Szeged has beautiful buildings and wide avenues. This is mainly due to the great flood of 1879, which literally wiped away the whole town (only 265 of the 5723 houses remained and 165 people died). Emperor Franz Joseph visited the town and promised that "Szeged will be more beautiful than it used to be". He kept his promise. During the next years a new, modern city emerged from the ruins, with palaces and wide streets. After the First World War Hungary lost its southern territories to Serbia, as a result Szeged became a city close to the border, and its importance
Szeged Szeged The famous Szeged Open Air (Theatre) Festival (first held in 1931) is one of the main attractions, held every summer and celebrated as the Day of the City on May 21. The name Szeged might come from an old Hungarian word for corner ('), pointing to the turn of the river Tisza that flows through the city. Others say it derives from the Hungarian word ' which means 'island'. Others still contend that ' means 'dark blond' (') – a reference to the color of the water where the rivers Tisza and Maros merge. The city has its own