1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Szombathely

SZOMBATHELY (Ger., Steinamanger), the capital of the Hungarian county of Vas, 162 m. W. of Budapest by rail. Pop. (1900), 23,309. It is the seat of a Roman Catholic bishop, and possesses a beautiful cathedral (1797–1821) with two towers, 180 ft. high. Other buildings are the episcopal palace, to which is attached a museum of Roman antiquities, the county hall, the convent of the Dominicans and the seminary for Roman Catholic priests. Szombathely is an important railway and industrial centre, and has a state railway workshop, manufactories for agricultural machinery, foundries and steam mills.

About 5 m. south of Szombathely lies the small village of Jaák, with a Dominican convent from the nth century, which has a remarkably beautiful church, one of the best specimens of Romanesque architecture in the country. About 16 m. by rail south of the town is Kormend (pop. 6171), with a beautiful castle belonging to Count Bathyanyi. About 16 m. by rail, west of Kormend is the small town of Szent Gotthard (pop., 2055, mostly Germans), with a Cistercian abbey, founded by King Bela III. in 1183, where General Montecucculi gained a decisive victory over the Turks in 1664.

Szombathely occupies the site of the Roman town Sabaria Savaria), which was the capital of Pannonia. Here in A.D. 193 Septimius Severus was proclaimed emperor by his legions. Many remains from the Roman period have been excavated, such as traces of an amphitheatre, a triumphal arch, the old fortifications, an aqueduct, &c. The remains are preserved partly in the museum at Budapest, and partly in the municipal museum. The bishopric was created in 1777.