Esztergom

Esztergom (German, Gran), town in northern Hungary, in Komárom County, on the River Danube, near Budapest. The principal products of the town are heavy machinery, bricks, ironware, cloth, and wine. Agriculture is the chief occupation of the surrounding region. Esztergom has also become a popular resort, thanks to its hot medicinal springs.

The town is the seat of the Roman Catholic primate of Hungary and contains the country's largest cathedral (begun in the 1820s) with a dome fashioned after that of St Peter's in Rome. Within the cathedral is a cross presented to Stephen I by Pope Sylvester II. Among the other ecclesiastical buildings in Esztergom is the former palace of the primate, now the Christian Museum, in the Renaissance style.

Esztergom was once the capital of Hungary and the site of the first Christian church in Hungary. It is the birthplace of Stephen I of Hungary, who was crowned in Esztergom in 1001. Esztergom had long been a commercial and cultural centre when it was destroyed by the Mongols in 1241. Later in the 13th century the town was rebuilt and fortified. Esztergom was occupied twice (in 1543-1595 and 1604-1683) by the Turks. Population 32,500 (1994 estimate).