Székesfehérvár (Hungarian: [ˈseːkɛʃfɛheːrvaːr] ⓘ; German: Stuhlweißenburg [ʃtuːlˈvaɪsn̩bʊʁk] ⓘ; Latin: Alba Regia; Croatian: Stolni Biograd; Serbian: Стони Београд; Slovak: Stoličný Belehrad), known colloquially as Fehérvár (lit.

Székesfehérvár, a royal residence (székhely),[3] as capital of the Kingdom of Hungary, held a central role in the Middle Ages.

Historically the city has come under Ottoman and Habsburg control, and was known in many languages by translations of "white castle" – Croatian: Biograd, Slovak: Belehrad, etc.

After the Migration Period Fejér County was the part of the Avar Khaganate,[6] while the Slavic and Great Moravian presence is disputed.

[7] Grand Prince Géza of the Árpád dynasty was the nominal overlord of all seven Magyar tribes but in reality ruled only part of the united territory.

[9] In the past few decades, archaeologists have excavated medieval ruins, including those of the Romanesque basilica and the mausoleum of King István I; they can now be visited.

After the death of King Mátyás (1490), the German army of 20,000 men led by the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I invaded Hungary.

They advanced into the heart of Hungary and captured the city of Székesfehérvár, which they sacked, as well as the tomb of King Mátyás, which was kept there.

[10] The Ottoman Turks invaded the city after a long siege in 1543 and only after a sally ended in most of the defenders including the commander, György Varkoch, being locked out by wealthy citizens fearing they might incur the wrath of the Ottomans by a lengthy siege.

[12] The Treaty of Karlowitz forced them to surrender the region of Hungary under Ottoman control and portions of present-day Croatia, Romania, Slovakia, and Serbia to the Habsburg Empire, which pushed the Great Migrations of the Serbs to the southern regions of the Kingdom of Hungary (though as far in the north as the town of Szentendre, in which they formed the majority of the population in the 18th century, but to smaller extent also in the town of Komárom) and Habsburg-ruled Croatia.

In 1944, after the occupation of Hungary by Nazi Germany, the city's Jewish population was confined to a ghetto and was eventually deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp, together with further 3,000 Jews from the area.

[15][16] The pre-war Jewish population consisted of Neolog (Reform) and Orthodox communities with their respective synagogues, and some of its members were active Zionists.

[15][16] In December 1944, Fehérvár came under Russian artillery fire, and stiff fighting broke out as the Red Army advanced on the city.

After the end of the Communist regime in Hungary (1989), the planned economy was abandoned in favor of the implementation of a free market system; all the important factories were on the verge of collapse (some eventually folded) and thousands of people lost their jobs.

However, the city profited from losing the old and inefficient companies, as an abundance of skilled labour coupled with excellent traffic connections, and existing infrastructure attracted numerous foreign firms seeking to invest in Hungary.

The local Municipal Assembly, elected at the 2019 local government elections, is made up of 21 members (1 Mayor, 14 Individual constituencies MEPs and 6 Compensation List MEPs) divided into this political parties and alliances:[24] List of City Mayors from 1990: Székesfehérvár is an important hub for the Hungarian railway system (MÁV).

It hosts a number of sport clubs from amateur to professional level, with 2017 Hungarian basketball championship winner Alba Fehérvár being its most notable tenant.