The Eger Castle () is a castle in

Eger Eger ( , ; ; also known by other alternative names) is the county seat of Heves County, and the second largest city in Northern Hungary (after Miskolc). A city with county rights. Eger is best known for its castle, thermal baths, baroque build ...

, Hungary. Historically, it is known for repelling the Turkish attack in 1552 during the Siege of Eger.

History

The first castle was built on the high hill named Várhegy at

Felsőtárkány Felsőtárkány is a municipality in the Eger District of Heves county, Hungary. Geography The municipality lies in the Tárkány basin, at the foothills of the Bükk Mountains, on an area of 7734.6 hectares, 6 km northeast from Eger in H ...

near Eger. 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 ...

in 1241, this castle was ruined, and the

bishop of Eger The Archdiocese of Eger ( la, Archidioecesis Agriensis) is an archdiocese in Northern Hungary, its centre is the city of Eger. History * 1000: Established as Diocese of Eger * August 9, 1804: Promoted as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Eger Ordi ...

moved it to a rocky hill in the city of Eger. On the hill, a new castle was built, and it developed rapidly. In 1470 a

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

palace was built. In 1552, a

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

army of 35,000-40,000 soldiers attacked the castle which had 2,100-2,300 defenders. The siege failed as the Turks suffered heavy casualties. A total of 1,700 of the defenders survived. After that Turks besieged the castle again in 1596, resulting in a Turkish victory. In 1701, the Austrians exploded half of the castle (the ''Külső vár'').

Archaeological excavations In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...

only started in 1925 and the castle was used by the army as barracks until 1957.

Museums

There are several museums in the castle: * ''

Dobó István Dobó is the name of a Hungarian noble family, and a surname. People with that name include: * Ágnes Dobó (born 1988), Hungarian model and pageant titleholder * István Dobó ( - 1572), Hungarian soldier * Kata Dobó (born 1974), Hungarian actr ...

Vármúzeum'' - This shows the history of the castle, * ''Egri Képtár'' - A painting exhibition, * ''Kazamaták'' - A system of cellars under the castle, * ''Panoptikum'' - A wax museum, * an ancient

vase A vase ( or ) is an open container. It can be made from a number of materials, such as ceramics, glass, non-rusting metals, such as aluminium, brass, bronze, or stainless steel. Even wood has been used to make vases, either by using tree species ...

exhibition, and several periodic exhibitions.

External links

Official website
Buildings and structures in Eger

Buildings and structures in Heves County Museums in Heves County History museums in Hungary {{Hungary-castle-stub