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 Motorway Szeged is connected to Kecskemét, Kiskunfélegyháza and Budapest in the north direction and to Subotica, Novi Sad and Beograd in Serbia in the south direction. Thanks to the M43 Motorway - which splits from the M5 Motorway near Szeged - goes near Makó to Arad and Timisoara in Romania. In addition, there are other roads running from the city to Makó and Nagylak (Mainroad 43), to Röszke (Mainroad 5), to Kiskunfélegyháza (Mainroad 5), to Ásotthalom and Baja (Mainroad 55) and to Hódmezővásárhely, Orosháza and Békéscsaba (Mainroad 47). The Budapest-Szeged-rail line is also affected, as well as the Railwaylines 121