Szombathely History

History

Szombathely got an earlier start than most. In AD 43 the Romans established a trade settlement called Savaria here on the lucrative Amber Route. By the start of the 2nd century it was important enough to be named the capital of Upper Pannonia. Over the next few centuries Savaria prospered and Christianity arrived; Martin of Tours, the patron saint of France, was born here in AD 316. But attacks by Huns, Longobards and Avars weakened its defences, and in 455 an earthquake reduced the town to rubble.

Szombathely began to develop again in the early Middle Ages, but the Mongols, then the Turks and the Habsburgs put a stop to that. It was not until 1777, when János Szily was appointed Szombathely's first bishop, that the city really began to flourish economically and culturally. The building of the train line to Graz brought further trade. In 1945 Allied bombers levelled much of the town, which has since been largely rebuilt.