How rainy Székesfehérvár charmed us — and why we petted Aunt Katy's nose 🌧️🙂
A stopover on the way home from Croatia: rainy Székesfehérvár, Hungary's 'City of Kings', where we petted the nose of the legendary Aunt Katy statue for good luck.
When our Croatian adventure came to an end, we didn’t want to drive the whole long way home in one go. So we decided to spend one night in Hungary. We booked another super cheap and cosy place to stay (a 2+1 apartment) in a historic city with a tongue-twisting name — Székesfehérvár. 🇭🇺
So why exactly there? My husband and I had seen the Czech TV show “Caravanning Through Hungary”, and in the third episode they talked about this city so warmly that it caught our interest right away. 🙂
A Journey in Raindrops and Empty Motorways
When we set off early in the morning, the sky was overcast and didn’t bode well. It’s about 450 kilometres from Rijeka to Székesfehérvár, and of course it rained steadily the whole way. Luckily the motorway was practically empty, hardly anyone was driving, so the five-hour journey passed fairly peacefully. 🚗🌧️
When we finally arrived in Székesfehérvár and checked in, we didn’t want to waste any time. We grabbed our umbrellas and set off to explore the city right away. Even though it kept raining, it didn’t dampen our mood at all. Maybe the photos aren’t quite as bright and sunny, but to me they still have their own special charm. 🙂
First steps through rainy Székesfehérvár
A City Full of Kings, History and Hidden Surprises
Székesfehérvár is one of the oldest Hungarian cities and has an incredibly rich history. Did you know that during the Middle Ages, an astonishing 38 Hungarian kings were crowned in the local basilica, and 15 of them are even buried here? That’s why it’s also nicknamed the “City of Kings”. 👑
Romkert — the ruins of the basilica where Hungarian kings were crowned
As always, we headed first to the tourist information centre to get some inspiration and pick up a souvenir. We most often buy a fridge magnet or a postcard. Székesfehérvár is literally woven through with small curiosities and works of art that an inattentive visitor might easily miss.
A walk through the centre full of small artistic surprises
For example, in one of the little streets, right above our heads, a bronze jester balanced on a rope. We also waited a while by a small but beautifully decorated astronomical clock (Órajáték) for its mechanical figures of Hungarian kings and legends to start moving. And it was magical! 🙂
The bronze jester above the street and the astronomical clock with Hungarian kings
The Stone Globe and Blooming Time
In the middle of one of the squares, a huge red stone globe surrounded by lions caught our attention — the Országalma, or Orb of the Realm. It’s a symbol of royal power, and it bears inscriptions commemorating the city’s historical rights.
A little further on, a flower clock (Virágóra) in the park caught our eye. Imagine a huge, fully functional clock whose face is entirely made up of hundreds of beautiful colourful flowers. Every spring, gardeners plant it with hundreds of new flowers according to a special design. Even in the rain, it was an incredible sight and proof of just how much attention they pay to detail here. 🌸⏰
The main square and the park with the flower clock
A Nose for Luck and the Legendary Aunt Katy
As we wandered the rainy centre, we obviously couldn’t miss one of the city’s most famous statues — Aunt Katy (Kati néni). It’s a bronze statue of an old market woman pushing her cart full of clay pots. Aunt Katy is a symbol of the local traditional markets, and locals believe that if you rub her bronze nose, it will bring you great luck. So naturally we didn’t hesitate and gave her little nose a good rub. Hopefully that travel luck stays with us for as long as possible. 🙂🍀
Aunt Katy — rubbing her nose is said to bring luck
After a long walk full of history and photos, we had a great lunch at a kind of self-service canteen called Provence önkiszolgáló étterem. It has a great 4.6 rating on Google, and the food really was very good and reasonably priced. 🍲
Despite the bad weather, Székesfehérvár pleasantly surprised us not only with its majestic buildings and beautiful details, but also with its picturesque little streets. If you’re ever driving through, definitely stop here.
The next day we already had the journey home ahead of us, but even during that we still managed to see one incredible place. And where was it? I’ll reveal that in the next article, but you’ll find a hint in that same third episode of “Caravanning Through Hungary”. 🙂
