My Two Years in Little Kőszeg by Nasser Al-Hamdi

Before my traveling to Hungary, I was wondering to know more about the twon where I would be studying for two years. Kőszeg, “The jewelry of Hungary” “the ancient and Romantic town” “wonderful architecture”. Those results showed up on my laptop screen, I got excited to travel and to be there as soon as possible. When the travel date was set, I packed my bags immediately and I flew to Hungary.

I arrived in Budapest first, then I took the train to a town near Kőszeg which is called “Szombathely”, and another train was waiting for me to take me to my final destination. The Kőszegi train was an old man, and I could feel the trembling of the railway during our way to Kőszeg. “Wow”, I said to myself “it seems Kőszeg is welcoming me!” finally, I arrived at my destination, the train station in Kőszeg.

I passed the bridge that split the Gyöngyös brook which is located in the south of the town. I wanted to reach the town center of Kőszeg where my place is close to it, and I had to walk 1.2 km of the long and straight Rákóczi Ferenc Street. I barely reached to my residence to get some rest after long journey, when I went to sleep, I was thinking about how is the living in Kőszeg is, how big it is, architecture, attraction sites, and people.

First Impression 

The first impression that Kőszeg is a historic town surrounded by Alps hills and forests, it is also very close to the Austrian border, nearly 30 mins of walking to reach the first Austrian village “Rattersdorf”. The weather is unpredictable, and that is attributed to the Alps Mountains, especially during the spring and summer seasons. I enjoyed the western winds which transfer fresh, alpine air to the town which is located far from industrial pollution.

Small, people, and the English language barrier

Two years are too much to live in Kőszeg because it is a small town, the entertainment places cannot be found, except for some bars. I think that is how Kőszeg has been preserved as a heritage town and kept it far from modern influences. Often, I felt very bored not just from the lack of entertainments, but I could not know more people and make friendships with local people because the majority of them in Kőszeg do not speak the English language. Also, it can be noted that people in Kőszeg are old or very young, the youth people are very rare, and it is difficult to meet people like my age.

Architecture

I was admired with the sights of old architecture houses on both sides of Rákóczi Street. The dwellers in Kőszeg are distinguished by its three dominant colors: orange roofs, and white and yellow walls. The architectural character of the Inner town is the Renaissance and Baroque architecture, and as I walked inside the town, I went back in time to the 17th and 18th centuries.

Orange, white, and yellow

Events

I was amazed by the performance of participants in “Siege Days of Kőszeg” event, people in the town were participating as well, and the enthusiasm was dominating the participants in the virtual battle. It began with the sound of rifles and old pistols, and it can be heard in the whole town. For the first time, I thought something serious is happening in Kőszeg, but I discovered that was just a show performance. When the actors moved to the castle of Kőszeg, the “Ottomans Players” started to fire the castle with cannons. There were very strong sounds, I thought it was real, but actually, it was fireworks and they but it inside these cannons. The defenders succeeded to protect their castle form the invaders. But, in my opinion, in this event, they introduced the ottoman people as a barbaric and savage! In the end, it was just a play.

Siege Days of Kőszeg

Another event that I was impressed by was the “Mardi Gras”. People on that day dressed masquerade clothes, and we gathered at the main square, and then they took a walk around Kőszeg to show their masquerade clothes. After that, they danced with a piece of traditional music under the snowfall. Despite they were shivering because of the frost, people kept celebrating, drinking hot wine, eating a lot of food, and dancing all night. It was a really amazing day.

Attraction sites

Despite being a small town, Kőszeg has several wonderful attraction sites and museums that can be visited. But, some of them do not have information in the English language. Here, I will show some sites that I have been there.

In the middle of the main square, the Church of Jesus’s Heart stands among the buildings, it is an architectural a masterpiece in gray and beige color, and the simple of Aesthetic Ratio and architectural design is very magnificent. Inside the church, dim lights, silence and high roof dominate the person, feeling a sense of submission and apprehension.

Church of Jesus’s Heart

Suleiman Tour overlooks the town and the hills, with a panorama view to all sides and refreshing air. The most specular moment is this site when the moon starts to rise up from the horizon. There are two roads to get there, the short one that takes about 15 minutes, and there are many steps to reach the tour, the steps are made from wood, it needs maintenance because they are deteriorated.

Suleiman Tour 

Near from Suleiman tour, there is Calvary Church which is trying to hide among the forests, and it also overlooks Kőszeg, and with panorama view to the hills and the borders with Austria. It is a good place to get rest of hiking. It is arranged with stove and some benches, and it would be an appropriate place to make a barbecue, enjoying the wine sips besides the vines of grape fields.

Calvary Church

The more interesting and attractive place in Kőszeg is the Jurisics Castle Museum, it is an old moral symbol castle for Hungarian people because it was under the Turkish siege in 1532, and the Kőszeg’s people and some armies form neighbor countries led by Miklós Jurisics succeeded to expel the invaders. The castle has a beautiful entrance, with two exhibitions, one of them is permanent and the other is temporary. I admired the renovation inside the castle, it is a combination between the old and modern architecture style. The tangible monuments can be found inside the castle with modern display modes for visitors to understand the artifacts and contents. The intangible can be experienced such as the landlord's table, kitchen, armory, playground, and a 3D Monitor to show the history of Magyar.

Jurisics Castle

Also, there is an ecotourism attraction, with large spaces of forest stretch from Kőszeg to this hills region which called Nature Park. Nearly 15 km of hiking to reach the highest point from Kőszeg, and the Iron Curtin between Austria and Hungary is located at this highest point which is called ÍROTTKŐ. I went with a Hungarian tourist’s group to that region because it is the first time that Hungarian and Austrian people meet at that place for enjoying the spring season, and they organized the choir, tourist Information, souvenirs, and food. It is a really magnificent place to take panorama views for Austrian and Hungarian territories, and to meet new people from both countries.

ÍROTTKŐ

To see Kőszeg from a different perspective, I visited the Tower of Heroes, which is located in the middle of the town, I saw the whole Kőszeg form all the directions, I can say that it looks very different, it seems like I am in another town. But if I want to go up to the tower, I have to pass the General House, which has a small museum for all the history handicrafts industry in Kőszeg, and I was amazed by how they preserved the legacy of masters who had lived and worked in Kőszeg, and their objects which could be connected to people who had been living and working in Kőszeg.

Tower of Heroes

I have lived in Kőszeg for more than two years, I had lovely moments with my classmates and new few Hungarian friends, hanging out at Eleven Garden bar, drinking at Suleiman tower, and making barbecue at Calvary Church. I am going to miss the snow, autumn leaves, spring breeze, and summer heat times in Kőszeg.