Page "Szeged" Paragraph 7

Szeged was first pillaged by the Turkish army on 28 September 1526, but was occupied only in 1543, and became an administrative centre of the Ottomans ( see Ottoman Hungary ).

She was a sanjak centre at first in Budin Eyaleti ( 1543 – 1596 ), after in Eğri Eyaleti.

The town was freed from Turkish rule on 23 October 1686, and regained the free royal town status in 1715.

In 1719 Szeged got its coat of arms ( still used today ) from Charles III.

During the next years Szeged grew and prospered.

Piarist monks arrived in Szeged in 1719 and opened a new grammar school in 1721.

They also held scientific lectures and theatrical plays.

However, these years brought not only prosperity and enlightenment ; between 1728 and 1744 witch trials were frequent in the town ; in 1728-29, the perhaps largest Hungarian witch trial was held here.

In 1720, the population of the city totalled 193 households, of which 99 were Serbian.