Diósgyőr (
Hungarian: ">dioːʒɟøːr is a historical
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
in
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
, today it is a part of
Miskolc
Miskolc ( , , ; Czech language, Czech and sk, Miškovec; german: Mischkolz; yi, script=Latn, Mishkoltz; ro, Mișcolț) is a city in northeastern Hungary, known for its heavy industry. With a population of 161,265 (1 Jan 2014) Miskolc is the ...
. The
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
in Diósgyőr was a favourite holiday residence of Hungarian kings and queens; today it is a popular
tourist attraction
A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement.
Types
Places of natural b ...
. The city part has a heavy industrial background. The
football team of Miskolc is also named after Diósgyőr;
their soccer stadium lies within the district.
Origin of the name
''Dió'' means walnut, referring to the abundant walnut trees in the area. ''Győr'' is an archaic version of the word ''gyűrű'', meaning "ring". It probably refers to the rounded shape of the first castle erected on the hill.
The history of Diósgyőr and the castle
![Diósgyőr - 2015](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Di%C3%B3sgy%C5%91r_-_2015.02.07_%28104%29.JPG)
The area has been inhabited since ancient times, as the remains of a settlement found near the castle testify. The name of the town was first mentioned by the anonymous author of
Gesta Hungarorum
''Gesta Hungarorum'', or ''The Deeds of the Hungarians'', is the earliest book about Hungarian history which has survived for posterity. Its genre is not chronicle, but ''gesta'', meaning "deeds" or "acts", which is a medieval entertaining li ...
around 1200, as ''Geuru'', the archaic spelling for ''Győr'': "After our leader
Árpád
Árpád (; 845 – 907) was the head of the confederation of the Magyar tribes at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries. He might have been either the sacred ruler or ''kende'' of the Hungarians, or their military leader or '' gy ...
left
Szerencs
Szerencs is a town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, Northern Hungary. It lies away from Miskolc, and away from Budapest. It has about 9,100 inhabitants.
History
Szerencs grew into a town where the Great Plain and the Zemplén mountains meet. I ...
with his army (...) he gave the land between
Tapolca
Tapolca (; german: Toppoltz) is a town in Veszprém County, Hungary, close to Lake Balaton. It is located at around .
The town has an outer suburb, Tapolca-Diszel, approximately 5 km to the East.
Etymology
The origin of ''Tapolca'' is ...
and the river
Sajó
The Sajó ( , Hungarian) or Slaná ( Slovak) is a river in Slovakia and Hungary.
Its length is 229 km, of which 110 km is in Slovakia. Its source is in the Stolica Mountains range of the Slovak Ore Mountains. It flows through the ...
, called Miskolc at the time, and the town named Győr to Böngér, father of Bors."
The first castle was probably built in the 12th century, but destroyed during the
Mongol invasion
The Mongol invasions and conquests took place during the 13th and 14th centuries, creating history's largest contiguous empire: the Mongol Empire ( 1206- 1368), which by 1300 covered large parts of Eurasia. Historians regard the Mongol devastati ...
. The castle that stands today was most likely erected in the times of King
Béla IV
Béla may refer to:
* Béla (crater), an elongated lunar crater
* Béla (given name), a common Hungarian male given name
See also
* Bela (disambiguation)
* Belá (disambiguation)
* Bělá (disambiguation) Bělá, derived from ''bílá'' (''whit ...
, in the 13th century.
The castle had its prime during the reign of
Louis I Louis I may refer to:
* Louis the Pious, Louis I of France, "the Pious" (778–840), king of France and Holy Roman Emperor
* Louis I, Landgrave of Thuringia (ruled 1123–1140)
* Ludwig I, Count of Württemberg (c. 1098–1158)
* Louis I of Blois ( ...
(Louis the Great). In 1364 the nearby town Miskolc was annexed to the Diósgyőr estate. Diósgyőr lost some of its importance when the political union between Hungary and Poland ended.
After the Battle of
Mezőkeresztes
Mezőkeresztes is a town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, Northern Hungary near Mezőkövesd and Eger.
Location
south from county seat Miskolc. Can be reached by car on highway M3. The train station ''Mezőkeresztes–Mezőnyárád'' is away ...
in 1596, the
Ottomans
The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922).
Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...
occupied the area; Diósgyőr remained under Turkish occupation, ruled by the Pasha of Eger until 1687, when this part of the country was freed from Turkish rule. By this time the castle lost all of its military importance.
Even though Miskolc and Diósgyőr were connected by a bus line (from 1903), and by tramway (from 1906), a travel guide dated from 1922 still mentions Diósgyőr as a separate town. On January 1, 1945, the two towns officially joined, and Greater Miskolc came into existence. At first they were connected only by the new factory that was built between them, but the two former towns soon grew together, and today it's hard to pinpoint the boundaries of the historical Miskolc and the historical Diósgyőr.
The Pauline monastery of Diósgyőr
The Pauline
monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
was founded by
Palatine István at the end of the 13th century, with his support until his death. The monastery also had a
scriptorium
Scriptorium (), literally "a place for writing", is commonly used to refer to a room in medieval European monasteries devoted to the writing, copying and illuminating of manuscripts commonly handled by monastic scribes.
However, lay scribes and ...
; one of the
codices
The codex (plural codices ) was the historical ancestor of the modern book. Instead of being composed of sheets of paper, it used sheets of vellum, papyrus, or other materials. The term ''codex'' is often used for ancient manuscript books, with ...
created here had been copied by a monk named László for the
Church on the Avas Hill, now held in the archives of Eger.
In 1526, when Hungary was divided into three parts (the Western territories were occupied by the
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
s,
Transylvania
Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...
was an independent state, and the rest was under Turkish occupation), Gáspár Serédy, one of the lords loyal to King
Ferdinand
Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...
, ravaged the monastery, on the grounds that the abbot was supposedly a follower of Ferdinand's rival King
John Zápolya
John Zápolya or Szapolyai ( hu, Szapolyai/ Zápolya János, hr, Ivan Zapolja, ro, Ioan Zápolya, sk, Ján Zápoľský; 1490/91 – 22 July 1540), was King of Hungary (as John I) from 1526 to 1540. His rule was disputed by Archduke Ferd ...
. In 1549 Zsigmond Balassa, the new owner of the Diósgyőr estate, destroyed the monastery and occupied its estates. In 1700 the Order of Pauline rebuilt the monastery, but
Joseph II
Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 unt ...
dissolved the religious orders in the country and secularised their wealth. From this time the building of the monastery was used by the Forestry Department of Diósgyőr.
In 1973, before the building of a large housing estate began,
archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
excavations were carried out in the area. According to their findings, it seemed the monastery was a rectangular building around a rectangular courtyard, with a cloister. The remains of the place of worship haven't been found, but the archaeologists uncovered a four-room building that had been destroyed by fire. According to medieval sources, Palatine István built the monastery next to his villa, and it is possible that the building the archaeologists uncovered was part of Palatine's private quarters. The recovered artifacts can be seen in the museum in the northeastern tower of the castle. The Gothic statue called "the Diósgyőr Madonna" can also be seen here.
Trivia
* The castle of Diósgyőr was on the reverse side of the 200
Hungarian Forint
The forint (sign Ft; code HUF) is the currency of Hungary. It was formerly divided into 100 fillér, but fillér coins are no longer in circulation. The introduction of the forint on 1 August 1946 was a crucial step in the post-World War II stabi ...
banknote used between 1998 and 2009. The obverse side shows King
Charles Robert
Charles I, also known as Charles Robert ( hu, Károly Róbert; hr, Karlo Robert; sk, Karol Róbert; 128816 July 1342) was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1308 to his death. He was a member of the Capetian House of Anjou and the only son of ...
(an imaginary portrait, as no portraits of him survive).
External links
Diósgyőr homepageDiósgyőr on the HelloMiskolc.huand what it looked like in the Middle Ages
Info and pictures- Northern Hungary, incl. Miskolc, Eger and the surrounding area
Diósgyőr as "Castle of the Week" at Stronghold Heavennote: Stronghold Heaven's article incorrectly refers to medieval Diósgyőr as Miskolc-Diósgyőr, even though it wasn't called that until 1945. With a downloadable scenario based on the castle for the game ''
Stronghold
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
.''
Aerial view of Diósgyőr in the 1980s
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