MAGYARORSZÁG	HUNGARY
megye: Vas

map →

Kőszeg is situated at an elevation of 284 m in western Hungary at the border to Austria. Kuszug was first mentioned in 1248. The fortified town began to develop in the valley of the Gyöngyös (Günsbach) stream and took its name from the ancient castle Kőszeg above the town. The German name, Güns, also dates from that early period. Between 1445 and 1847 Kőszeg was administered by Lower Austria. The most famous event in the history of the town was the siege by a Turkish army in 1532. 800 men defended Kőszeg successfully against 60,000 Turkish soldiers and also prevented the advancement of the Turks towards Vienna. In 1648 Kőszeg obtained the status of a Royal Free City. From 1695 until 1931 Kőszeg was a residence of the princes Esterházy. Since 1920, when the German-speaking parts of western Hungary became part of Austria (province Burgenland), Kőszeg is a border town.

The pictures on the glasses no. 1516 [left] and no. 3888 [right] show the Sacred Heart Church, the parish church of Kőszeg. The building is considered to be a fine example of Gothic Revival architecture. The church was designed by Vienna architect Ludwig Schöne and was built between 1892 and 1894 in place of the old Korona Hotel on the main square. It is a hall church with three naves, a transept and a polygonal sacrarium. It has a 57-metres-high tower and two pinnacles. Many of the stained glass windows were donated to the church by local families.

[http://www.koszeginfo.com/en/about-koszeg/history-of-koszeg, https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kőszeg, https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C5%91szeg; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_Heart_Church_(Kőszeg,_Hungary)]