The history of the town Zirc is linked to the Hungarian history of the Cistercian order. As early as in the 12th century, the members of the order founded an abbey with the support of King Béla the Fourth. Today, Zirc is the Hungarian centre of the order.                                

The city can be grateful to the order for the marvellous baroque Abbey Church and the adjacent classicist monastery. The most important sights of the 18th century Abbey Church are the Maulbertsch altar screen, the Wagenmeister frescos and the concert organ.
The Antal Reguly Library can be found next to the church. It preserves the 65,000 books collected by the Cistercians since the 1700s. A unique piece in the library is the inlaid carved furniture from different woods of the Bakony Mountains and the arched vault – a monument in itself.
The Monastery also hosts the first Hungarian Natural Sciences Museum outside Budapest, the Bakonyi Natural Sciences Museum. It presents a collection  of the flora and fauna of Bakony for visitors.
Once you are in Zirc, you should not miss the Zirc Arboretum – refreshment for body and soul.
 
Tourinform Zirc
8420 Zirc, József A. utca 1.
Tel.: 00 36 88 416-816 Fax: 00 36 88 416-817
E-mail: zirc@tourinform.hu