a first written mention dates back to 1241. Transit, privileges and prerogative sovereigns brought prosperity to the town in the 15'h and 16'h century. A European unique set of eleven gothic wing-altars with table paintings can be found in the town's most precious monument- the Church of St. Egidius. Also remarkable is a rectangular square paved with the river stones and hemmed in with burgher houses of gothic and renaissance architecture. The town hall built in a gothic-renaissance style is situated in the centre of the square. The town fortification system consisted of 23 bastions; twelve of them have been preserved. Among other remarkable features the town also contains a parochial church, Jewish buildings complex - the suburbia, synagogue, Statue of St. Florián, lamp column, and burgher houses. In 1986 the town was conferred the international award "European prize - Gold Medal" for the preservation of cultural heritage.