Get to know with us the jewels of Transdanube!

Pannonhalma - Gyõr / Veszprém - Herend

2 nights in double rooms with breakfast and dinner and programmes in Hotel Sopron****

Price:

02.01-30.04.2010. und 01.10-27.12.2010.    27.100 HUF  ( app. 113 € ) / person / 2 nights - in double rooms

01.05-30.09.2010.    30.400 HUF  ( app. 126 € ) / person / 2 nights - in double rooms

Prices provided for a minimum of 20 persons.

Single room surcharge: HUF 5.000 ( app. 20 € ) / person per night.
Discount for children: under 4 free of charge, 50% for children under 12 on extra beds

Programme:

Day 1

• Following the arrival, a short sightseeing in Sopron with a local guide
• 3-course dinner in the restaurant of the hotel

Day 2

• Buffet breakfast
• The hotel provides its guests with a package of cold food.
• Whole-day excursion 1: Pannonhalma, Gyõr
• Whole-day excursion 2: Herend, Veszprém

Pannonhalma

Being a thousand years old, the General Benedictine Abbey in Pannonhalma has been part of the World Heritage since 1996. Late Romanesque and early Gothic remnants from the Middle Ages were complemented with Baroque and Classicist building parts. Major sights are the basilica and the undercroft, the ambulatory, the library and the wine-cellars of the abbey. The environment of the abbey, that is, the Virgin Mary chapel, the Millennium memorial, the arboretum, the park forest and the lookout may be visited without guiding.

Gyõr

One of the Hungarian towns with the most monuments, Gyõr was granted the Europe Award as a recognition of the reconstruction of the Baroque city centre. From among the monuments, we have to highlight the Bishop Castle originating from the 13th century and completed in the 14th and 15th centuries. The episcopal cathedral dedicated to Virgin Mary originates from the 12th century, however, the Romanesque church was reconstructed in Gothic and then in Baroque style.

Its chapel keeps one of the most valuable treasures of Hungarian goldsmith's art, that is, the herma of King Saint László which was prepared for the canonisation of King László I. The original herma was destroyed in 1405 in fire. The copy of the reliquary in Gyõr was made between 1405 and 1425.

Herend

The village is the birthplace of the world famous Herend porcelain. The forerunner of the Herend Porcelain Manufacture was founded by Vince Stingl in 1826. The visitor may encounter secrets of porcelain making with the help of a movie and a technological presentation in Porcelanium Visitor Centre and the 175-year history of the Manufacture is presented by the renovated Museum.

Veszprém

Built on seven hills, Veszprém is often referred to as town of the queens: its historical and architectural monuments originate from the age of the occupation of Hungary. It became the town of the queens due to Gisella, the wife of King Saint Stephen, and a major centre of the Catholic Church due to the episcopacy founded here in 1001. The Saint Michael basilica in the castle, being a wonderful Baroque complex of buildings, is referred to as the first and oldest cathedral of Hungary by contemporary documents. The role of the Catholic church has been determining in the life of Veszprém up to this day since the town has been the Archbishop's seat since 1993. A jewel of the Castle of Veszprém is the Archbishop's Palace built in late Baroque style. The archives of the Archbishop and the chapter and the library is accommodated here.

• Rich dinner in the restaurant of Hotel Sopron**** Vinosseum Winecellar with wine-tasting
  (the presentation and tasting of 5 types of wines of Sopron; we also offer cheese, apple and "pogácsa" with the wines)

Day 3

• Buffet breakfast
• Excursion 1: Sopronpuszta - Fertõrákos - Nagycenk / Fertõd
• Excursion 2: Fertõrákos - Sopronpuszta - Eisenstadt

Sopronpuszta, Pan-european Picnic Memorial Place

It commemorates the events around the breaking of the iron curtain near Fertõrákos in 1989 with its fountain and wooden headboard.
This place was the scene of the Pan-european Picnic on 19 August 1989. The events of the time and the opening of the border on 10 October due to a Government decision launched the process of the demolition of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany.

Fertõrákos, Quarry

The quarry of especial beauty from the Roman Age of Fertõrákos can be visited as an open-air museum.

The cave reminiscent of the magical world of the rock temples in Egypt provide a natural scene for opera performances in the summer.

Fertõd, Esterházy Castle

One of the richest noble families of the country, the Esterházy family built their marvellous castle, the "Hungarian Versailles" between 1720 and 1766. The excellent building complex of the castle, with the exception of the Baroque theatre, remained in its entirety. The majority of the exhibitions of the museum operated here reminds of the Golden Age of the building which was the time of Miklós "the Bright" Esterházy (1762-1790). Joseph Haydn, a genius determining forms of music of the 18^th century also lived and worked here from 1766 to 1790.

Nagycenk, Széchenyi Castle

Its Baroque castle had been the residence of the noble Széchenyi family since the 18th century; now it is a museum. This was the favourite place of residence of István Széchenyi, the "greatest of Hungarians". The famous line of lime-trees being 2.6 km long planted in 1752 leads us from the Castle to the grave of Béla Széchenyi and his wife. The Roman Catholic Church was built in Romantic style in 1864, according to the plans of Miklós Ybl. With its Classicist entrance hall, the building of the Széchenyi Mausoleum (1810) is to be found in the cemetery next to the church where István Széchenyi is buried, too.

Eisenstadt, Esterházy Castle

With its 13,000 inhabitants, Eisenstadt is to be found at the feet of the Leitha mountain in the centre of Burgenland. It is the smallest of the provincial capitals of Austria, nevertheless, the town formerly being the residence of Esterházy princes offers a lot of sights for tourists. Its major sight is the Esterházy castle, originally a Gothic castle (1364) reconstructed generously by the Esterházy princes (1663-1672) and made the centre of court life. Now the castle is a centre of culture. In the Haydn hall, the most beautiful melodies of Joseph Haydn can be listened to at celebrations and concerts under the superb ceiling frescos.

The participation fee includes the costs of accommodation and the above mentioned catering, tourism tax, wine-tasting, and costs of the guide in Sopron and of the guide on the 2^nd day for the whole day and the package of cold food.

The participation fee does not include eventual bus costs and prices of museum entrance fee.

The 21st person is placed in a double room and catered for free.