Székesfehérvár

Székesfehérvár (ˈseːkɛʃfɛheːrvaːr; Stuhlweißenburg ʃtuːlˈvaɪsn̩bʊʁk, Alba Regia, Stolni Biograd), known colloquially as Fehérvár ("white castle"), is a city in central Hungary, and the country's ninth-largest city. It is the regional capital of Central Transdanubia, and the centre of Fejér County and Székesfehérvár District. The area is an important rail and road junction between Lake Balaton and Lake Velence. Székesfehérvár, a royal residence (székhely), as capital of the Kingdom of Hungary, held a central role in the Middle Ages. As required by the Doctrine of the Holy Crown, the first kings of Hungary were crowned and buried here. Significant trade routes led to the Balkans and Italy, and to Buda and Vienna. Historically the city has come under Ottoman and Habsburg control, and was known in many languages by translations of "white castle" – Stolni Biograd, Stuhlweißenburg, Alba Regia, İstolni Belgrad, Stoni Beograd, Stoličný Belehrad. The place has been inhabited since the 5th century BC. In Roman times the settlements were called Gorsium and Herculia. After the Migration Period Fejér County was the part of the Avar Khaganate, while the Slavic and Great Moravian presence is disputed. (There is no source for the name of the place before the late 10th century.) In the Middle Ages its Latin name was Alba Regalis/Alba Regia. The town was an important traffic junction between Lake Balaton and Lake Velence, several trade routes led from here to the Balkans and Italy, and to Buda and Vienna. (Today, the town is a junction of seven railroad lines.) Grand Prince Géza of the Árpád dynasty was the nominal overlord of all seven Magyar tribes but in reality ruled only part of the united territory. He aimed to integrate Hungary into Christian Western Europe by rebuilding the state according to the Western political and social models. Géza founded the Hungarian town in 972 on four moorland islands between the Gaja stream and its tributary, the Sárvíz, one of the most important Hungarian tributaries of the Danube.