Pápa

Pápa [ˈpaːpɒ] is a historical town in Veszprém county, Hungary, located close to the northern edge of the Bakony Hills, and noted for its baroque architecture. With its 28,549 inhabitants (2024), it is the cultural, economic and tourism centre of the region.

Pápa is one of the centres of the Reformed faith in Transdanubia, as the existence of numerous ecclesiastical heritage sites and museums suggest. Due to the multitude of heritage buildings the centre of the town is now protected.

Pápa has a large historical centre, with renovated old burgher's houses, cafes, and museums, including the Blue-Dyeing Museum (Kékfestő Múzeum), set up in a former factory which produced clothes and other textiles dyed with indigo blue under a unique method.

The town is also noted for its thermal baths, particularly a newly constructed swimming complex, the Esterházy family's palace, its grand Roman Catholic church, and Calvinist secondary school; the town is an important religious centre. It also boasts a large park near the centre of town.

The town has been the main center of trade in the wines of the Somló wine region. Pápa was an administrative regional capital from 1945 to 1983.