"Serbs, Schlock, and Sacred Art in... " a Szentendre Travel Page by nicolaitan

20 km north of Budapest, this quaint village of 20000 has become a major day trip tourist destination. Early occupants included Celts, Romans, and Lombards. Serbs fleeing the Turks first settled here in the 14th Century and the village retains its origins in the many Orthodox churches, brightly colored Mediterranean architecture and ambience, and use of Cyrillic writing. After the difficult life under Turkish occupation ended in 1686, the Serbian ( and Greek ) immigrants prospered for a period. As Habsburg rule became more autocratic, however, many moved on and the town became just another village on the Danube. Floods and crop disease further limited development in the 19th Century. The result has been the preservation of the original Mediterranean architecture and ambience and the preservation of several Serbian Orthdox churches making for an attractive tourist destination even though very few Serbs remain today.

In the 1920's, a group of forward looking Hungarian artists discovered Szentendre and made it into an artist colony. Tourists followed particularly after the 1960's adding the final touch to the village today -- amazing numbers of shops selling trinkets and souveniers to the landscape.

The image depicts the towers of the main Serbian Orthodox church towering over the commercial heart of the village.

Surrounding the church and adjacent museum, and far from the tourist crowds in the many shops, find the surrounding gardens and this peaceful scene for a few minutes of relaxation.