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The historical city centre of Pécs boasts the richest collection of Roman remains in all of Central Europe and in light of this was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 2000. Within a few hours we may learn of the sacred world of the Roman Christian community as we walk through graves related to the Garden of Eden.
The entrance to the Cella Septichora Visitors Centre can be found amongst the chestnut trees lining Saint Stephen’s Square, where we enter the seven-foiled chapel, from which the name derives, and step back into the past. The entrance boasts an unusual glass-concrete gateway, which reveals its true beauty during the dark, making a night-time walk worthwhile. Another example of architectural bravura is the monumental glass roof covering the underground layer of Roman remains.
The second stop on our tour of the World Heritage Site is the Peter and Paul Grave. Following this octagonal grave we come to the Pitcher Grave. Its name derives from the painted pitcher and glass depicted in the small recess in the northern wall of what was once a barrel vaulted tomb.
In the same square we find the Early Christian Mausoleum, the largest two-storey funereal building, under the site of what was once a series of water steps. Its walls are decorated with scenes from the Old Testament. A sarcophagus may also be viewed in the exhibition.

At 8 and 14 Apáca Street, which runs under Saint Stephen’s Square, we may find a cemetery chapel and a double grave with painted walls, whilst walking a little further down Jókai Street we may find the remains of a Roman-period dwelling and the apses of the attached three-nave bath in the Római-udvar (Roman Court).


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There is no other settlement in Hungary where so many Turkish remains can be found. It is no accident that visitors to the area during the Turkish occupation compared it to the Garden of Eden.
We begin our Turkish tour with the largest Muslim temple in Central Europe, the Gázi Kászim Pasha Mosque. We may see, in what today is a Catholic church, fine calligraphic quotations from the Koran, the mihrab, or prayer recess, in the south-eastern wall pointing towards Mecca and a period container for holy water. Walking along one of the town’s most beautiful pedestrian streets, Ferencesek Street we come to the remains of the Baths of Memi pasha. We may only imagine the pomp of the formerly vaulted building on the basis of the extant partial reconstruction.
Jut a few paces from here we find the Mosque of Jakováli Hasszán Pasha, which has remained intact along with its minaret, and which still functions today as a place of worship. It is unusual in the way in which its outstanding acoustics were ensured with the building of jugs into the walls.
We could spend the whole day studying the Turkish period, in which case we need to walk further in the town. The keel-arch windows of the Turkish architecture may still be seen in the Church of Saint Augustus in Ágoston Square. On Rókus Hill, in the garden of the Children’s Clinic, we may find the Grave (Türbe) of Idrisz Baba, one of the most worthy examples of Turkish architecture in our country.


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The four-towered Saint Peter Cathedral is the emblematic building of Pécs. Even if you have only half a day to spend in town you should not miss it!
The building of the predecessor of today’s cathedral, the seat of the Pécs Bishopric, began in 1009, during the reign of King Peter Orseolo. Only the crypt remains of the 11th Century cathedral, which at its time was the fourth largest in Europe. During the course of many redevelopments its style has developed into the Neo-Romanesque form that it enjoys today. In the side chapels the paintings of Bertalan Székely and Károly Lotz may be seen. During the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1990 the Cathedral was raised to the status of Basilica Minor. The sculptural memorials of the building - such as the originals of the reliefs on the stairs down to the crypt, copied by György Zala - may be found in the adjacent Cathedral Museum and Lapidary. Stepping out of the cold of the cathedral, a sculpture depicting Franz Liszt may be seen on the right side of the square on a balcony of the Bishop’s Palace. The sculpture was erected as a memorial to the composer’s visit to Pécs. Walking a little further we may find the collection of Bishop György Klimó in Szepessy Ignác Street, one of the richest sources of Hungarian and European cultural history.

For believers we recommend an afternoon visit to Máriagyűd, where you may marvel at the pilgrimage centre for so many from far away, thanks to the Croatian, German and Hungarian tribute to the Virgin Mary.
To the east of Pécs we may find another religious shrine. According to tradition the legendary 11th century Queen Margaret of Scotland was born in Réka Castle in Mecseknádasd.

The character of the city is partly provided by the rich ceramic decoration of various facades and the coloured, patterned roofs originating from the Zsolnay Porcelain Manufacture, which has been functioning in Pécs for over 150 years.
Factory owner Vilmos Zsolnay, who was to become a symbol of creativity and innovation, won many of the most important prizes at trade fairs and exhibitions, thanks to his technological and artistic ingenuity; from Vienna to Torino and Paris to California. Today fashion designer KATI ZOÓB is designing jewellery based on Zsolnay eosin. Eosin is the name given to a kind of reduction glaze. After applying the metal glazes and firing, the vessel takes on an iridescent metallic lustre.

The outstanding project attached to the Cultural Capital of Europe event will be the development of the Zsolnay Cultural District within the 35,000m² area of the current ceramics factory.

The oeuvre of the Zsolnay factory may be studied in the recently renovated Zsolnay Museum (2 Káptalan Street). One of the finest examples of the public sculptures of the factory is the bull’s-head Zsolnay fountain found on the corner of Széchenyi Square. In this square it is worth stopping to look at the façade of County Hall (9 Széchenyi Square), where the symbols of the former savings bank are still present in the ceramic work. It is only a few steps from here to the Zsolnay sales outlet (2 Jókai Square) where small memorial gifts, jewellery and even more serious dinner services may be purchased.
We could spend a whole day studying the Zsolnay heritage in a walk around the centre of this Mediterranean-climate city. In the main pedestrian street, Király (King) Street, we may find the modern ceramic frieze on the Pécs National Theatre (1 Színház Square). A little further along the Neo-Renaissance decoration of the Vasváry House (19 Király Street) is worthy of note, whilst one street down lies the Csukás House (14 Perczel Street). Before going downhill from Jókai Square to the Post Office Palace (10 Jókai Street), we must not miss the listed Szerecsen Pharmacy (1 Apáca Street), and opposite to the post office we can find the Vine Fountain (10). The recently restored 100 hundred year old Zsolnay memorial sculpture stands at the junction of Szabadság Road and Rákóczi Road. A little further from the town centre, the former Vasváry Villa at 44 Jurisics Street (today the regional centre of the Hungarian Academy of Science on the side of Mecsek Hill is not to be missed.

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A visitor to Pécs desiring to become acquainted with the individual artistic values of the city can choose at will from a colourful and varied palette.
It is worth beginning our tour at the locally known “museum street”, i.e. Káptalan Street and the Vasarely Museum (3 Káptalan Street). Győző Vásárhelyi was born in Pécs and the permanent collection of the artist who invented Op-art is one of the city’s outstanding collections. The Pécs collection covers the early Bauhaus-influenced period, then ranges from the analytical-geometrical graphics through to the architectonic Op-art works, covering almost his entire oeuvre. One may also see here the world-famous “Zebra”.
In the neighbouring street, Janus Pannonius Street, we may find the museum of the solitary giant of Hungarian painting Tivadar Kosztka Csontváry (11 Janus Pannonius Street). Csontváry was one of the most significant advocates of plein-air painting, creating such works as the ‘Lonely Cypress’ and the Greek Theatre in Taormina’’. The artist’s career lasted only fifteen years or so and he produced only just over one hundred works, yet even so he is one of the most important representatives of modern painting. His works belong amongst the universal artists of the Post Impressionist movement.
The Modern Hungarian Art Museum (4 Káptalan Street) begins with the works of the founders of the Nagybánya School, outstanding artists of the turn of the century (e.g. Rippl-Rónai) and the Eights (Pór, Czóbel, etc.), followed by the avant-garde artists of the 1920’s (e.g. Moholy-Nagy) and outstanding works from the Szentendre School. In the garden of the museum we may walk amongst the modern sculptures of Pierre Székely’s Stone Garden. The second part of the collection may be found in Papnövelde Street, in which we find a range of works from the second half of the 50’s up to contemporary art.
Going further along the “museum street” we find a modern building which houses Erzsébet Schaár’s “Street” (5 Káptalan Street).
Pécs not only boasts significant museums but also has a thriving contemporary art scene. The Pécs Gallery (10 Széchenyi Square) shows fine examples of Hungarian and international contemporary art and Biennales on a monthly basis, whilst the Kisgaléria (Small Gallery) (4 Szent István Square) tends to show individual exhibitions from various periods.
The Parti Gallery (1 Mária Street) was Pécs city’s first, and till this day only, professional private gallery showing top quality contemporary art. Attached to the gallery is an atmospheric shop where the clothes, everyday objects, antiques and craft products of the region’s ethnic minorities may also be purchased.
The Retextil Foundation (1 János Street) was established in 2004 and in the workshop eco-design furniture is produced for public spaces.
Pécs’ contemporary art galleries are further enhanced by the Alkotás Gallery (21 Jókai Street), showing contemporary Hungarian painting.

The House of Arts and Literature lies in the heart of the city (7-8 Széchenyi Square). Thanks to the high standard of unique events it organises it has become something of an intellectual power house in the last decades.
Founded in 1811, and re-organised in 1984, the Pécs symphonic orchestra, today known as the Pannon Philharmonic Orchestra, has been the deterministic representative of Southern Danubian music over the last 200 years. Pécs’ theatrical culture has made it an important regional centre of Hungarian thespian life, a fact underlined by the presence of the Pécs National Theatre, the Third Theatre, the Janus University Theatre and the Bóbita Puppet Theatre, all made more colourful by the presence of professional street theatre groups such as the Márkus Theatre.
The Pécs-Baranya Artists Association was founded in March 2002 through the co-operation of artists, designers and folk artists in the county and their members ensure that the inquisitive have the chance to make studio and workshop visits. Smaller and significant artworks may be purchased on site. We recommend you to contact the staff of the Pécs Tourinform office, who will be happy to arrange a visiting time for you with the artist.