Kalocsa

Kalocsa, a town of Hungary, in the county of Pest-Pilis-Solt-Kis-Kun, 88 m. S. of Budapest by rail. Pop. (1900), 11,372. It is situated in a marshy but highly productive district, near the left bank of the Danube, and was once of far greater importance than at present. Kalocsa is the see of one of the four Roman Catholic archbishops in Hungary. Amongst its buildings are a fine cathedral, the archiepiscopal palace, an astronomical observatory, a seminary for priests, and colleges for training of male and female teachers. The inhabitants of Kalocsa and its wide-spreading communal lands are chiefly employed in the cultivation of the vine, fruit, flax, hemp and cereals, in the capture of water-fowl and in fishing. Kalocsa is one of the oldest towns in Hungary. The present archbishopric, founded about 1135, is a development of a bishopric said to have been founded in the year 1000 by King Stephen the Saint. It suffered much during the 16th century from the hordes of Ottomans who then ravaged the country. A large part of the town was destroyed by a fire in 1875.