Esztergom

Esztergom , Ger. Gran, city (1991 est. pop. 29,751), N Hungary, on the Danube River and the border of Slovakia. It is a county administrative center, a river port, and a railroad terminus. There are food-processing industries, but the city's largest economic concern is a large Japanese-owned motor vehicle assembly plant. Situated in an extensive vineyard region, Esztergom carries on trade in wine and grain. Its mineral springs make the city popular with tourists. Esztergom is one of Hungary's oldest towns. The Roman Strigonium was the first royal residence and the capital of Hungary until the 13th cent. King Stephen I, later canonized as Hungary's patron saint, was crowned at Esztergom (his birthplace) in 1001. The city has been the seat of the archprimate of Hungary since 1198. Mongols sacked Esztergom in 1241, and the Turks occupied it during much of the 16th and 17th cent. Overlooking the Danube is the city's 19th-century dome-topped cathedral, thought to be the most beautiful church in Hungary. The palace of the primates contains a museum of antiquities and a library rich in old manuscripts and incunabula.

Esztergom, Hungary Strigonium, Gran Originally a Celtic settlement and then a Roman stronghold called Strigonium, its name is derived from the Frankish Osterringun ‘Eastern Fortress’ as part of the border defence system. It was occupied by the Ottoman Turks between 1543 and 1683. When part of the Austro‐Hungarian Empire after the withdrawal of the Turks, it was given the German name Gran ‘grain’ to signify its importance as a grain market. The town was the capital of the early Arpád kings from the 10th to the mid‐13th centuries.