Zalaegerszeg

Zalaegerszeg (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈzɒlɒɛɡɛrsɛɡ]; Croatian: Jegersek; Slovene: Jageršek; German: Egersee) is the administrative center of Zala county in western Hungary.

Location

Zalaegerszeg lies on the banks of the Zala River, close to the Slovenian and Austrian borders and 220 kilometres (137 miles) west-southwest of Budapest by road.

History

The area was already inhabited in the Upper Paleolithic, according to archaeological findings (the oldest ones in Zala county.) Later, the area was inhabited by Celts.

The first written mentions of the town are as Egerscug (1247) and Egerszeg (1293); the name means "alder-tree corner" and is probably a reference to the town's situation in the angle where two rivers meet. King Béla IV donated the town to the diocese of Veszprém in 1266, so that it became church property. As Egerszeg lay somewhat distant from Veszprém, however, the taxes paid by the town often ended up in the pockets of such local oligarchs as the Kőszegi family.

In the 14th century, Egerszeg was the largest town of the area. Between 1368 and 1389, it was a royal town for a short time, then Sigismund I donated it to the Kanizsai family who traded it for another town with the bishop of Veszprém. Zalaegerszeg remained their property until 1848.