Pécs [antikvár]

TOWN AT THE FOOT OF THE MECSEK'The first foundation of Pécs fades away into the shadows of ancient times. Its beautiful situation at the foot of the moun-tain, its numerons abundantly gushing wells, its luxuriously yielding area and its pleasant climate all make it believable, moreover certain, thai it already existed beíbre our era" This is how Mihály Haas, a reputed writer started his chronicle about our town in 1845, who was repeatedly fascinated by the magic of the land, the Mecsek, the vineyards and orchards, and the small town leaning on the mountain slope. From wherever a stranger arrives, ha is greeled with a wonderful spectacle. The panorama is particularly enchanting from the direction of Siklós, the traveller arriving from Siklós will spontaneously exclaim at the first glancé: "This would be the place for us, this is where we would like to build our home" Haas wrote. Naturally, this was not the only reason why the town evolved here and in this mariner. Its beautiful situation and the panorama mattered the least, the protective proximity of the Mecsek was much more important, together with the abundance and purity of the healthy karst waters, their usable rapid flow, and not least the important route which crossed the place from Byzantium to Regensburg. Man settled here in the hope of a secure life, at the meeting place of the mountains and the plain, on the fertile soil and under a favourabie climate.Up till now the Mecsek has retained its determinative sig-nificance. It remained a source of the town's riches. Most probably the Romans were the first settlers of the Pécs vineyards, in the Middle Ages wine coming from Pécs was consi-dered one of the best in the whole country, and in Turkish times in addition to white wine, the red one was alsó acclima-tized. The "kadarka" brought from the Skadar (Uskudar) soon acquired great renown and the Turks not only traded with it, but drank a lot, although this was strongly forbidden by their religion.Orchards alsó spread over the area. Janus Pannonius, the