Official Name

Szentendre. The name is even translatable: In English it would be St. Andrew (szent = holy). The name derives from the parish church with the same name and was used since the Middle Ages.

Location

	Szentendre

Szentendre lies in the central part of Northern Hungary and stretches along the right (western) bank of the river Danube. →Budapest is only 20 km away to the south. The area in and around Szentendre is rather hilly, which makes it an interesting place.

Population

Approximately 20,000.

Orientation

The town stretches along the rivershore, but wide parts of the old town tower over the river Danube on the top of a hill. The train station is outside the old town in the south. From there, visitors first have to pass an underground passage and than walk along Kossuth Lajos utca. After a while, there's a tiny river. From there, walk along Dumtsa Jenõ utca (a few metres behind the river on the right there's the tourist information). After a while you will see the central square called Fõ tér. Further to the north on the top of the hill, there's the Templom tér (Church Square) with a church attached to it. A few metres away from Church Square there's the Serbian Orthodox Church.

The old town mainly consists of very narrow and scenic lanes and many churches. And even more tourists. Day by day, countless hords of tourists flock through the ppr old town. Because of that, there are also many souvenir shops and other appropriate facilities. Szentendre shouldn't be missed, but many travelers will be glad when they can leave this overcrowded place.

History

Centuries ago, especially during the 17th century, many people fled from →Serbia because of the advancing Ottomans. And so many Serbs decided to settle in a small town north of the capital →Buda. Soon they built their own churches and started trading. Visitors will soon notice that the atmosphere in Szentendre is different to other Hungarian towns. Artists seem to love that, and so the town became very popular with artists. In the centre, it rather looks like a village than a town. But there are seven churches and 14 museum and galleries in town. Especially during the weekends, day trippers from Budapest heavily outnumber the citizens of Szentendre.

Getting there / transportation

The best way to get to Szentendre are the HÉV (Budapest's local traffic company) commuter trains from →Budapest. Most of the trains start from Batthyány tér subway station. Halfway, the train stops in Aquincum (the old Roman ruins of Budapest). The ride takes 40 minutes only, the fare is less than 200 ft. From Szentendre, buses run along the Danube to the north to →Visegrád (45 minutes) and as far as →Esztergom (1½ hrs, around 500 Ft.). The bus station is adjacent to the HÉV-station.

The whole area around Fő tér (Central Square) is dominated by narrow lanes, with all of them being closed to traffic. In the vicinity, there are some museums and the Blagoveshtenska-Church, which is a Greek Orthodox church from the 18th century. From there, stairs lead to the St John Parish church, providing a fine view over the entire old town.

	The old town of Szentendre

Further to the north there's the characteristic Belgrade Cathedral, which is the largest Serbian church in town.

Among the museums, the large Hungarian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum north of the town is worth mentioning. Not all museums in Szentendre should be taken seriously. There are also curious museums such as the Marzipan Museum near St Peter & Paul church. Passionate museum lovers can easily spend two full days in Szentendre. As for everyone else, the town is just fine for a nice walk in the afternoon.

For details on interesting places around Szentendre see →Budapest, →Esztergom and →Visegrád & Vác. All of them are close to the centre. The Danube is particularly beautiful between Szentendre and Visegrád in the north.

Campsites, hotels, private accommodation - there's no lack of options in the small town. However, most people go back to Budapest the same day.

• www.szentendre.hu Official website of Szentendre with plenty of information. English and other languages available

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