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Békéscsaba and Gyula

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
57,000 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 it is the jewel of the Great Plain with its many monu-
and transport centre of Békés County. ments and great past. Ferenc Erkel, one of the greatest Hun-

The Jókai Theatre, the only permanent theatre company in garian composers, was born here; his birth house is a mu-
Békés County with high-quality performances, is awaiting seum 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, step- natural park of the former Almásy mansion, which has

ped on the route of worldwide fame in Békéscsaba. Th e been declared a nature reserve. The Bath has been a quali-
town’s two major exhibitions are the Mihály Munkácsy fied health resort since 1985. Next to the Castle Bath, an-

Museum and the Munkácsy Memorial House opened in other attraction of Gyula is the only lowland brick fortress

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

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

sausages. Indeed, sausage-making has an old tradition; all castle’s courtyard and waits to entertain visitors with spec-
the families in Békéscsaba used to have their own recipes tacular historical dramas and various genres of contempo-

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

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