Győr

History

The area along the Danube River has been inhabited by varying cultures since ancient times. The first large settlement dates back to the 5th century BCE; the inhabitants were Celts. They called the town Ara Bona 'good altar', later contracted to Arrabona, a name which was used until the eighth century. Its shortened form is still used as the German (Raab) and Slovak (Ráb) names of the city.

Roman merchants moved to Arrabona during the 1st century BCE. Around 10 CE, the Roman army occupied the northern part of Western Hungary, which they called Pannonia. Although the Roman Empire abandoned the area in the 4th century due to constant attacks by the tribes living to the east, the town remained inhabited.

Around 500 the territory was settled by Slavs, in 547 by the Lombards, and in 568 – c. 800 by the Avars, at that time under Frankish and Slavic influence. During this time it was called Rabba and later Raab. Between 880 and 894, it was part of Great Moravia, and then briefly under East Frankish dominance.

The Magyars occupied the town around 900 and fortified the abandoned Roman fortress. Stephen I, the first king of Hungary, founded an episcopate there. The town received its Hungarian name Győr, which likely derives from Old Hungarian personal name Győr, who could be the county's first count. The town was affected by all the trials and tribulations of the history of Hungary: it was occupied by Mongols during the Mongol invasion (1241–1242) and then was destroyed by the Czech army in 1271.

After the disastrous battle of Mohács, Baron Tamás Nádasdy and Count György Cseszneky occupied the town for King Ferdinand I while John Zápolya also was attempting to annex it. During the Ottoman occupation of present-day central and eastern Hungary (1541 – late 17th century), Győr's commander Kristóf Lamberg thought it would be futile to try to defend the town from the Turkish army. He burned down the town and the Turkish forces found nothing but blackened ruins, hence the Turkish name for Győr, Yanık kale ('burnt castle').

During rebuilding, the town was surrounded with a castle and a city wall designed by the leading Italian builders of the era. The town changed in character during these years, with many new buildings built in Renaissance style, but the main square and the grid of streets remained.

Climate

Győr's climate is classified as oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb) closely bordering on a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa). Among them, the annual average temperature is 11.1 °C (52.0 °F), the hottest month in July is 21.6 °C (70.9 °F), and the coldest month is 0.3 °C (32.5 °F) in January. The annual precipitation is 569.6 millimetres (22.43 in), of which July is the wettest with 64.8 millimetres (2.55 in), while February is the driest with only 26.9 millimetres (1.06 in). The extreme temperature throughout the year ranged from −22.1 °C (−7.8 °F) on December 28, 1996, to 40.6 °C (105.1 °F) on August 8, 2013.

Main sights

The ancient core of the city is Káptalan Hill at the confluence of three rivers: the Mosoni-Danube, Rába, and Rábca. Püspökvár, the residence of Győr's bishops, can be easily recognized by its incomplete tower. Győr's oldest buildings are the 13th-century dwelling tower and the 15th-century Gothic Dóczy Chapel. The cathedral, originally in Romanesque style, was rebuilt in Gothic and Baroque style.

Other sights include:

Town Hall

Benedictine church of St. Ignatius of Loyola

Carmelite church

Museum of Roman Archaeology

Jedlik fountain

The Pannonhalma Archabbey is located some 20 km (12 miles) outside the town.

Renovation

After the year 2000 the city started many big construction and renovation projects.

The bigger changes include:

The Nádor-underpass, which relieved the Downtown's traffic infrastructure, and made the renovation of the Baross-Bridge possible.

Renovation of the Baross-Bridge.

Renovation of the old Soviet barracks and Bus Station by the company Leier.

Development of the Széchenyi István University, which is in close connection with AUDI Hungária ZRT.

Newly built Parking Houses which take off the high traffic load of the Downtown area. (e.g. József Attila and Dunakapu garage)

Renovation of the inner-downtown district. Széchenyi-square, Dunakapu-square, the territory next to the Moson-Danube and Rába.

Free City Bus which can be used by everyone to get anywhere in the Downtown Area.

The Győr Arcade at Városliget.

The Kálóczy Square near the Széchenyi István University.

The Jedlik Bridge, which enabled traffic & transport between Sziget and Révfalu district.

The Rába Quelle thermal spa

Economy

Audi AG subsidiary company Audi Hungaria Zrt. has a large factory in Győr, where the Audi TT sports car, the A3 Cabriolet, A3 Limousine, and many engines (1,913,053 engines in 2007) are built. The factory opened in 1994, at first producing inline-four engines for the Audi marque. Business then grew to assembling the Audi TT Coupé and TT Roadster. Eventually, V6 and V8 engines were also included, and after the acquisition of Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A., Audi then began to build V10 engines. The V10s for Audi vehicles are fully assembled here, but only the cylinder blocks for the Lamborghini V10. Engines are also supplied to other Volkswagen Group marques, but over 90% of Audi vehicle engines are made here. By 2020, the factory has a 12 MW solar roof, producing 9.5 GWh/year.

Politics

The current mayor of Győr is Bence Pintér.

The local Municipal Assembly, elected at the 2024 local government elections, is made up of 23 members (1 Mayor, 16 Individual constituencies MEPs and 6 Compensation List MEPs) divided into this political parties and alliances:

List of mayors

List of City Mayors from 1990:

Notable people

Tamás Bakócz, archbishop

Miklós Borsos, sculptor

György Cseszneky, count, castellan

János Cseszneky, count, infantry commander

Josef Dobrovský

Freddie

Erzsébet Galgóczi, writer

Anita Görbicz, handball player

Izidor Guzmics

Stanley Jaki

Ányos Jedlik

Andrew Karpati Kennedy, author and literary critic

Tamás Kiss, footballer

Gyula Kőnig

Margit Kovács

Levente Losonczy, racing driver

Raimondo Montecuccoli

Árpád Orbán (1938–2008), footballer

Desiderius Orban, painter, one of The Eight; emigrated to Australia in 1939

Zsolt Palotai (1961–2023), electronic music DJ

Antal Pusztai

Zsófia Rácz, footballer

Alexander Raab, pianist

Hans Richter, conductor

Transport

The city is a national hub for rail and road traffic. The transport-geographical position of Győr is excellent.

Győr railway station has important railway connections via the Eastern Railway and Budapest–Hegyeshalom lines (Vienna–Budapest, operated by Railjet), but the Győr-Sopron railway line owned by the Győr-Sopron-Ebenfurt railway company (GYSEV), as well as the Győr-Celldömölk railway line and the Győr-Veszprém railway run by MÁV

In Győr, several main transport routes meet each other (M1, M19, 1, 14, 81, 82, 83, 85), and the motorway is accessible from several parts of the city. Győr-Pér Airport can be reached from the city on Highway 81, 15 kilometers towards Székesfehérvár. At the 1,734 km (1,077 mi) section of the Danube lies the port of Győr-Gönyű with its fully equipped 25 hectare serving terminal. However, the airport is not currently operating any passenger flights. The nearest passenger airports are Bratislava Airport which is 90 km away and Vienna International Airport which is 117 km away from Győr. Budapest's Ferenc Liszt International Airport is also at a reasonable distance, it is located 159 km away from the city.

Sports

Győr is the home of the Győri ETO Sport Club, which has many sport divisions. The most popular sport in the city is handball, with the Győri ETO KC being the city's main team. ETO won the Champions League in 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019 and in 2024 and also reached the final in 2009, 2012 and in 2016. In addition, Győr reached the final of the EHF Cup Winners' Cup in 2006 and the final of the EHF Cup in 1999, 2002, 2004 and 2005. The men's handball team, ETO-SZESE Győr FKC also plays in the first division.

WKW ETO FC Győr is a football team, currently (as of 2024/2025) in the Hungarian first division. Other notable association football team is Győri Dózsa SE.

Twin towns – sister cities

Győr is twinned with: