Grosswardein

Grosswardein (Magyar Nagy-Varad), one of the oldest towns of Hungary, in the county of Bihar, is situated in a beautiful plain, on the Sabes (Rapid) Körös, 152 miles by rail SSE. of Pesth. Formerly a fortress, it is now the seat of a Roman Catholic and of a Greek bishop, has nineteen churches, and manufactures spirits, oil, vinegar, tiles, matches, pottery, and wine. Pop. (1870) 28,698; (1891) 38,219. In the neighbourhood is the Bishop's Bath, with alkaline sulphur-springs (104°-106° F.). At Grosswardein peace was concluded between Ferdinand I. of Austria and John Zapolya of Transylvania in 1538. It was taken and pillaged by the Turks in 1660, and remained in their hands until its recapture by the Austrians in 1692.