Eger

The town is situated in the beautiful valley of the Eger stream, at an altitude of 170 m. With its green rolling hills, it offers a splendid view. The most beautiful part of Eger is the large square with the metropolitan cathedral. This large, cross-shaped, three-naved building (designed by József Hild in the Greek style) counts among the biggest cathedrals in Hungary.

Eger is one of the oldest towns of the country: King Stephen I (Saint Stephen) established a diocese here. Provost Cletus, the chancellor of King Andrew II, settled the first Franciscans in the region, from where they later spread to the rest of the kingdom. The Tatars completely destroyed the town, but it was rebuilt during the reign of Béla IV. In 1552 István Dobó and the heroic women of Eger withstood the siege of the Turks led by Ali Pasha and Vizier Ahmed, and thus liberated the town.

Wine tasting in Eger

The most respected and renowned wine of the Eger wine region is the Egri Bikavér (Eger Bull's Blood), a deep scarlet, moderately harsh-flavoured type. According to legend, the name dates back to the times of Turkish occupation, when the captain of the Eger fortress, István Dobó, ordered his soldiers to drink some red wine in order to fight more fiercely. The Turks saw how the soldiers regained their strength, and since they were superstitious, they thought the red liquid streaming down the soldiers' chins was bull's blood their enemies had been drinking.

The Egri Bikavér achieved fame in the 18th century. Its basic ingredients were black (Turkish) goher, black Frankish and the Gordoványos. 80% of the population worked at vineyards, mainly on church land. A large part of the wine was always consumed locally, but starting in the 18th century internal and foreign trade also expanded. Wine makers were engaged in measuring out their wines at the cellars. It was a custom to sell the wine by the 'swallow' or 'sucking' instead of some measure of capacity. This was done in the way that the wine maker asked 50 Kreuzers, later 10 Fillérs (after 1920) for a swallow of wine. It was a great opportunity for the experienced drinker who knew their way around wine drinking. This way of measuring out wine was in use until as late as the end of the 19th century.

The wines of Eger

The first wines gaining fame were the Bikavér and the Leányka in and around Eger, as well as the Hárslevelű in the municipality of Debrő. The Egri Bikavér is made by mixing at least three types of wine. About 50% of the region's produce is white types of vine, thus the range of white wines is wide. The most well-known are the Egri Leányka and the Debrői Hárslevelű in the region of Debrő. The Italian Riesling, the Tramini and the Chardonnay are also widely cultivated. The typical red vine types are Blaufränkisch, Kadarka, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot.

Visiting the Eger wine cellars

The soft volcanic rhyolite tuff stone of the Eger hills is particularly suitable for carving a cellar. The largest number of cellars can be found in the famous Szépasszony-völgy (Valley of Beautiful Women), where the average temperature in the cellars is about 10°C.

The Valley did not have any cellars up until 1774, when the first ones started to be carved in the Old Path, which later gained great fame. Due to the bishop-landowner's generous allocation of plots for cellars to be carved, the number of cellars grew rapidly, so that by 1781 there were 32 cellars, according to a register from that time. Thus, it seems the oldest cellars were carved between the second half of the 16th century and 1777.

Many cellars of the thousands operating in Eger and its environs would deserve special mention. There are some cellars with various traditions. There are others that stick out by way of their special shape or decorations. There are some that have a well inside, and even some with a little stream flowing through.

Numerous poets have written about Eger and its excellent wines, among them Sándor Petőfi and Mihály Vörösmarthy, but Sándor Márai also praised and described (upon the request of the Eger Newspaper) the life and customs of the Eger cellars as well as the flavour and fervour of the wines that were made at the time.

The first name of the famous valley that is situated about half a kilometre NE-SW from the town centre was Koháry-Valley. Between 1772-1774 the entire region was referred to by this name. The origin of the name dates back to times of Turish occupation, at the end of which, in 1687, the liberating imperial troops completely surrounded the castle and the town. Count István Koháry and his troops consisting mainly of Hajduks set camp, the so-called "entrenchment", at the western section of the blockade. This is how the name came to being. This was not the only name for the valley, but it is beyond doubt that it had been used the most widely from the 17th century up until the middle of the 19th century, when the valley started to be referred to by its current name, Szépasszony-völgy (Valley of Beautiful Women).