Mosonmagyaróvár
Mosonmagyaróvár (Latin: Ad Flexum; German: Wieselburg Ungarisch-Altenburg, Croatian: Stari Grad) is a city in Hungary about 15 km from the borders to Austria and Slovakia. The city is a compound of two former towns Moson on the Danube and Magyaróvár which was on the major land trade route. This article also covers the surrounding district of the same name.
Understand
The main Mosonmagyaróvárian industry is dental tourism. Thousands of people come to Mosonmagyaróvár every week to seek quality dental services at a low price. An entire industry of hotels, resorts, guides, etc., is built up around this. There are around 150 clinics with 350 practising dentists in this town of 30,000.
History
During the Roman Age the city was an outpost known as Ad Flexum (Latin). After the Conquest it was used as a reeve-site, later it became shire-town. The motte of Moson was ruined by the soldiers of the Bohemian King Ottokar in 1271, after the Mongol Invasion the fort of Ovar was fortified. In 1354 the town was honoured with the right of goods arrestation and town rights by King Lajos the Great. When the Turks marched against Vienna it was repeatedly desolated, then in 1809 the army of Napoleon occupied the town. From 1529 it belonged to the Habsburg family and between 1763 and 1945 it was a private domain of the House of Habsburgs.
The main supply road from the Hungarian Flatlands to Vienna ran through Mosonmagyaróvár. Over the span of the Austrian and Austro-Hungarian Empires, the town of Magyaróvár became an industrial and trade centre, while Moson remained a significant village inhabited by merchants and husbandmen. The two towns united in 1939 and together with the village of Lucsony that joined Magyaróvár in 1905.
Get in
Mosonmagyaróvár is close to both the Austrian capital Vienna and the Slovakian capital Bratislava.
By train
From Hungary
Trains run at least hourly to Győr taking as little as 15 minutes, with one every two hours continuing onwards to Budapest and many other connections from Györ.
From Austria
Between 06:00 and 22:00, a regional (70 min, from Wien Südbahnhof) and a high-speed train (60 min, from Wien Miedling) connect to Vienna every two hours. From Vienna the price of a EURegio 4-day (or less) return ticket is €12.
From Slovakia
Between 06:00 and 22:00, regional trains (70 min, from Bratislava-Petrzalka)run hourly between Bratislava and Mosonmagyaróvár requiring a change of trains in Pandorf in Austria, with a wait time between trains of 15 minutes and a total journey of just over an hour.
By bus
Daily connect across Hungary to 10 or more cities.
Get around
Public transportation
Nine city bus routes are operated by Kisalföld Volán, including connecting routes between the railway station and both parts of the city. There are also regional routes and a transit center by the Tesco market.
See
In the town
The town has a thermal water source. The recognized medicinal water is classified among the top five thermal waters in Europe.
- 1 Mosonmagyaróvár Fortress (Habsburg-Lothringen Castle), Pozsonyi út 86. Tu-Su 10:00 to 17:00.
- Church of Queen Santa Maria from 1868.
- Lutheran church.
- Calvinist church.
- Town hall
- Thermal bath
In the district
- 2 Rajka (German: Ragendorf, Croatian: Rakindrof) (from Bratislava bus#801, Mosonmagyaróvár (24 km) and Győr (60 km) by train and bus from last two). Hennin-Zichy Palace (17th century), Stahrenberg-house (now the Lutheran parsonage, Franz Liszt's grandfather's house), St. Martin's Roman Catholic Church (13th century, Gothic), Calvary statue, Evangelical Church (1783-84), Sculpture Park (Hungarian-Slovak-Austrian border triangle) - To 'Do': the Euro Velo 6 cycle route [dead link] passed it, also good place for fishing (three fishing areas: Kavicsbánya Lake, Homokbánya Lake, Győrfi-Libáki-Danube fork. Fishing license application / Tel: +36 20 425-2182. Mr. Mihaly Sipos. Address Rajka, Lajos Kossuth utca.1. Every M W F 13:00-19:00), horse riding (Adam's Family Horse Farm . Address: Rajka, Ady Endre utca 27. To stay: a camping, three guesthouses.
- 3 Ásványráró (Croatian: Rarovo) (20 km from Győr, 22 km from Mosonmagyaróvár). Calvary (1738), black poplars, Church of St. Andrew the Apostle (founded in the 14th century, rebuilt in 1658, expanded in 1904, 1820). Ráró St. Roch's Church (built in 1903, romantic style), Calvary (east side, built by Baron Apponyi Lazarus, Baroque style, in 1738). Protected black poplar from early 20th century (next to the Calvary, around 550 cm in circumference). To do: Walking, fishing, canoeing. Raro-warren woods and bushy-section of the lower end (towards Hédervár), Ráró Wildlife park forest and Bokros stream lower section (towards Hédervár). Along flooding protected side of the Danube can be found a series of wetlands - Gyűrű stream extension, Varas Lake, Lake Sárcsás - these all rich in bird life. Explore Ásványráró Danube fork system.
Khuen-Héderváry Palace Hotel(15th century),Hédervár - 4 Hédervár (Croatian: Ider) (near Mosonmagyaróvár). Khuen-Héderváry Palace Hotel (15th-century castle, rebuilt in 1710 to Mansion) and its park (area 8 ha), Arpad oak (700 years old, next to Our Lady Chapel), Our Lady Funeral Chapel with a Loreto's sidechapel (1420s, 17th century, 19th century), Count Khuen-Héderváry grave monument, Kont tree (gray poplar, south-west about 300 metres of the Palace, St. Michael's Catholic Church (1755).
- 5 Lébény (German: Leiden) (26 km NW of Győr, 19 km SE of Mosonmagyaróvár (direct trains from both to Lébény-Mosonszentmiklós)). Roman Catholic Church of Saint James (Located: Templom tér 1. Founded 1190s, rebuilt in 1202-1208. Fees: full price/reduced Ft 500/300), Evangelical Church (Loc: Damjanich utca 1.), St. Anthony's Chapel (Loc: Fő út 36., built in 1891), Cemetery Chapel, Pauline monastery (Loc: Fő út 60.), Groveforest ( Ligeterdő)
Do
Get your teeth fixed!
Get pampered! Lots of places to get a good massage, some manicure and pedicure. And the hairdressers offer their service at very cheap prices.
Buy
Clothing, pastry and cigarettes are the main products bought in Mosonmagyarovar. And there is a rather new bookstore (isbn1) in the town, which offers books in English and German at discount prices.
Eat
Mosonmagyarovar has many good restaurants.
Good cuisine with a great selection is offered by the Harsfa Etterem, which is across the street of the Thermal Spa.
The Restaurant Nimrod offers a wide selection as well and a good cuisine. It is in the Nimrod Hotel.
Drink
You can get some good local Hungarian beers all around the town. What you won't find here is such a thing like a nice cocktail bar.
Sleep
There are a lot of hotels in Mosonmagyarovar.
The only 4-star resort is the Hotel Lajta Park which costs about €70 per night. It has nice rooms, a small restaurant and a small bar.
Maybe the most famous hotel is the Thermal Hotel, directly beneath the Thermal Spa. It is a 3-star hotel and costs about €55 per night. In the Thermal Hotel you find a dentist and all kind of treatments.
The Hotel Nimrod is a budget priced hotel, but the rooms are very clean and the staff is very helpful and nice. Rooms are about €26 per night and person. It is near the local McDonald's, 5 walking minutes away from some super markets.
A good hotel choice is the Hotel Engler. It is in the southern part of the town and offers quite rooms.
In Hédervár, you can find the Palace Hotel, three guesthouses and two pensions.