Kaposvár

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Coordinates: 46.36383° 17.78225°

Kaposvár
Image:Red_Dot.gif
Country: Hungary
County: Somogy
Area: 113.59 km²
Population (2005):
- Density:
67,954
598.23/km²
Postal code: 7400
Area code: 82
Coordinates: 46.36383° N 17.78225° E

Kaposvár (German: Kopisch, Ruppertsberg, Ruppertsburg, Turkish: Kapoşvar, Serbian: Kapošvar or Капошвар) is the capital of the county of Somogy in Hungary. It lies 186 km south‐west of Budapest, straddling the river Kapos.

Contents

[edit] History

Kaposvár Church
Kaposvár Church
Kaposvár Stephen I of Hungary fount
Kaposvár Stephen I of Hungary fount

According to legend, the city was founded on seven hills like Rome. The area had been inhabited already 5000 years BCE. Around 400 BCE Celtic tribes inhabited the area.

The city was first mentioned as Kapos in the founding document of the Episcopate of Pécs in 1009. The rectangular motte castle was reconstructed as a stone castle in the 15th century. The castle was destroyed in 1702 at the order of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor.

The Ottomans occupied the city after a five-day siege in 1555. It was freed from Ottoman rule in 1686.

In 1749 Kaposvár became the county seat. During the 1800s the city developed considerably, due to the importance of the railway line between Budapest and Zagreb. Kaposvár became an important industrial city.

In 1950 the village of Kaposszentjakab was annexed to the city; followed in 1973 by Kaposfüred, Toponár and Töröcske.

In 1990 Kaposvár, as a city above 50,000 inhabitants, was elevated to the rank of city with county rights. Since 1993 it is an episcopal seat. The University of Kaposvár was founded on 1 January 2000.

[edit] Geography

The town is enclosed by the gentle knolls of the subregion called Outer Somogy from the north and by the bluff downhill forests of the other subregion Zselic from the south. Kaposvár has already been an important intersection of several traffic roads before the regulation of the River Kapos, thus being the base for any kind of development for town and its citizens.

Nowadays Kaposvár is a developing junction for rail- and public roads, having a tight connection to all the settlements of the agglomeration, as well as to further, over knoll ones. The European railway line from Budapest towards the Mediterranean leads through Kaposvár and other towns of the county.

[edit] Tourist sights

  • Kaposvár Town Hall
  • Rippl-Rónai Museum
  • Csiky Gergely Theatre
  • Dorottya house (18th century)
  • Vaszary Gallery (former Gallery of Somogy)
  • St. Donat Chapel (Baroque, early 18th century)
  • Ruins of Benedictine Monastery of Kaposszentjakab (Romanesque and Gothic)
  • Golden Lion Pharmacy
  • Former nunnery

[edit] Twin towns and partner towns

[edit] External links

Counties of Hungary Flag of Hungary
Counties: Bács-Kiskun | Baranya | Békés | Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén | Csongrád | Fejér | Győr-Moson-Sopron | Hajdú-Bihar | Heves | Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok | Komárom-Esztergom | Nógrád | Pest | Somogy | Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg | Tolna | Vas | Veszprém | Zala
Urban counties: Békéscsaba | Debrecen | Dunaújváros | Eger | Érd | Győr | Hódmezővásárhely | Kaposvár | Kecskemét | Miskolc | Nagykanizsa | Nyíregyháza | Pécs | Salgótarján | Sopron | Szeged | Szekszárd | Székesfehérvár | Szolnok | Szombathely | Tatabánya | Veszprém | Zalaegerszeg
Capital: Budapest
See also: Administrative divisions of the Kingdom of Hungary; Geography of Hungary