We arrived in Pecs only yesterday afternoon, but we were quickly enchanted by its art nouveau building facades, its public sculpture, its baroque architecture & its easy pedestrian streets.
It's an ancient town; the Romans settled the area in the first & second centuries AD. By the fourth century, a population of Christians had grown here. A well-documented Christian burial ground has been partly excavated here. We visited some of the wonderfully preserved crypts today. We also strolled around a grand cathedral, the successor to a church that was first built here in the 10th century.
Earlier in the day, we were in a church that was converted into a mosque when the Ottomans conquered the area. When the Christians took back the land, the building became a church again. Both religious elements are incorporated into the structure now - a little chaotically.
Tonight we had dinner on a park bench, followed by dessert in a cafe by our hotel, The Hotel Palatinus, a grand & rococo place with very small rooms & somewhat shabby halls.
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