Szentendre [antikvár]

Dawn on the church spires glitters, Ruffled houses in purple light do glow, The Danube's waves lap slowly by the shore... (István Vas: Szentendre Elegy) We of Szentendre, renowned throughout the world! (from an 18th-century Serb folk song) "Do you know where Szentendre is?" This was how Jakov Ignjatovic (1822-1889), a native of Szentendre, began one of his most popular novels over a hundred years ago. He then continued: "This small town is situated on the right bank of the Danube, between Buda, Visegrád and Esztergom. A magnificent landscape! In front of the town is the Little Danube, that is, a branch of the Danube. Before our eyes stretches an island dappled with fertile villages. Beyond this the Big Danube lies. And to the left and beyond the small town the enchanting spectacle of vineyards and splendid hills that face the forests of Visegrád. And then that lovely valley between Szentendre, Pomáz and Buda, reminiscent of a huge amphitheatre, with ancient white Budavár rising nearby. Then Pest, facing Buda. Delightful landscape, prosperity, superb wines, heavenly water. Who could ask for anything more?" Situated at a convenient distance from Budapest, Szentendre nestles among the eastern slopes of the Pilis Mountain Rangé. Occupying a semicircular area sealed off by the Danube, the location of this enchanting small town indeed reminds one of an amphitheatre created by nature. Szentendre is the gateway to the captivating and picturesque Danube Bend-in fact the road to the region's historical towns, Visegrád and Esztergom, passes through Szentendre. The closed formation of the historical town core, which was built on the hillside, creates a castle-like impression on the steep bank of the Szentendre branch of the Danube. On the other hand, the labyrinth of irregularly shaped whimsically meandering cobble-stone streets, narrow alleys, winding ascents and steep stairways impart a distinctly Mediterranean character to the town, evoking the atmosphere of Dalmatian, Greek and Italian coastal towns. The neighbourhood of the town situated on the bank of the Danube alsó reveals this duality. To the northwest a mountainous region, reaching six hundred metres in height, accentuates the landscape, which descends towards the river bank in gentle, terraced slopes. Facing the river bank and stretching as far as Visegrád lies Szentendre Island. To the west rise the fascinating volcanic rock columns of Kőhegy. The town is divided by the Bükkös Stream, while further to the north the Stara Voda Stream rushes into the Danube beyond Pap Island. Szentendre and its vicinity has been a populated area since ancient times. The fact that there had been important settlements around this area in the course of four thousand years, between the Neolithic Age and the Román era, is supported by a wealth of archaeological evidence. The Illyrians appeared in the Ist millennium B.C. and built a fortress on Kőhegy. Around 350 B.C., land-cultivating Celtic tribes arrived from the west, followed by the Eravisci of Celtic origin. Although the continuity of the history of the ancient settlement often fades into the oblivion of the distant past, it seems certain that Szentendre reached its first golden age as a fortress of the province of Pannónia. In the Ist century A.D. the Romans incorporated Trans-