Szentendre is a riverside town in Pest county, Hungary, near the capital city Budapest. It is known for its museums, galleries and artists. Due to its historic architecture and easy rail and river access, it has become a popular destination for tourists staying in Budapest. There are many facilities, including souvenir shops and restaurants, catering to these visitors. The name of the town is ultimately based on the Medieval Latin form Sankt Andrae (English: St.Andrew). Because of the diverse mix of nations to have once settled in Szentendre, the settlement has a variety of names according to language. The Hungarian name for the town is Szentendre; the German name is Sankt Andrä; in Serbian, the name is Sentandreja (Serbian Cyrillic: Сентандреја); the Slovak name is Svätý Ondrej. History Populated for well over a millennium in ancient times, under the Romans it was called Ulcisia Castra, meaning Wolf Castle for their fort. Since the Middle Ages, Szentendre and the surrounding villages had also been settled by many Bulgarians. In 1690, the Serbian teacher and hegumen Stevan wrote that Szentendre was called Bolgarija by some. The Bulgarian neighbourhood included Catholic settlers from Chiprovtsi and a Roman Catholic "Chiprovtsi church" (Csiprovacska templom). The names of many locals show Bulgarian ancestry. Since the 16th century, the town was considered the center of the Serb community in this part of Hungary. At one point it had as many as eight Serbian Orthodox church buildings and three chapels, and only one each Roman-Catholic and Evangelical. It is still the see of the Buda Diocese of the Serb Orthodox Church. In the 18th century, after liberation from the Ottomans, the Crown recruited farmers and artisans from Germany and southern Slavs to repopulate areas that had been occupied by the Ottomans. Szentendre enjoyed a rebirth, with new settlers including Serbian, Croatian, Slovak, and Greek immigrants, who settled alongside the Magyar residents. According to the 1720 data, 88% of the population of the town were South Slavs (mostly Serbs, but also some South Slavic Catholics). The town to this day is characterised by southern European elements, including baroque architecture, churches of various faiths, narrow sidestreets, and cobblestone roads.

• published: 10 Sep 2013
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