City with county rights in Southern Transdanubia, Hungary
About Pécs
Pécs is the fifth largest city in Hungary, on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains in the country's southwest, close to the border with Croatia. It is the administrative and economic centre of Baranya County, and the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pécs.
Name
The earliest name for the territory was its Roman name of Sopianæ. The name possibly comes from the plural of the Celtic sop meaning "marsh". The medieval city was first mentioned in 871 under the name Quinque Basilicae ("five cathedrals".) The name refers to the fact that when constructing the churches of the city, the builders used material from five old Christian chapels. In later Latin documents the city was mentioned as Quinque Ecclesiae ("five churches", a name identical in meaning to the German name Fünfkirchen and the Slovak name Päťkostolie). The name Pécs appears in documents in 1235 in the word Pechyut (with modern spelling: pécsi út, meaning "road to/from Pécs") most likely derives from the Proto-Slavic *pęčь or from the Illyrian *penče, both meaning five. …
History
The area has been inhabited since ancient times, with the oldest archaeological findings being 6,000 years old. Before the Roman era, the area was inhabited by Celts. The city of Sopianae was founded by Romans at the beginning of the 2nd century, in an area peopled by Celts and Pannoni tribes. In the early 2nd century, when much of today's western Hungary was a province of the Roman Empire named Pannonia, the Romans founded several wine-producing colonies under the collective name of Sopianae where Pécs now stands. The centre of Sopianae was where the Bishop's Palace now stands. Some parts of the Roman aqueduct are still visible. When the Roman province of Pannonia was divided into four administrative divisions, Sopianae was named the capital of the division named Valeria. By the 4th century, Sopianae became the capital of Valeria province and a significant early Christian centre. …
Geography
Pécs is located in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, in the center of the southern Hungarian county of Baranya. It is bordered by the Mecsek hills to the north, and by a rolling plain to the south. Pécs has a significant mining past. Mecsek dolomitic water is famous for its steady, balanced high density of minerals. The city of Pécs is located near the border of Croatia. Its southern part is rather flat whereas its northern part clings to the slope of the Mecsek mountains. It has a very favorable climate, and is bordered by a flourishing woody area. During hot summer nights a cooling air streams down from Mecsek to clean the air of the city. Pécs is bordered by plains to the south (elevation 120–130 m), while the Mecsek mountains rise up to elevations of 400–600 meters behind the city. …
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