Downtown - Kaposvár, Hongrie

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Statue of Lajos Kossuth Hungarian politician at the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Kaposvár

The statue of Lajos Kossuth Hungarian statesman on the main square was created by the local sculptor János Kopits. It was inaugurated at the same time as the Csiky Gergely Theatre, in 1911. Lajos Kossuth was elected as the parliamentarian (representative in the Parliament) of Kaposvár in 1869, but he resigned from this title. Twenty years later he was chosen to be the honorary citizen of the city. His name is still on the marble plaque at the entrance inside the City Hall.

Wall painting on the facade of the Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary ("Nagyboldogasszony-székesegyház")

The picture over the door of the Cathedral of Kaposvár was painted in 1937, it represents the sitting Our Lady of Hungary, as well as religious and secular persons who glorify Jesus Christ.

The Hungarian expressions "Nagyboldogasszony" and "Magyarok Nagyasszonya" (in English "Assumption of Mary" and "Our Lady of Hungary"), as well as the Latin "Beata Virgo" ("Blessed Virgin") both related to the same person: Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus Christ. The female given name "Mary" comes from the Hebrew "Miryam" name that was initially meant (probably) "bitter", although currently there's no widely accepted meaning.

According to the tradition King St. Stephen I. of Hungary offered Hungary to the Blessed Virgin Mary, because he didn't have a crown prince son who didn't die before him, and the "Our Lady of Hungary" (in Hungarian "Magyarok Nagyasszonya") expression probably comes from this.

Terraced fountains in front of the cathedral

At the edge of the square with the socialist realist building of Hotel Kapos stands at the edge of the square

The year 2003 brought a major change in the life of Kaposvár city. The surroundings of the Kossuth Square became completely closed to the car traffic, cozy and human-friendly pedestrian zone was developed with decorative stone paved spacious squares, which were almost immediately occupied by the delighted people. Maybe due to the new cityscape Kaposvár received the honorific "Settlement of the Year" title on the public voting of the public service national television ("Magyar Televízió" or "Hungarian Television"). The fountains of the main square were also placed here during the great renovations of 2003, they are designed by János Ripszám.

The older building of the Town Hall

The old City Hall or Town Hall (in Hungarian "Városháza") of Kaposvár is one of the dominant buildings on the main square. It was built in 1903 in neo-renaissance style, designed by György Kopeczek and Róbert Kertész. On its place there was only a tiny cottage even at the end of the 1800s. This house was a small inn called "Vendéglő a Bárányhoz" ("The Lamb Inn"), and the simple first Town Hall building was right next to it. After soon it proved to be too small for the more and more complicated cases of Kaposvár, in the place of the inn and the old Town Hall the current impressive building was built in the early-20th century.

The people who enter into the building were welcomed with the marble plaque of the honorary citizens of Kaposvár. The murals (wall paintings) in the interior were painted by Géza Udvardy, including the coat of arms of the county and the city in the entrance hall, as well as the picture of the former Kaposvár Castle in the main staircase. The latter was based on the copperplate engraving of Giacomo de Rossi from 1686. Some of the specialities are for example the wainscoted (wooden panelled) great hall, including the large paintings inside this hall representing Ferenc Deák and Lajos Kossuth Hungarian statesmen (created by Béla Bacskay). The stained-glass windows of the ceremonial hall and the stairway were created by the world-famous glass painter Miksa Róth.

Cool fountain with oleanders in the center of the main square, and the Roman Catholic Episcopal Church

In 1702 just a tiny wooden church stood on the site of the current Cathedral of Kaposvár, but that was ruined in a short time, then it was demolished. The first stone church building on its site was completed in 1744, but the growing population of Kaposvár outgrew it soon. That's why the current magnificent neo-romanesque style church was built. It was consecrated in 1886 and received cathedral title in 1993.

Statue of Saint John of Nepomuk, farther with the yellow building of the former priory

St. John of Nepomuk (in Hungarian "Nepomuki Szent János") is the patron saint of the city. The stone statue which represents him and standing in front of the cathedral was carved in 1742 and it is the second oldest statue of Kaposvár.

There is a tabernacle column at the corner of the Csalogány Street and Béla király Street, it was created in 1721 thus it deserves the title of the oldest sculpture of Kaposvár. In the small niche of the column there is a small baroque wooden statuette, the so-called squatter, squatting or crouching Jesus. The statue represents the bound Jesus in crouching position with the crown of thorns on his head.