Szeged, city in southern Hungary, capital of Csongrád county, at the confluence of the Mures and the Tisza rivers. Industries in Szeged produce chemicals, rubber, glass, furniture, and textiles, and carry on an extensive trade in paprika, wood, corn, and wool. It is the site of Attila József University, which was built as a secondary school in 1872 and founded as a university in 1921, and the Szeged University of Medicine (1872). Landmarks include the remains of a 13th-century tower and a large, two-spired cathedral. Szeged was a trade center and military stronghold for the Árpád kings, who ruled Hungary from 1000 or 1001 until the early 14th century. The city was under Ottoman rule from 1542 to 1686. It was partly destroyed by a flood in 1879 and later rebuilt. In 1919 the counterrevolutionary government of Admiral Miklós Horthy was formed here. Population (1999 estimate) 159,133.
