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Kalocsa the town of Red Paprika

© Haragos Pal

Kalocsa was built on the terrace of the Danube, in the region of Sárköz, on a site surrounded by creeks. It is an agricultural town, but also the seat of the archbishop of Kalocsa.

The name of Kalocsa came from the name of the chieftains of the Conquest, who settled in this territory. It's first mentioned is dated back to 1009, when Saint Stephen, the first Hungarian king established an archdiocese here appointing the Abbot Astric as the first archbishop. He had carried the King's crown the so called Holy Crown from Rome. Other famous archbishop was Pál Tomori who was the leader of the Hungarian army in Mohacs against the Turks in 1526.

The town became deserted during the one and a half centuries of Turkish occupation. In the 18th century when the town became again the head of the archbishop the town became an agricultural and educational centre. Kalocsa is one of the most important centres of paprika production.

What is the Red Paprika?

This spice is red and hot like the chilli pepper. Red Paprika has not correct English name, you say it is a red pepper. We use it for the so called 'original Hungarian dishes', like gulyas, and fish soup. The condiment of American origin found its way to Hungary through the agency of Turks, hence its old name is Turkish pepper. The best varieties are grown in the southern parts of the Great Plains, where hours of sunshine are longest. In September the region almost like being on fire from its flaming red colour, thousand of arches of paprika ripens which is rightfully called 'red gold' all over the world. The Museum of Hungarian Red Paprika in Kalocsa shows the history of the processing and equipment of work up of Red Paprika. http://korosnet.externet.hu/kalocsatours...

The Archiepiscopal Palace and Library

The building was erected between 1760 and 1766 on the foundations of the 14th century castle. Two stories of the right wing of the palace were converted to library in 1780's. The library held 300 MSS and incunabula before 1529, when Turks captured Kalocsa. Only five of them survived the occupation. The beautifully worked oaken bookshelves contain 25000 leather bound volumes. Half of more than 100,000 books of the library are theological works, two thirds of the total are in Latin. Today the library has 56 MSS and 508 incunabula, and a Bible with signature of Martin Luther. Next to the Palace is the Archbishop's Garden which contains many rare plants. It is the scene of folklore festivals.

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