After our memorable visit to Budapest, we cruised down the Danube to Mohács, and did an excursion to Pécs, both also in Hungary.
The excursion took us through Baranya County and past a rather interesting monument in the middle of a roundabout. I think it is connected to an important time in the history of the region. In 1526 Sultan Süleyman The Magnificent went into battle on behalf of the Ottoman Empire, against King Louis II of Hungary near the town of Mohács. King Louis had underestimated the Ottomans both in terms of numbers and equipment, so ultimately his army fell, and Hungary was subsumed into the Ottoman Empire. It was not liberated until 1699 when it then became part of the Austrian Empire.
This battle near Mohács is forever remembered – there is even a phrase in Hungarian which means “more was lost at Mohács” which is used as a reminder that things could be much worse and to always persevere.
After that we arrived in Pécs and drove past a very early Ottoman mosque which is unusual for the time it was built for having a minaret.
We then visited Pécs Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of St. Peter & St. Paul. Its origins date back to the Roman times, but the Neoclassical design we see now was completed in 1891. It has 4 towers which are 60m, and a stunning interior in blue and gold featuring paintings of the 12 apostles.
The next stop before exploring the town centre was the Cella Septichora, an historic Christian burial site with UNESCO World Heritage status where there are brick tombs and paintings of biblical scenes.
This visit finished with free time in Szécheny Square in the centre of Pécs. We passed a lot of very lovely buildings while searching for a tabac, which turned out to look be a shop front which only displayed an over 18 sign, so looked rather more dodgy than it was. We walked up and down the street it was in several times and had to ask in several shops before we understood that was where to go. By this time B was not the most popular person in town as it was a boiling hot day… but we did find a nice café and took a moment there to decompress!
It was then time to walk back to the bus and return to our ship, via a few more interesting landmarks.
As we were moored Mohács we were also able to wander round the town, which, although much smaller, also has some lovely architecture, and the odd café of course!
