CHERNEL KÁLMÁN PUBLIC LIBRARY

Kőszeg

 

Kőszeg is a small town famous for its rich history and wealth of listed buildings. It is situated at the foot of the Alps and has a population of 12,000. It was first mentioned in the 13th century. It was made famous by Jurisics Miklós, who defended Kőszeg Castle with a handful of his man from the Turks in 1532. It became a free royal borough in 1648.

 Fortunately, its listed buildings were spared by the wars, so it is one of the main tourist attractions of Vas County. Kőszeg was considered a school town as there was a famous military school and a teacher training college here. Today there are three primary schools, two secondary schools and two residential children's institutes. Of its cultural institutions the Vár Museum, Tábornokház, Öregtorony, Arany Egyszarvú Pharmaceutical Museum and Fekete Szerecseny Pharmaceutical Museum must be mentioned. Many visitors are also attracted by traditional events held here such as the Szőlő Jövésének Könyve Festival (The Book of the New Vines Festival), the Ost-West Folk Festival, the performances in the Várszínház (Castle Theatre), the Lajtha László Music Camp and the Kőszegi Szüret (Kőszeg Harvest Festival).

 The area is abundant in natural beauty, and it welcomes visitors with clean air and last but not least with the Chernel Kálmán Municipal Library. The library has been operating in the Musser Building since 1984, which was built in the 1800s, and was named after Chernel Kálmán, who was a locally born lawyer and writer.

 The library offers a wide range of services to its members, drawn from Kőszeg and nine nearby villages.

• Stock

(as of 31 December 2006): 59024 books, bound daily papers and periodicals, 5443 audio documents, 1199 films on DVDs and videos, 781 documents viewable on computer, 239 other documents (maps, slides).

• Special collection

A local collection including books, periodicals, microfilms and small prints.

• Technical equipment and informational infrastructure for readers

photocopier, microfilm reader; computers for accessing data bases; pr