Miskolc
Among the cities and towns outside of Budapest, Miskolc is the one consisting of the most number of neighbourhoods, with the values of the natural and built environment lending a different atmosphere to each.
The unique features of the Avas Hill over the city centre are the centuries-old wine cellars; Miskolctapolca is famous for its cave bath, which is one of a kind in Europe, and for its ancient park; Diósgyőr for the medieval fortress of King Louis the Great; and Lillafüred, the country’s first climatic resort, for the Palace Hotel, the waterfall, Hámori Lake and the dripstone caves.
ln medieval times, Miskolc was a trading town, which received its rank as a town from King Louis the Great in 1365. The settlement, which played the role of a regional economic centre from the 1400s, also became an important cultural centre by the 19th century. Today it is the fourth largest city of Hungary and the centre of the region of North Hungary in the areas of administration, economy, education, healthcare, culture, commerce and tourism. ln addition to the traditional industries, its lead ing role is reinforced by the activities of large companies working with 21 st-century technologies, innovative small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as the scientific and research workshops operating at the University of Miskolc.
The latter is the legal predecessor of the Academy of Mining and Metallurgy established in Selmecbánya (today’s Banská Stiavnical in 1735, as the world’s first institute of technical higher education. With approximately ten thousand students, it functions practically as an independent “city” within the city. ln addition to industry and sciences, theology and culture have also fundamentally shaped the history of the city over the centuries. ln 2008, Miskolc won the title of the Hungarian City of Culture.
