SZOMBATHELY

German Steinamanger, town and seat of Vas megye (county), northwestern Hungary. Szombathely is situated on the Gyngys River, near the frontier with Austria, south-southeast of Vienna and west of Budapest. The town is the successor to the Roman settlement of Savaria (Sabaria), the capital of Pannonia, founded in AD 43 by Claudius I at the intersection of two Roman roads still extant. There is in the town a mosaic Roman pavement from the 4th-century Basilica of St. Quirinus, and a Temple of Isis was uncovered in 1957. Following its 5th-century sack by the Huns, Szombathely declined for a long period. In the 18th century, Maria Theresa of Austria made the town the seat of a bishopric. The Episcopal Palace (Pspkvr) and the fine Baroque cathedral were built between 1781 and 1813. Extensive World War II damage to the cathedral was repaired in 1947. The town developed as an important agricultural centre (wines, fruit, honey) and railway junction. Industries include tanning, textiles, footwear, and the manufacture of agricultural machinery. Pop. (1994 est.) 85,932.