Pécs is the fifth-largest city in Hungary and one of the most rewarding places to visit in the country, sitting at the southern foot of the Mecsek hills close to the Croatian border. It has been inhabited continuously for roughly two thousand years — the Romans called it Sopianae and made it the capital of Lower Pannonia — and the layers of history are unusually visible: Roman burial chambers, Ottoman mosques, Baroque churches, and major modern museums all coexist in a compact old town that takes about half a day to walk.
The Turkish occupation of Pécs lasted from 1543 to 1686, longer than almost anywhere else in Hungary, and the mark it left is still distinctive. The Mosque of Pasha Qasim on Széchenyi Square is the largest Ottoman mosque still standing in Hungary — now used as a Catholic church, but with the original Arabic inscriptions still visible under the whitewash. The Pasha Yakovalı Hasan Mosque nearby is smaller but more intact. These buildings give Pécs a quality shared by few other Central European cities.
The city is also an important centre of Hungarian art and culture. The Csontváry Museum holds the life's work of Tivadar Csontváry Kosztka, a Hungarian post-Impressionist painter of visionary intensity who was virtually unknown during his lifetime and is now regarded as one of the great originals of early 20th-century painting. Pablo Picasso, who saw Csontváry's work in a Paris exhibition, reportedly said "I did not know there was such a great painter." The Vasarely Museum celebrates Victor Vasarely, the Op Art pioneer who was born in Pécs. The Zsolnay Cultural Quarter, on the site of the famous porcelain factory, rounds out the cultural offer.
The Pécs Cathedral and the Early Christian Mausoleum, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with extraordinary 4th-century frescoes, anchor the historic core. The Széchenyi Square is the beating heart of the city — a broad pedestrian space lined with outdoor cafés, the converted mosque, the town hall, and the Trinity Column. Above the city, the Pécs TV Tower on the Mecsek ridge offers panoramic views.