Page 7 - Békéscsaba 2022

St. Stephen’s Square

the heart of the county

In 1718, there was a shadoof with a bucket in the centre The red-brick, two-tower, neo-Gothic-style building at-
of Csaba, surrounded by the huts of just 22 Hungarian tained its present form in 1910.
families. On one August day, nearly 700 Slovak colonists By the summer of 2013, the renovation of Békéscsaba’s
arrived on horse-drawn carts from ten counties of Upper main square, the Szent István (St. Stephen’s) Square, was
Hungary at today’s St. Stephen’s Square. completed and the statue of St. Stephen was consecrated
Today, the Town Hall stands in the centre of the square, in 2018.
which was built between 1871 and 1873 according to In the centre of Békéscsaba, there are two Lutheran
the plans of Ernő Sztraka, the main architect of the town, churches facing each other. The Great Church is the largest

and its romantic façade was designed by Miklós Ybl. Op- Lutheran church in Central Europe, built from the public

posite the Town Hall, the Fiume Hotel and the former donations of the inhabitants. The church is grandiose, with
Réthy Pharmacy are located. To the west, a mansion a seating capacity of 4,000, a height of 80 meters (as tall as
and Saint Anthony of Padua’s Cathedral are found; the a 30-storey house), and the thickness of the walls reaches
church is a typical sight of the cityscape of Békéscsaba. 2 meters at its foundation.

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