To the North East of Balaton, is Székesfehérvár, a town with a glorious past. King Stephen (d. 1038), the founder of Christian Hungary, here established the royal residence, and built a magnificent cathedral; he and fourteen other Hungarian kings, among whom were the greatest and most powerful (Coloman, Charles Robert, Louis the Great, and Mathias Corvin) were interred in this town; 36 coronations took place, and 47 parliaments assembled here, during the three centuries, in which it was the Capital of Hungary. The Turkish domination, which lasted 145 years (1543-1688), put an end to its splendour; during the siege of 1601, the Cathedral of St. Stephen was entirely destroyed, the Royal Palace was blown up by an explosion, and Székesfehérvár lost all its importance. It is today a quiet provincial city, and, in respect of historical buildings, only the little Gothic Chapel of St Anne, from the epoch of Mathias Corvin, still remains.

The residence of the Bishop occupies the site of the ancient Cathedral; several Churches -- all of the 18th Century -- possess beautiful fresco decorations; and the Sacristy of the Episcopal Seminary contains a magnificent fresco by Maulpertsch (The Crucifixion). Lastly, the Cathedral preserves with great reverence the skull of St. Stephen, in a reliquary descended from St. Ladislaus.

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Adapted from Illustrated Description of Hungary and its Capital