Sights in Győr
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Héderváry Chapel
The Gothic Héderváry Chapel contains one of the most beautiful (and priceless) examples of medieval gold work in Hungary, the Herm of László. It's a bust reliquary of one of Hungary's earliest king-saints (r 1077-95) and dates from the early 15th century. If you're looking for miracles, though, move to the north aisle and the Weeping Icon of Mary, an altarpiece brought from Galway by the Irish Bishop of Clonfert in 1649, who had been sent packing by Oliver Cromwell. Some 40 years later - on St Patrick's Day no less - it began to cry tears of blood and is still a pilgrimage site.
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Imre Patkó Collection
Well worth a visit is the Imre Patkó Collection in the 17th-century Iron Stump House (Vastuskós Ház), a former caravanserai entered from Stelczer Lajos utca that still sports the log into which itinerant artisans would drive a nail to mark their visit. The museum has an excellent collection of 20th-century fine art on the first two floors; the 3rd floor is given over to objects collected by the journalist and art historian Imre Patkó during his travels in India, Tibet, Vietnam and west Africa.
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Napoleon-ház
Known only to pedants and Lonely Planet guidebook writers is the 'footnote fact' that Napoleon actually spent a night in Hungary on 31 August 1809. at a building now called Napoleon-ház (Napoleon House), appropriately enough, which contains a branch of the City Museum. And why did NB choose Győr to make his grand entrée into Hungary? Apparently the city was near a battle site and an inscription on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris recalls 'la bataille de Raab'.
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Ark of the Covenant
As you descend narrow Gutenberg tér to the east of the Basilica, you'll pass the outstanding Ark of the Covenant, a large statue dating from 1731. Local tradition has it that King Charles (Károly) III erected the ark, the city's finest baroque monument, to appease the angry people of Győr after one of his soldiers accidentally knocked a monstrance containing the Blessed Sacrament out of the bishop's hands during a religious procession.
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Basilica
The basilica, whose foundations date back to the 11th century, is an odd amalgam of styles, with Romanesque apses (have a look from the outside), a neoclassical façade and a Gothic chapel riding piggyback on the south side. But most of what you see inside, including the stunning frescoes by Franz Anton Maulbertsch, the main altar, the bishop's throne and the pews hewn from Dalmatian oak, is baroque and dates from the 17th and 18th centuries.
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Church of St Ignatius Loyola
A couple of blocks southeast of Káptalan-domb is enormous Széchenyi tér, which was the town's marketplace in the Middle Ages. On the south side, the Jesuit and later Benedictine Church of St Ignatius Loyola, the city's finest, dates from 1641. The 17th-century white-stucco side chapels and the ceiling frescoes painted by the Viennese baroque artist Paul Troger in 1744 are worth a look.
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Carmelite church
The baroque 'Viennese Gate Sq' is dominated to the south by the Carmelite church built in 1725. On the north and northwest side of the square and cutting it off from the river are the fortifications built in the 16th century to stop the Turkish onslaught, and a bastion that has served as a prison, a chapel, a shop and, until recently, even a restaurant.
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Péter Váczy Museum
The late Renaissance Hungarian Ispita (Magyar Ispita), once a charity hospital, now houses the Péter Váczy Museum. Váczy, a history professor and avid antiques collector, managed to assemble quite an eclectic assortment of pieces, from Greek and Roman relics to Chinese terracotta figures, all of which are on display.
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Synagogue
Across the Rába River, the richly decorated octagonal cupola, galleries and tabernacle of the city's erstwhile Synagogue, built in 1870, are well worth a look if you can get into the partially restored building; try at the entrance to the music academy (formerly a Jewish school) next door.
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Szécheny Pharmacy Museum
Next door to the Church of St Ignatius Loyola is the Szécheny Pharmacy Museum, established by the Jesuits in 1654 and a fully operational baroque institution. You can inspect the rococo vaulted ceiling and its fabulous frescoes with religious and herbal themes.
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Bishop's Castle
To the north of the lapidarium within the fortified walls is the Bishop's Castle, also known as 'Püspökvár', a fortress-like structure with parts dating from the 13th century; the foundations of an 11th-century Romanesque chapel are on the south side.
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Zichy Palace
In the stunning Zichy Palace is the Doll Exhibition (Baba Kiálĺitás), consisting of some 72 19th-century dolls and furniture. It's worth a visit just to see the 18th-century baroque palace, which is also used sometimes for concerts and plays.
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Margit Kovács Ceramic Collection
Opposite the ark but entered from Káposztás köz 8 is the Margit Kovács Ceramic Collection, a branch of the City Art Museum devoted to the celebrated ceramicist Margit Kovács (1902-77) who was born in Győr.
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Lapidarium
In the casemates (fortified gun encartment) is the lapidarium , a rich collection of Roman and medieval bits and pieces (the majority of which is stone remains); it is a branch of the János Xánthus Museum.
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János Xánthus Museum
If time is limited, skip the main branch of the János Xánthus Museum which has exhibits on local history, stamps and coins, antique furniture and natural history.
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Diocesan Treasury and Library
To the east of the Basilica is the Diocesan Treasury and Library, one of the richest in Hungary and labelled in English.
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