation of administration and jurisdiction resulted in the formation of the Kőszeg District Court.

Térkép

Látnivalók

1. Transdanubian District Board, Rajnis J. u. 5. GPS: 47.389730936182055 / 16.539711274631703

From 1808, the Transdanubian District Board operated in this building, to which 11 counties belonged: Sopron, Vas, Zala, Komárom, Somogy, Győr, Fejér, Veszprém, Moson, Tolna and Baranya. The Transdanubian District Board continued its operation in one of the three houses of Kristóf Gerhauser’s. The chairmen of the Board were Pál Matkovics and Dávid Chernel, who was Kálmán Chernel’s grandson. Kálmán Chernel, after whom the neighbouring street was named, was the famous historian of the town and great-grandfather of the famous ornithologist, István Chernel.
The building was home of the colonel of the cavalry stationing in the town and then Vas County purchased it as a quarters house. At that time it contained 16 bedrooms, 4 kitchens, a small cellar and a large cellar, and a stable for 10 horses.

2. Járási Tanács, Rájnis J. u. 2. (Benedictine monastic quarters – Ferenc Faludi plaque) GPS: 47.389596 / 16.540142

This house and the adjacent secondary school were the largest buildings in the inner town. It was built as a Jesuit monastery according to the Italian Pietro Orsolini’s plans. After dissolution the order, Piarist and Benedictine monks lived in the building. After expulsion of the Benedictines, the house was turned into apartments and then in 1950, it became the seat of the new Kőszeg District Council. The institution was out of operation for a long time, as the district was broken off and connected to Szombathely’s district in 1954.

The Benedictines regained its ownership in 1990; however, it is used by the Society of the Divine Word at present.

3. Transdanubian District Board, Rajnis J. u. 6. (Transdanubian District Board, Rajnis J. u. 6.) GPS: 47.39011400010921 / 16.53958770418881

Founded in 1724, the Transdanubian District Board placed its first offices in this house. This court was responsible for nobles’ property, inheritance and other financial matters. The court developed a good reputation, which spread over all of Transdanubia with its 11 counties. The court staff consisted of noble lawyers from the neighbouring counties, namely Count András Hadik, subsequently serving as a Marshall, or Count Jakab Szvetics, a Royal Chief Justice.

4. Jurisics Castle, Rájnis J. u. 9. GPS: 47.389670 / 16.538719

Castle Jurisics is our largest historical memorial, where the late gothic and early renessiance castle corridor is one of the most beautiful of its kind within Hungary The former Landowner’s Castle surrounded by town-wall and the moat is situated in the north-western corner of the inner city. In the Castle Courtyard, the earliest remnants of the former pile-dwelling were found. After the Siege by the Tatars in mid-13th century, they started to build this lower castle in the valley beside the settlement. This lower castle substituted the former upper castle’s role in the middle age, as the upper old castle was too complicate to be approached for trade and administration.
The castle have two distinct parts: the Outer and the Inner Castle. The guards and the service personnel of the castle was settled in the buildings of the Outer Castle. At the end of the 13th Century its owner was the Heder family. Prince Habsburg Albert took the castle in 1289. Andrew III, the last king of the Hungarian Arpad House ruined the upper old castle int he Kőszeg hills, according to the terms of the Hainburg treaty.

In 1327 the Anjou king Carlo Roberto took the castle from the family Kőszegi after harsh years of fightings. He gave strong royal privilages to the town after his victory. Town walls with strong towers were built protecting Kőszeg against the onslaughts of the Austrians. The water of the river Güns (Gyöngyös) was directed into the moats around the castle walls. The castle went to the Garai family in 1392, then to the Habsburg family until the renessiance Hungarian King Mathias Corvinus took it back in 1482. The Habsburgs took Kőszeg again after the death of Mathias in 1492.

The most wellknown Siege of Kőszeg happened in 1532, when the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman attacked Kőszeg fiercly with his 80 thousands soldiers on his way to Wien. The Captain and Protector of the Castle, Nikolaus Jurisich has its sculpture today in the outer courtyard. Even today, there is a festive 11 o’clock bell-ring in Kőszeg conmemorating the ending of the month-long, unsuccessful Ottoman Siege in 1532.
A brick bridge over the moat leads us to the inner castle. Just next to the gate we can find the traditional herb-garden of the castle, together with a smal handicraft shop, the Nature Shop where one can buy the traditional products of the Kőszeg region and the Írottkő Nature Park. A nicely planned inner court receives us behind the gates. A rich Castle Exchibition is located in the southern and eastern wings. Centuries of Kőszeg exhibition, the Royal Crown Room, the Golden Room and Armoury awaits the visitors. The renessiance corridor and the Cavalier’s Room gives place to numerous cultural events and to various art exchibitions.

More information: www.jurisicsvar.hu

5. Járásbíróság - szolgabíróság, Chernel K. u. 12. GPS: 47.38859446236178 / 16.539463483964383

At the beginning of the 18th century, the 2 smaller buildings belonged to the Nádasdy family. They were united and converted into a three-story building by the Sigray family. It became the largest and tallest palace in Kőszeg. The Transdanubian District Board rented the premises between 1816 and 1821. The offices of the Kőszeg District Court were here for the longest time. From the 1870s onwards the entire first and second floors housed the offices of judiciary and land registry. Between the two world wars, the district judge also worked here.

In 1887, a law office was opened here by Géza Csorba, who was Mihály Táncsics’s son-in-law and previously edited the Népszava and then Kőszeg és Vidéke Journal during his stay in the town.

6. Transdanubian District Board, Chernel K. u. 3. GPS: 47.38897351676519 / 16.539560101739326

The Transdanubian District Board operated in the building starting in 1821. It was home of Judge Ignác Hazatius and had 15 bedrooms, 3 kitchens and a stable for 6 horses.

One of the most notable residents was Károly Reichard, who had a printing press and provided religious books for most of the Protestants in the country. One of the owners was the First Austro-Hungarian Bogdány Cannery, which produced instant soup powder to the Austro-Hungarian Army. From 1921 to 1931, the building was home of Count Tamás Erdődy, who was the personal aide of King Charles IV.

7. Mayor’s Office – Town Hall – Local Council, Jurisics M. tér 8. GPS: 47.388831 / 16.540790

It is unique in Hungary, that the leaders, mayors of the town have been working in this building continously since the 14th century. The magistrat, the council, the mayor, the local government – no matter how you call it, the community matters and the legal procedures took always place here in the town hall for almost 700 years. Those who were sentenced to prison, they spent their punishment here. Jury had to decide in matters of witchcraft. Large part of the community wine was also kept here until 1848, that was served to the public in the pubs. Town administrators were living here, and once even a smithery and a butchery operated here under the arcades.

Today form of the building was established around 1820, while the facade and the colourful coat of arms was prepared around 1712. The coat of arms show: the Jurisics family coat of arms (left), the historical coat of arms of Hungary (middle), the historical coat of arms of Kőszeg (right). The two paintings show: Maria, the Lady Protector of Hungary with the Jesus-son (second from left), King Stephan I in full royal decoration (fourth from left).

The city hall is opened to the tourists on the early november Royal Days of Kőszeg, commemorating the 1328 free royal city status!

8. General House, Jurisics M. tér 4. GPS: 47.388689 / 16.540940

Home of the Town Museum. It was the traditional Centre of the military leaders of the town until 1719. In 1719 the Austrian emperor’s Army for House of the General of the neighbouring army contingents from gr. Tamás Nádasdy. It served also as the military headquarter of the region. The building suffered greatly due to fire in 1945, but was renovated shortly after. In 1977 the local museum was formed here, and the traditional handicrafts and the historical workshops are instolled and shown in unique richness.

9. Noble Court, Jurisics M. tér 6. GPS: 47.388634 / 16.540634

The northern wing of the General House was at the disposal of the county in the second half of the 19th century. There the offices of the Kőszeg district were housed for decades. Among others, Peter Babos, Elek Szabó and Miklós Somogyi worked here, many of whom were prominent members of the county’s administration. Some of them, however, ended up in prison for corruption. During the historic renovation of the building in 1977, a double-arched loggia from the 17th century was found, which was unfurled and can be seen today. In the same year the first floor of the adjacent town hall was connected to the neighbouring building with a passage so that the customers could directly reach the offices.

10. Board House, Schneller I. u. 3. GPS: 47.39016027564354 / 16.54093475820212

One of the biggest buildings of the inner town was considered to be the local headquarters of administration and justice. The Transdanubian District Board operated here three times. Among others, Count Jakab Sigray and Count Lajos Széchényi, brother of “the greatest Hungarian,” worked here. The local municipality purchased the house for 14,000 forints in 1826. After minor renovations, reduced rent was requested from 1826 to 1850, then from 1861 to 1869. Under the neo-absolutism, Kőszeg District Court used the building and until the early 1880s, Kőszeg District Court trials were held here. After that the offices were turned into flats to rent, and the national police were once housed in the building.

11. Transdanubian District Board, Zrínyi M. u. 8. GPS: 47.39136767532202 / 16.539197373341274

After leaving the Berthoni house (6 Rájnis Street) the Transdabunian District Board moved from the inner town. The important institution next spent 37 years on Tyúk street in the suburb of Sziget. The owners were Franz Groszmann and then István Horváth, who worked as the lawyer of the Board.

The chairman was Baron Károly Sigray, who later had a significant administrative career and was given title of Count from Maria Theresa. Antal Adelffy, after whom the Kelcz-Adelffy Orpahange was named, supported the Board’s operation with remarkable donations. Count Ferenc Széchényi, the founder of the Hungarian National Museum, had his legal practice at the Court as well.