Category: Castles & Palaces

The first church to be built on castle hill was that constructed for the bishopric of Eger which was founded by St. Stephen. It was succeeded by a cathedral built in the romanesque and gothic styles. The bishop’s castle, which was fortified after the Tatar invasion of 1241, underwent continual improvement up until the beginning of the eighteenth century. As a result of the heroic defence of the castle against the Turks in 1552 Eger Castle won renown and gained a patriotic significance as a symbol of Hungarian resilience. The following exhibitions can be seen within the walls of the István Dobó Castle Museum: The gothic Bishop’s Palace, Heroes’ Hall, Art Gallery, Cathedral Ruins, Underground passageways, Dungeon Exhibition.

The founding members of the association are the representatives of the following castles: Boldogkőváralja, Hollókő, Kisnána, Ónod, Regéc, Cserépváralja, Sárospatak, Sirok, Szerencs, Tokaj, Diósgyőr, Eger, Füzér. The purpose of the association was at the time of it’s foundation to represent and coordinate the interests of the legal and natural persons, managing the castles of Northen Hungary. In addition to it to give them professional assistance in conservation, professional restoration, maintenance, management and development of the castles, also establishing joint touristic and marketing activities, professional support of the utilization (exhibitions, events, etc.) of the castles and to take part in the scientific researches related to castles. Furthermore to set up and continously maintain a database, that contains the parameters and description of the castles in Northen-Hungary and to publish information about the activities and existence of these castles on a regular base.

The system of historic forts is situated in and around the “twin” towns of Komárom, Hungary, and Komárno, Slovakia on opposite banks of the Danube River. Even taken individually the forts on both sides are genuine historic and cultural treasures, representing the highest level of military architecture of their time and having survived unaltered since the beginning of the 20th century. These forts, and their predecessors have been built and rebuilt over the centuries, but their current forms show the most skilled building techniques and styles from the second half of the 19th century (1852-1890). Their survival has kept the talent of their builders – architects, engineers, officers, and masons, as well as other craftsmen and workers – and of their former occupants – soldiers, refugees and deportees – alive. These men represented several nations and nationalities living in this region of Europe, and therefore in its appearance, location and substance the fort represents a unique cross-section of the continuous common history of Central Europe from Roman times up to the Cold War.

The Royal Palace of Gödöllõ, one of the most attractive tourist sights of Hungary is visited by more than 200 thousand people a year. The permanent exhibitions of the museum are on the first floor. The exhibition displaying the “Age of the Grassalkoviches” shows in seven halls the milieu of the founder of the palace, count Antal Grassalkovich I. A speciality of the building is a view opening to the Chapel, which is an independent wing attached to the palace. The Royal Apartments can also be found in this part of the building and occupy entirely the first floor of the main front wing. The rooms of Francis Joseph I, and his wife Queen Elisabeth recall the second golden age of the palace, when the royal family came to stay. The most spectacular parts of the palace are the rococo ornamental staircase, which is emphasised architecturally by a double cupola, and the ceremonial hall, which serves as a venue for concerts, and, from time to time for receptions and official dinners. There is a souvenir shop, a café, a photo studio beside the Tourinform office, and private rooms are available on request. The reception rooms and the secret salons of Queen Elisabeth on the ground floor provide a venue for receptions of a very high standard. A number of tourist groups, booking in advance, have taken advantage of our lunch and dinner offers in “Royal milieu” for years. The Spring Festival, the “Palace Concerts” Chamber Music Festival held traditionally in the last week of June and the first week of July, the Gödöllõ International Harp Festival arranged in the first half of October and the Liszt Festival in the second half of October are the highlights of the cultural programmes.