Page 19 - Békés megye

Békéscsaba andGyula

Békéscsaba town of county rank, the largest town of the With its lively tourism, Gyula is the tourist centre of Békés

region, located in the south-eastern part of Hungary, has County. The spa town, famous for its medicinal water and
60,000 inhabitants, road and railway junctions, and a de- its pleasant and shady parks, is an ideal place for relaxation,
veloping infrastructure. It is the industrial, commercial, and and it is the jewel of the Great Plain with its many monu-
transport centre of Békés County. ments and great past. Ferenc Erkel, one of the greatest

The Jókai Theatre, the only permanent theatre company in Hungarian composers, was born here; his birth house is a
Békés County with high-quality performances, is awaiting museum today.

its audience in Békéscsaba. The town’s main attraction is the Castle Bath, set in the
One of our most famous painters, Mihály Munkácsy, natural park of the former Almásy mansion, which has been

stepped on the route of worldwide fame in Békéscsaba. declared a nature reserve. The Bath has been a qualified

The town’s two major exhibitions are the Mihály Munkácsy health resort since 1985. Next to the Castle Bath, another
Museum and the Munkácsy Memorial House opened in attraction of Gyula is the only lowland brick fortress of Cen-

the so-called “Omaszta mansion”. Békéscsaba is mentioned tral Europe, built in the 15th century, which has remained

by many as a place where even the fences are made from sound. The Gyula Castle Theatre returned to the castle’s

sausages. Indeed, sausage-making has an old tradition; all courtyard and waits to entertain visitors with spectacular
the families in Békéscsaba used to have their own recipes historical dramas and various genres of contemporary prose

for sausage-making. The internationally renowned Sausage theatre performances from the first of July to the middle of
Festival of Csaba, with its long history, is the biggest event of August. In addition to the castle’s courtyard, performances
the town, which celebrates the sausage of Békéscsaba. and festivals are held on the lake stage, as well, transforming
Gyula into a real festival town.
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