Mesés várak és kastélyok Magyarországon

Fairytale castles in Hungary

Among the many wonders Hungary has to offer castles have a significant part in our heritage. They are special and unique sights worth visiting. Here is a collection of the most interesting ones, some of them well-known, some of them not so much.

Eger Castle

Eger and Eger Castle are famous for halting the huge invading Turkish army in 1552 with only 2,000 brave Hungarians led by István Dobó. The siege is immortalised in Géza Gárdonyi’s novel, Egri csillagok (Eclipse of the Crescent Moon). The novel is compulsory reading in Hungarian elementary schools and was chosen to be the best and most popular book in a competition to find the most popular and widely read Hungarian books in 2005. When visiting the castle you can enjoy the historic sights. There are exhibitions about the history of the castle, about execution, torture, and humiliation in Hungary’s history in the dungeon and an exhibition, entitled “Eclipse of the Crescent Moon” – ‘the novel and reality’ in the Barrack Halls. The view of Eger from the castle in itself is worth a visit.

Vajdahunyad Castle

Vajdahunyad Castle is located in Budapest, in the City Park near the boating lake which is an ice rink in winters. The castle was built in 1896 for the Millennial Exhibition for the 1000th birthday of the Hungarian State. It’s an eclectic building showcasing different styles of architecture through the centuries in Hungary. Vajdahunyad Castle amalgamates some of the most beautiful buildings in historical Hungary into a single palace featuring styles from the Middle Ages to the 18^th century: Romanesque, Gothic Renaissance, Baroque buildings, from the Romanesque church of the village Ják to the Baroque palace of Prince Pál Esterházy. First it was just a temporary structure made of wooden planks and cardboard designs, but the Hungarians loved the building so much that between 1904 and 1908 it was eventually built from permanent materials. Now you can see stained windows, elaborately painted vaulted ceilings, marble staircases there. The chapel of Ják is not only a replica of the original one but a functioning Catholic chapel offering church services on Sundays at 12 pm. Vajdahunyad Castle has been home to the Hungarian Agricultural Museum since 1897. In addition to the exhibitions, the museum hosts a wide range of cultural festivals (Carnival, Christmas Market), food fairs, wine events, concerts and children activities.